Udinese vs Arsenal Champions Legue Play Off 2nd Leg Preview

Events of the last match were so depressing that I tried to take my time off from everything Arsenal, but this damn Arsenal disease won't leave me. And I hope no one ever finds the cure!

And if that long headline for the article does not signify the importance of this match, nothing will. Okay, seriously though, this is the biggest match of the embryonic season so far, and so much of the future hinges on it. So many questions come to mind immediately:

• Will we be able to withstand the assault from Udinese, after we barely hung on to a narrow 1-0 win at home the previous week?
• What will happen if we don't qualify and lose out on the lucrative £25m the Champions League will bring?
• Will top players be interested in signing for us if we don't qualify?
• Will we suffer any more injuries?
• Will Djourou's hamstring problem resurface?
• Will we score the away goal, considering we have been extremely goal shy this season?
• Will we get good refereeing for the game, considering the tussle we are having with UEFA officials at the moment?
• Will the match go to penalties?
• Will the departure of Nasri affect the mental strength of the team?
• Will Arsene Wenger ever buy someone of proven quality rather than untested potential?
• What colour will Alex Song's hair be?

These and many more questions still remain to be answered. But a few of them will be addressed one way or the other in the next two hours. And I hope we come through it with flying-, err, satisfactory colours. A draw will do for me today. A win even better. And I really hope we score the away goal just for some insurance.

The team news is that Djourou is fit to start but Rosicky has made it to the bench. Young gun Emmanuel Frimpong has made it to the starting line up and I hope his "eagerness and enthusiasm" doesn't get the better of him and dives into rash tackles thus amounting to silly bookings. He has to keep it tight but at the same time careful about his tackles.

For me, he let the team down against Liverpool in the weekend. No matter how impressive he was but it can't be denied that his red card paved the way for Liverpool to take away their first victory over us in our home ground in over a decade. I don't doubt his commitment and heart, but his inexperience did us in on that fateful day. I hope he has learnt his lesson and he keeps his cool to do the job today.

Right then, here are the starting line ups:

Udinese(4-4-1-1): Samir Handanovic, Neuton, Danilo, Medhi Benatia, Joel Ekstrand, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, Kwadwo Asamoah, Pablo Armero, Mauricio Isla, Giampiero Pinzi, Antonio Di Natale

Substitutes: Emanuele Belardi, Dusan Basta, Denis, Almen Abdi, Giovanni Pasquale, Thierry Doubai, Diego Fabbrini

Manager: Francesco Guidolin


Arsenal(4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Song, Emmanuel Frimpong, Aaron Ramsey, Gervinho, Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie

Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianski, Ignasi Miquel, Armand Traore, Tomas Rosicky, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh

Manager: Arsene Wenger

COME ON ARSENAL!!!