We all know how big this one is for us tonight and if you didn’t, then Mikel’s selection decisions from last week’s draw with Everton showed just how big, with:

  • Partey rested
  • Timber rested
  • Odegaard rested
  • Saka rested
  • Martinelli rested

Those are some of your big-impact players right there and for once in his career (that I can remember off the top of my head), Mikel has decided to de-prioritise domestic excursions for a massive game in the context of our season tonight. A win tonight will be massive for the belief across both the club, the players and the fanbase. It will ignite more hope after a season that has left us feeling like there’s an itch we just cannot scratch. A draw will keep us in the tie against Real Madrid and at least have us on parity for a one-off game at the Bernabeu. A defeat…well…it’ll feel like this long season might just be finishing off even longer…

So Mikel knows that now is the time to stand up and be counted by his players and I think his press conference words yesterday evening reflected that. It’s a game that is the reason he is in football for, football management for, that they prepare for and he will have been preparing for this match since the moment the draw was announced. Real Madrid are serial winners in this competition. They have an aura about them. They have an expensively assembled squad, they get decisions others might not, they are a quality outfit and they will test our defence that is already a man down from this time one week ago. Couple that with the injured absentees up top and players like Saka still not 100% fully fit and you could be forgiven for thinking that the hopes we have as Arsenal fans are limited.

But as I wake up this morning, as I’ve gone out for my run and listened to an Arsenal podcast or two, I’ve started to feel excited for this game, because it’s a chance to test ourselves. I wonder if – because of some of the injuries and the way this season has gone – my expectations have been managed and as a result I’m just looking forward to the spectacle? I wonder if, because of the fact that this Madrid side is not infallible, there is some hope that we can create our chances against them? I wonder if I feel like we’ve had enough bad luck this season, maybe it’s time that we got it in the Champions League, so perhaps the footballing Karma Gods will look down upon us and decide that they would let the dice fall in our favour for a change?

We may be without Gabriel in defence, but this is still a well-organised Arsenal unit who do not give away a lot of chances. Sure, we’re arguably coming up against the best attack in Europe, but what better way is there to test the theory about how organised this Arsenal side are at the back, than to test us against the likes of Real Madrid?

This game is an intriguing one for me. Do Real try to sit back and then hit us on the counter? They are a side who have players who that tactic would play into and so ceding possession and tucking in to a defensive shape might be just what they want to do to spring traps on us tonight. Or do they walk out with a swagger and come at us, leaving more open space and opportunities for us to hurt them in wide positions? I don’t know. But I do know that they will give us chances; they’ve been doing it in both La Liga and in the Champions League this season and in the Group stages this was a Real Madrid side who finished in 12th and had to go through the playoff stages, let’s not forget. So my hope for tonight is that we won’t see a low block Madrid who will look to pick us off.

It’s not out of the question though; they will have done their homework and will know that we struggle against those sides and with the attacking players they have in Vinicius Jr, Mbappe and Rodrygo, they have three guys who would like nothing more than being put in to space from out-balls from the back line to channels for them to exploit our advanced position on the field. It means that our back line needs to be ready and needs to be able to get back into defensive positions rapidly.

Talk of who we will start with has been all over the airwaves, but I don’t think we’ll see too many surprises from what most of us think is our best available side given each position. I think Kiwior was given an audition on Saturday for tonight and I think he passed it, so I suspect Arteta will stick with the Pole in left centre-half. Then the rest of the defence picks itself and with White playing more of Saturday’s game at Goodison, I foresee a night for Timber tonight.

I think the midfield three will remain of Partey, Rice and Odegaard and I think Martinelli and Mewrino will play. The question some have speculated on is whether Arteta saves Bukayo for 30 minutes, or whether he starts him. I do wonder about that trio of White, Odegaard and Saka all rekindling their connection qwith each other and Ben White and his overlaps are something i’ve been talking about for a while. So could it be Saka and White coming on together for the final 30 to test that Madrid left hand side?

I suspect Saka has been earmarked to start, so that’s what we’ll see today, which I don’t think there will be any Arsenal fan complaining about. But let’s hope it’s a Saka who is ready to fire on all cylinders, because we’ll need his craft, his guile, his X-Factor tonight if we’re going to get a positive result.

I keep flip-flopping between “I fancy us tonight” and “I’d bite yer hand off for a draw” and I think I’ll stay like that for the whole day to be honest with you. But seeing how that first 15 minutes plays out might drop me on to one side of that particular fence; if we go at them from the off, get the crowd up, show that we can stress Real from the opening exchanges, it’ll have us all baying for blood. But if we look like we’re playing the badge, most of us might be feeling very different after the opening salvo’s.

Regardless of anything, however, I’ll be shouting myself hoarse until the end.

Up the Arsenal. Let’s go boys.