I have a funny feeling Liverpool are going to turn it around the evening ... then concede late and go out.

Really nervous about tomorrow.
Really wish we hadn't conceded that silly goal last week.
Great news Saka and Martinelli are fit. Extra boost if Emile Smith Rowe Ødegaard and Aubameyang are available too.
Funnily enough we have to score so that will clearly hopefully see us go full tilt from the very start. Full pelt please. No caught in 2 minds about whether to stick or twist.
I'm sure we will score and if we get 2 then they will have to get 3.
Have to be so focused in defence though and I think he needs to go with Holding and Mari.
They looked so good together earlier in the season so no idea why Arteta chopped and changed from that.
Cant see slavia keeping us from scoring for the whole game.
We play like we know we can then should not be in doubt.
0 0 at 70 minutes though and I'll be panicking.....

Oh yeah. Sarri is a habitual smoker.

That would be funny. Madrid's composure against the press is easy on the eye....and Modric is just a joy, a masterful footballer.

I think that funny feeling was just wind.

Wouldn't shock me if City wins it all and the list of English clubs who have won the big eared thing grows while its left off our CV.

It really, really hurt when Chelsea won it. I wanted us to be the first London club, very, very badly wanted that. Bayern Munich seems to always be behind some of these things (1999, 2012). How do you lose an effing cup final with two goals in extra time (as I purposely forget how we lost the 2001 FA cup) and a final in your own effen stadium against a visibly weaker side?

I'm telling ya, they did it just to spite us. It's a grand plot. I'm sure of it. I've done some Sherlock Holmes-esque connect the dots type of research on this.

The CL becomes a simple matter for me. Write down the 4 clubs left, in an order, with the top being the team you dislike the most. At number 4 I listed Man City. That is who I want to win.

Then the League Cup - I want City to win it. They will win the title so they could be on for a quad this season.

The only real interest left in the season is the Europa League for us and how many young players get introduced into the EPL at Arsenal. I don't want to see some of the tired non performers in the EPL again.

They have to get past PSG first and they haven't been as prolific in the Champions league as they have in the Premiership.

It’s City for me too. If they do the quadruple not only will it outdo Manchester United’s treble, and I’ve always preferred City to United by far further than a massive or huge margin, it means Tottenham won’t win the League Cup and Chelsea won’t win the Champions League. I’d much rather Real Madrid or PSG win the latter than Chelsea, but I’d probably rather City win it than either of them.

The champions league titles won by Man U (twice) and Chelsea had huge amounts of luck attached.
2 late goals to beat Bayern after Bayern dominated them most of the game. Also I think if Bergkamp scores that penalty in ‘that’ semi final it wouldn’t be too far fetched to imagine Man U winning nothing that year and we do the double

Then Man U beat chelsea on penalties when they were one John Terry penalty away from losing it. And as Terry missed his penalty rather than it being saved it was only due to Chelsea’s own incompetence rather than any skill for Man U that was the deciding factor

Then chelsea beating Bayern on penalties. Bayern missed a penalty in normal time. I think barca missed a penalty against them in the previous round when they somehow hung on to beat barca despite being down to 10 men.

Even Mourinho’s wins with Porto and Inter had huge luck. The late goal v Man U after Man U had a good goal ruled out in the title win with Porto, and then when inter knocked out barca with an 11 men defensive effort barca themselves had a good goal ruled out which would have taken them through.

I recall Real Madrid scoring a 94th minute equaliser in their final against Athletico before trouncing them 4-1 in extra time.

Every team needs a bit of luck in these knock out competitions. I wish we had a bit in our final against barca, or in our Fa cup final of 2001. I think we had a bit in our 2017 fa cup final v chelsea with sanchez first goal being given despite the handball when i would have been fuming if it had been against us

I read a headline from a piece on Arsenal that said Xhaka and Luiz are emblematic of Arsenal. Both are flawed but both appear to hold us together.

I agree they could struggle

I think that is accurate. But if we are to progress both probably need to be replaced.

A highly charged and driven Arsenal when the game starts please

We need the starting eleven to rise above themselves against Prague

Concentration from the kick off, engagement meaning people make themselves available for passes and do not hide and energy. If there is any repeat of the time after we scored in the first leg it is not acceptable.

Totally agree with this. We have a love for Cornwall and second home syndrome is decimating parts of that beautiful county. I read somewhere that St Ives has something like 20% occupancy out of holiday season, and property prices are eye watering.

Southend!! That’s setting the bar very low. Head further North around the coastline to Suffolk and Norfolk, much prettier and unspoilt. Norfolk has some real gems, and I believe it’s officially England’s sunniest area.

An easy 4-1 win for Arsenal.

I don't care about luck. I care about trophies. Our FA cup in '05 was undeserving, Liverpool's victory over us in '01 was undeserving. But both sides went away with the trophy and the other got a 'moral victory'...haha.

Doesn't matter. Chelsea has a CL trophy and we don't . That's all that matters and it doesn't feel good at all. Before their match in the final vs. BM, I knew it was going to be just a matter of how many goals Chelsea would leak. Effen Bayern. A curse on them and their poxy club for letting Man Utd win a treble and Chelsea be the first club in London to win a CL. i'd have genuinely been happy for any other London club than Chelsea or Tottenham. (okay....maybe not Millwall...sorry you know who)

Nervous about tonight and if we go out, I won't be surprised. The first 10 to 20 minutes will likely tell me if we are going through.
Thinking Slavia will be defensive and try and hit us on the counter. They'll be more than happy with a 0-0, slow, labored game.

Parts of the coast here -- Port Alfred for example -- have been ruined by monstrously tasteless mansions that are only occupied for 3 or 4 weeks per year ... a few kilometres away from the overcrowded and poverty stricken township where people live in corrugated iron shacks.

If I was to retire in England with unlimited funds I'd live in the Chichester Habour area, or maybe in Norfolk or Cambridgeshire. I really love that flat country, with boats appearing where you think it is land.

and that is quite true as well. There are players out there who have the skillset of Luiz and Xhaka but with a bit more pace and fewer balls up moments. Most are probably out of our reach so where can we find our mould the ones within our reach. Saliba should get a chance as Luiz's replacement next year, he's been getting very good reviews in France again. On paper he has it all, tall, quick, excellent on the ball - tops stats for passing, long passes, interceptions, not being dribbled past. The main weakness Ive seen said is he doesn't dominate the box aerially and physically considering he is 6ft 4

https://www.football365.com/news/folarin-balogun-contract-gives-west-ham-hope-eddie-nketiah-race
Balogun contract gives West Ham ‘hope’ in Nketiah pursuit

I worked in and lived near Chichester for quite a few years. Nice place.

Forgot about St Ives, great suggestion

My sister in law teaches at the University. Were you there by any chance? We also have kin who live between Chidham and Bosham. I spent a lovely spring there once cycling with my young daughter. Heavenly country.

If West Ham bid £22.5m for the lad from Sevilla then they can pay something similar for a player 2 years younger and who won't miss a month of the season going to the African Nations Cup! Having said that I'd happily take £15m for Nketiah if anyone offered it. He hasn't exactly put himself (or been able to put himself) in the shop window the past 6 months

I now live close by in the South Downs National Park. Done loads of cycling all around that area.

No, that was in the days (or years) when I worked in the NHS.

You are very lucky to live in such a wonderful part of the world.

Same team as sheff Utd except smith-Rowe in for Martinelli.
No Aubameyang or Ødegaard in the squad. Balogun on the bench

Interesting lineup!

On paper, its a team with a lot of pace and attacking flair.

What is the formation? The graphic I am seeing shows 3-5-2 with Lacazette and Pépé up front, but I imagine Xhaka may actually be covering left back?

A Pépé Emile Smith Rowe combination on the right looks tasty.

Quite a gamble that team selection.

Big questions will be asked if things go pear-shaped.

Let's go at them from the start, get an early goal to erase their away goal advantage.

Aubameyang has posted on social media that he’s currently in hospital having contracted malaria while on international duty

Good prediction

What dreadful news for him. I hope that he gets through it okay.

Has Balogun signed a new contract? Good to see him on the bench.