Arsenal at Villa Park, a mug or two, hope and blind faith

Arsenal used to be the biggest club in London but sadly, Chelsea have taken that position and if Spurs had kept Harry Redknapp and they managed to magically transform White Hart Lane into a 60,000 seat stadium, they'd probably be the third biggest club in London.

So we've got nothing to fear right? Wrong. Arsenal have scored as many goals away from home as we have at home and they've conceded less away from than we have at home. They've got players that can score and they've got players that can create chances.

But they're the third biggest side from London that could so easily be the biggest side in London. But I really like what Arsene Wenger is doing and has done but I just don't understand why he doesn't go out there and spend a little more money on the players that Arsenal need.

But I understand exactly what an Arsenal fan will say but it's always jam to-morrow for them.

Sure, they play good football and they do it without spending the type of money that Manchester City have to spend and if Arsenal win something, a big if, they can feel a little better about it, but it's almost as if Arsene Wenger has taken a stance and decided that this is how it should be done when all around him have decided that they don't care about what is right or honest and they'll do whatever they have to for silverware.

But I still like what Arsene Wenger was done and I like his philosophy of football. But that doesn't bring you success and I feel sorry for Arsenal fans. They are one of the few clubs that can start the season and have a realistic hope of silverware and they pay for that hope. But that is all they are paying for because they've not won silverware since 2005 and they could so easily have.

Hope and more hope

And tomorrow, we have to hope, much like those Arsenal fans. Our hope is desperate hope though, but we're used to it now. You could even call it blind hope.

But the blind optimism, or the view that nobody can argue against, is that it could all be getting better for us. But does that make me a bigger mug than the Arsenal paying £1995 a season for his ticket?

All about the football

We're in the relegation zone right now, so this match is all about three points for us and it's massive. We wont be relegated if we lose and it is an easy one to pass off as this is Arsenal, but if Reading were to win their game in hand, only three points will see us leave the bottom three and when you start to sit in that place, it can be very hard to get out.

But even three points tomorrow might not be enough and we'll know before kick off and that is the place I'm talking about. The table doesn't lie.

So, we have to accept that this is it for now, but have that blind optimism that it is going to get better. We have transfer funds in January and while we'll have to pay a premium for the right players if we are still in the bottom three, I have that hope that come January, this manager will have turned things around and then we can maybe start to think that just one more player is all we need.

And now I end my post with another hope and that is I'd like to see us battle tomorrow. Arsenal are all about the nice football and creating space. We need to close that space down or not let it become available and the only way you do that is to hassle Arsenal.

I also hope we don't show them too much respect. It's eleven versus eleven tomorrow and you don't win the battle inviting the enemy onto your territory. If we do that tomorrow, like we did against Manchester City, Arsenal could score just as many - they are lethal when playing like that.

But if we fight and get at them and attack - who knows? I'm having a fiver on a home win and Wigan to win.