Bet this guys happy

Expect nothing. Absolutely nothing. The media, the bookies and the dreaded Setanta cameras all suggest a right royal pasting. Yet, NATIONAL TIGER travels down to London believing anything other, will be a welcome bonus...

Let's not kid ourselves here, this is Arsenal. Bloody Arsenal! On their day, the Gunners can literally tear you a new Ars... ahem. This is a team who fielded a bunch of schoolkids and ripped asunder a full strength Sheffield United side 6-0 in the Carling Cup in midweek. And who's next up? Hull City.

But for crying out loud, this is what the Premier League is all about, isn't it? A huge sell-out travelling band of Tigers, full houses witnessing the best teams in the world and all this in the finest stadia. This is what we all craved, wasn't it? Well I did.

I'm genuinely looking forward to the trip. Yes, yes, we all know what the script says. And yes, the form book points to national humilation live on the telly - thank god it's only Setanta - but in football you just never, ever know. It's why I/we all love it.

I'm not kidding anyone here when I say this; barring one noteable exception that was helped with a pretty lengthy sick list, Hull City have performed extremely well in the Premier League, without shame and full of courage.

What will be required at the Emirates is an attitude and mentality that lets Arsenal know that Hull City are not scared. Phil Brown needs a team on the pitch to be committed, full of belief and aggressive - yet fair with it. I can guarantee the fans will be - and any stray Arsenal fans reading this, you will hear us.

Be brave, be bold, stand up to the challenge. Nothing is impossible. Not in football circles. The Tigers can - albeit stacked against very lengthy odds - produce a performance that could glean something from Arsenal. We've all seen that this season, City have stepped up to the plate in the Premier League.

Posted By: BSE Canary, Sep 27, 19:35:32