London bawling

07 May 2009 13:16
This is the damp-squib derby! After the week these two have had you might have to shake the players out of bed for this one. The Champions League semi-final is the worst game to lose in club football. When I was a player, the worst game to lose was the FA Cup semi-final but this is 10 times more painful. Losing a final isn't nice, but at least you get the experience of playing in one. Chelsea will feel worse than they did when they lost in the final last year. We will see a different Chelsea on Sunday because they'll be so low after going so close to beating Barcelona. It was less painful for Arsenal because they were annihilated, but Chelsea's players will really struggle to pick themselves up. I don't even think there's much to play for because I can't see Arsenal making up a six-point gap on Chelsea with three games left - especially when they have to go to Old Trafford next week. So Guus Hiddink has got an unbelievable job on his hands to pick those Chelsea players up. They couldn't have worked harder against Barcelona on Wednesday and they went 93 minutes without letting them have a shot on target. I thought the referee was a joke, but Chelsea's seasoned internationals were making mistakes left, right and centre too. They weren't using their loaves in the last few minutes and were still trying to hit glory balls instead of getting the ball in the corner flag. They got a lot of things wrong. This game has come around very quickly and I think we'll see a few of Chelsea's squad players, but Arsene Wenger owes it to the fans to put out his strongest side. Another year has gone by without Arsenal Football Club winning a trophy and I don't think Wenger is in a position to mug games off against Chelsea in front of 60,000 people. Maybe he'll want to try out a few kids, but the fans won't be happy after Tuesday night and they won't want to turn up and see Chelsea wipe the floor with a weakened side. Five years ago Arsenal didn't lose a league game all season, but there's a gap between them and the top sides now. Arsenal had almost their best team out on Tuesday and United destroyed them. Another year has gone by and I wonder how much they need to spend and close the gap. They have gone 22 games unbeaten in the league, but they are still a thousand miles behind Man United. In their defence they've had injuries to key players - Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and William Gallas - for long periods. That's an excuse, but if you want to win big competitions you've got to have big players who can com in and replace them. I don't think it's been a good season for Chelsea either. With the players they've got they have to win trophies, so the FA Cup becomes vital now - and that final is not a gimme. If they don't win that then this season won't have been good enough. But we should see a good game on Sunday. I feel both sides have nothing to lose and will go out and play with freedom. That means we could see a really good and open game that could finish 3-2 either way. PAUL'S PREDICTION: Home win - I'll go for 3-2 to Arsenal. They are at home and need to put on a show for their fans and I just don't know how Chelsea will get themselves up for it. Their players have a great attitude, but the Barcelona defeat will have taken so much out of them. MERSON'S MAGIC MAN: Andrey Arshavin - He's going to be the freshest player on the pitch and I can see him running around everyone like Pele in Escape to Victory. He'll be the star man.

Source: SKY_Sports