Ahead of the game against Man Utd at OT on Tuesday the press have been setting the stage for what everyone expects to be a Champions League classic.

United are going to be up for the game and they have experience in these matters. Meanwhile Arsenal only have 3 players remaining from the squad that took us to the 2006 Final just 3 years ago.

That in itself shows you just what transistion the team is going through. I think the experience of the last two years has been invaluble, but our opponents have the advantage in their steady squad.

Vidic knows how to stop us – He says that the key will be stopping us scoring. This is no mean feat as we have been scoring freely recently and Man Utd have started to concede reguarly.

I can’t see the game being goalless, and Wenger will know our best chance is to attack. But their defence is still decent and we will have to be at our best because as Scholes says:

“We don’t really care how good it is to watch or how much pretty football is played, as long as we get to Rome.

“We are looking forward to the challenge [but] I don’t know how much of a spectacle it will be.”

I think the game will be exciting, but it may be a little tense in the first half. All we need is an away goal and we have a massive advantage.

Fabregas’ leadership will be a key factor in the game:

“It doesn’t get much bigger than a semi-final against Manchester United”

“When English teams face each other in the Champions League it can look like a domestic of a League Cup match that Arsenal’s in a European game, but we need to realise it is not like that and we just want to be in the final again.”

Even Flamini is supporting us, you can read his interview on the BBC:

“They deserve success because they have worked so hard and have great quality – I feel they are capable of big things.

If we can keep the defence reasonbly tight against Man Utd’s fluidity up front, and keep possession then the game will be very even. We have had good results against United in recent years, and it can be maintained, but we are the underdogs tomorrow.

More to follow ahead of the game.