Joe Fitzpatrick 
The Italian Cosa Nostra families became the most feared and respected criminal organisations on the planet because they were structured after a strict militaristic fashion and had a unique language, culture and "moral" tradition. They would not tolerate even the slightest form of disrespect from a rival, and basically saw any form of dissent as a capital offence. They were the most ruthless, spiteful and vindictive b*stards on the block, which kind of discouraged any meaningful competition within the multi-racial criminal marketplaces of Prohibition-era New York and Chicago. The Cosa Nostra Mafia families intimidated and dominated the Irish, Polish, Hebrew, Yankee and African-American gangs because they were mentally stronger and quite willing to commit unspeakable acts of gruesome brutality in retribution for even the teeniest of ever-so-tiniest slights against them.
Arsenal 0 Milan 4. How bloody embarrassing! Arsenal were taken to the cleaners that night, and were shown just what is required of any team who aspires to mix it with the big boys of European football. Arsenal were found wanting in every area of the pitch at the San Siro on that fateful night and should now go all-out on Tuesday night to secure a revenge win for the pride of the club and the passion of the loyal fans.
I suspect that Arsène Wenger has entertained thoughts of "chucking" this game by fielding an under-strength team because he will be aware that A.C. Milan are 1/100 odds-on favourites to qualify from this tie. Even though I realise that he might be tempted to keep players fit for the push for a fourth-place finish (that only Arsène Wenger considers to be a trophy), I believe that it would be a grave mistake for him to do so. I must admit that I was all for chucking this game and concentrating our efforts on the Premier league up until just a few days ago, but I've changed my mind and have some damn good reasons for doing so.
Please try to remember, my fellow Gooners, that when our dearly-beloved Arsène previously fielded weakened teams against top-quality opposition in the cup competitions, it killed off the forward momentum of the team and drained all of the fabled "mental strength" from his psychologically-fragile young squad.
Arsenal are on a hot winning streak and are carrying momentum and positivity into this game against Milan. It would be such a shame to fail to build upon the tough victories against Tottenham and Liverpool by simply rolling over and allowing Milan to cruise towards qualification without even breaking a sweat. Arsène should be hyping his players up to get a revenge-win for the fans after such a brutal humiliation, and should realise that even a seemingly useless 1-0 victory would go some way to appeasing the anger of the fans (those of us who will actually bother to turn up on the night), who saw their beloved team humiliated at the San Siro. Who knows? The so called useless 1-0 victory might actually remind some of these players that there is a minimum level of determination, pride and effort that is expected of any player who is lucky enough to wear the famous Red and White shirt of the Arsenal, no matter what the circumstances or the scoreline is.
I'd much rather be heading into the match against Newcastle on the 12th of March with a 1-0 victory over the champions of Italy than a 0-0 draw or, heaven forbid, yet another humiliating defeat. They say that success breeds success, and winning is a habit, so let's back our lads to give a better account of themselves this time around and show the world that Arsenal F.C. can still beat any team in the world at the Grove. Newcastle will be quaking in their boots and psychologically daunted at the prospect of having to face a resurgent Arsenal side who will be playing at home, in front of their fans, on the back of consecutive wins against Tottenham, Liverpool and A.C. Milan. Those would indeed be three very nice scalps with which to intimidate our Geordie rivals at Ashburton Grove, wouldn't they?
Arsenal fans didn't really care about winning the Carling Cup; we just wanted Wenger's Arsenal to develop a winning mentality and drive to see them through to bigger and better things in the coming years. If we can beat A.C. Milan, and then Newcastle six days later, it will represent a glorious turnaround from the awful performance and the resulting 4-0 caning over in Milan. Arsène Wenger will only be deserving of our faith in his ability as a manager and of his recent Barclays Manager-of-the-Month award if he manages to pull off two more victories in the next two games. Even then, some people might not believe in his ability again until he has won a trophy. Any bloody trophy.
Please remember, my fellow Gooners, that we were promised "a modern superclub" when we embarked on the Stadium project, and we all accepted that there would be a period where we might not be able to compete in the transfer market. That time is well past now, and seven years is more than most cash-strapped supporters can take when their "football company" is making millions upon millions in profit and has not one but two billionaire shareholders who could be investing in the team. Investing in the team at this point makes financial sense, because we are not going to attract lucrative sponsorship deals or sell out our infamous club-level seats at £2,500 a pop, if we don't even look like a big club who are at least capable of mounting a sustained challenge for a serious trophy. The only way now for Arsenal to maintain the façade of being a big club is to retain the services of Robin van Persie at all costs, and all costs means signing top-class European talent.
If the rumours are to be believed, Lukas Podolski will be available for a cut-price £8.5 million if Köln are relegated this season, meaning that they will probably do a deal right now for around £10 million, such is the precarious nature of their league-position.
Another proven international player who is rumoured to be available for circa £10 million is Arjen Robben, who sensationally put himself in the shop-window with two goals against England in a recent friendly. He is said to be unhappy in Germany and wants to return to London; maybe we could persuade him to line up alongside Podolski and van Persie next season?
We can dream, fellow Gooners, but - realistically - spending £20 million on two proven international stars under the age of 30 should be considered as a minimum requirement and not "dreaming" by the mighty Arsenal, the most profitable club based in the capital city of the home of football, who have not won a trophy now for seven long seasons.
The natives are getting restless, Silent Stan. Please be warned. I'm sure you can expect a lot of your club-level season ticket holders to be waiting on news of van Persie's renewal before you get their money for next season, and I'm sure that there will be a lot of empty seats on Tuesday night up in the prawn-sandwich tier. As a diehard Gooner, I'll be there, come hell or high water, in the cheap(er) seats cheering on my team, but my question to Kroenke and his right-hand puppet, Ivan Gazidis, is... will the Monty and Rupert section of our fan base be there? If you American gentlemen don't get the Monty and Rupert reference, then maybe you should, GET YOURSELF TO A GAME OR TWO!! You money-grabbing bloodsucking scoundrels!! Invest in the team or please sell to Usmanov. End of. Rant over.
