This is the big one, this if the comparisons are to be believed between the start of the trophy haul in the George Graham Era and Mikel Arteta’s reign today is the game that has massive implications.

Yes it’s 'only' the Carabao Cup type when all is said and done, but there is so much more at stake in this game right here right now tonight.

This game alone could be the difference between star boy Saka deciding if it’s the red and white of Arsenal he wants to pull on for the rest of his career, or if he like all the other money chasing, glory hunting, spin on a dime, kiss the badge, I need Champions League kind of  footballers deserts us and does the absolute unthinkable and leaves Arsenal to go and join Liverpool for rest of his footballing years to come. 

That’s what’s at stake here over the course of these 90 minutes for me tonight, might be a little bit dramatic, but make no mistake Jurgen Klopp has turned his full attention to destabilising Arsenal Football club in his pursuit of our gifted right midfielder, he knows what he is doing, he knows what he sees in his rear view mirror.

History has taught us that we have the potential to derail the Liverpool train and send it careering into the pit of the canyon if we choose to lay some dynamite and blow it up like we did in 89.

So you boys in the stadium need to do your bit tonight.

You are gonna have to be loud, you are gonna have to support, just like the away fans did last week.

You heard 'em on the telly. I heard 'em cos I was there. There wasn’t any room for dissent, there wasn’t any room for moans and groans, we got behind the team, and the team gave us what we needed in return, they ran their socks off, and even when down to 10 men limited Liverpool to a few snatched chances here and there and kept the crowd quiet for the duration of the match.

The week that was

It’s been a bit of a strange old week for Arsenal.

A whole lot of hullabaloo over a postponed fixture against the lot up the road, a never ending transfer saga over a fella called Vlahovic, and another nail in the coffin of a dangerous toxic negative bile spewing YouTube channel who shall remain nameless after one of their own being found guilty in a court of law to be a violent criminal.

Come on you Gunners

If we all pull together, great things can be achieved, starting with beating Liverpool tonight and sealing the deal for a trip to Wembley where another Goliath awaits waiting to be toppled.

This is a titanic battle - here's to seeing all four sides of the ground up in unison making a thunderous noise like the time it occurred in 1988.

When Mickey Thomas broke away and hit a shot into the turf and over a despairing Neville Southall to make it 3-1 vs Everton and send us back to Wembley to face Luton Town and have a go at defending the trophy we had won  the year before against tonight’s opponents Liverpool.

The noise and unity inside Highbury that night really was something too be proud of and reverberated down the years.

I went to the first leg up at Goodson park to see Perry Groves score a delightful winner in the first leg in 1988, but it’s the second leg back at our place that lives longest in the memory, a completely packed out Highbury underneath the floodlights, the noise that night was incredible, all four sides of the ground, for 90 minutes, roared us too success.

Don't forget Everton were a decent team in that era - and it was the crowd that got the team over the line that night.

We are going to need a similar atmosphere tonight, I’m gutted I am not going to be there such is the occasion.

But I am firm in my belief that we can do it. I didn’t see anything to fear from this Liverpool team last week, and if the boys run as hard as they did up at Anfield at home tonight, with the crowd behind us and 11 men on the pitch, with no negativity from the supporters, and a cacophony of sound we can get past them, we can book our place back at Wembley.

More importantly we can lay down a marker and send a message to the stars of our youth academy that’s this is Arsenal, that there is no need to play your football anywhere else, you can be loved and adored here at the Emirates, and with the right ingredients and a sprinkle of magic dust, you can beat any team on the planet under these floodlights here at Asburton Grove.

This is where it starts, tonight, against Liverpool. From there it’s a hop and a skip away from beating Chelsea and this young team is off and running, silverware in their hands, and belief in their hearts that they like the taste of silver and want some more.

Listen up, I’m sat in the armchair now, I’m a realist, I see the flip side of the coin, as much as I can wibble on about the glory of beating Everton home and away in 1988, it doesn’t take me long to remember the final against Luton and watching Gus Ceasar, flailing about on the Wembley turf as if it were an ice rink and us being on the end  of an inconceivable 3-2 defeat.

I still for the life of me can’t quite understand how we managed to lose that game, missed penalty’s, missed chances and the footballing gods decreeing we were going to be toppled by a minnow.

But you have to go into the ground believing, and you have to stay with the team in the event of us going 1-0 down.

Crazy things can happen in the blink of an eye, and this game feels so big, so huge, that it’s going to be one of those games where every pass is magnified, time slows down, every despairing challenge and tackle has the opportunity to be etched in the history books forever.

Have belief we are going to win, sing loud, sing proud, and roar this team too success, show Saka that Anfield last week was a library, and he doesn’t need to go anywhere to ply his trade.

It feels like we are rowing towards something far more sustainable in the long run. You never know we might even get to put this transfer saga to bed and sign the fella called Vlahovic if we book a trip to Wembley.

He better be prepared to run about as much as Martinelli does that’s all I can say at the moment on that, that’s what we are going to need players prepared to sweat and run hard, and fans who are going to get behind the team, these are the key ingredients too success it really is that simple.

Peace out, I’ll be watching on the Roger Melly, and cheering every tackle and shot on goal. COYG !