Will Arsenal Fans See 'The Dream' As Predicted By Arsene Wenger?

It's a sunny afternoon an hour to the game. Another 8 hours before the people of South Sudan vote in a referendum . A vote whose likely outcome is the split of the land of The Nile, The Sudan, into a dominantly Muslim north and bear the world's newest state, Africa's 54th : the total area  2505810 square kilometers (966710 square miles), 8.5 million people South Sudan.

This Saturday also marks the end of first full week of the new year. Yes, it's that time of the year again: it's the start of knockout football season.

My mate Phillip just called to brag about the current Manchester United unbeaten streak . He is positive that the red Devils will dust of Liverpool's challenge following the likely disruption of Liverpool preparations when manger Roy Hodgson was fired earlier on today.  Since the age of eight or there abouts,  when I first met  Philip Sasuk Taban, he has been  a Red Devil fan.

In our exchanges at the relatively well covered sparingly ant-hill afflicted grass pitch in school, he was Cantona, I was Ian wright. He was Rud Van Nistelroy, I was David seaman. He Roy Keane, I Vierra. I Thierry Henry, he Ryan Giggs.

He attempted the Giggs goal of the century in that FA Cup Semi- Final in 1999. I attempted The Seaman save . On and so forth. This, a little ritual we had- a game of six a side across one half of  the football pitch with two school bags placed a foot apart on either end acting as the goal posts- before rushing off to catch the game live on telly.

If Phillip's dad came first, it meant lunch, PlayStation and the game at Phillipo's (as I call hiim) and the same would apply if it were my parents were first to arrive first pick us from Saturday half day at school.

Most of the time though, we preferred to be left to our own mischief . In our early teens, we felt we were old enough to navigate the streets of Nairobi and fined our way home. Besides, it meant some time for the girls could be squeezed ii, and a ride back in a matatu blaring our copy of  Biggie, Pac or LB to complete the picture perfect weekend.

Cartoon © Chris Freeman, 1999
First published in Travel Africa Magazine
to illustrate "Hakuna Matatu" by Robert Irwin. 

In Phillipo's call, I expected the usual pre- Arsenal game goading and doomsday predictions: For the past twenty plus years -more so in the last six- this has been the norm. Besides, in  facing Leeds, as Manchester united fan he is hoping that  Arsenal falls by the same axe,  as the Leeds United 1-0 triumph at Old Trafford at a similar stage in the last edition of the world's oldest cup competition is still fresh in his mind.

Yet, Phillip was not on the possibility of the likely 3rd round FA cup elimination facing Arsenal , in fact, he reckoned that if Arsenal turned up (quick to remind me unlike in that FA Cup final against United that marks our last taste of glory) the upset may just be differed  until when Giggs will presumably retire after bettering 1999- this time with a Maradona like run along the whole length of the pitch. Then,  Manchester United will already have claimed  their 19th Premier League title unbeaten and preparing for he champions League final where Manchester United will get to avenge the Istanbul battering. league.

Phillipo has every reason to be in such high spirits as tomorrow,  9th of January 2011 marks not only the day he will vote for the future of his country, but also his birthday. Plans for the day were shared before the phone conversation drifted back to soccer.

In this fantasy, I forgot to mention, In beating Arsenal at the FA cup final, Manchester United are to deny Arsenal the only trophy that are in contention.

Going by the talk on, for and by our opponents, this might as well be a dream deferred. Leeds United just as like Arsenal are on the rise- as Arsene keeps reminding the naysayers. The progression at Leeds has been more telling considering their fall from grace of Champions League semi-final football to relegation down the leagues to the third tier.

Leeds is now  fighting for promotion in the Championship. The fight against debt is already won as books balance positively while the fans have been their in multitudes cheering on this forward march.

The improvement at Arsenal is harder to notice as the London side is facing a different kind of steep to Leeds: That of the rise from Good to Great. The next four days are defining for Arsenal in it's quest to rediscover the feeling of winning.

The competition may be from the lower rungs of the English football but in this lies the magic of knockout football: as Mohamed Ali demonstrated in the Rumble In The Jungle, heavyweights do kiss the canvas when up against the flighty feet of a lighter opponent.

In the next four days, Arsenal may be on the way to glory or would have been knocked out of two cup competitions.

First comes the FA Cup this afternoon against Leeds at the Emirates , then a Carling cup clash against Roy Keane-less Ipswich. Moreover, the premier league is at a stratosphere where every game is a cup final while the Barcelona issue is silently meditated upon(across the Arsenal ranks).

Arsene Wenger speaking ahead of the begin of the quest, belied the need to manager his squad. The man fluent in six languages explained changes that he made to the squad. Sagna's red in Manchester City's game remains uncontested as Wenger admits the right back lost is cool and reacted in ungentlemanly fashion as dictated by the game rules.

Arsenalii Favorite Line-Up Against Leeds 

Eboue thus slots in while Gibbs makes his comeback from injury as Clichy is rested. The Kierrian Gibbs irritating injury situation is representative of the little devils hampering  this group of players expected to  feature  for Arsenal today against Leeds: Good Players on the verge of  legendary stuff, much like  their counterparts Nasri, Van Persie, Fabregas, Wilshere and Song who continue test this thin line game after game.

The 'big five'  are expected to make way today for Moroccan Chamakh to continue his so far impressive education at Arsenal; Andrei Arshavin's complex personality to hit Chi; Denilson's to get that game he deserves; Bendtner to finally grow up as he often wishes for himself, Squillaci to atone for his uncharacteristic own goal with a header into the oppositions net; Rosicky to hold the ship steady  as captain to allow the hamstring of his friend Cesc to rest and avoid a fate as his own; Aaron Ramsey should get a go and make us dream of the future (when Cesc finally trots back home and Wilshere and Rambo reign).

Enjoy the game!