WHAT SHANKLY SAID!

There's nothing like taking on the English Champions in England and beating the pulp out of them. Both on and off the field. It doesn't matter if you take a few grazes yourself. Something to remember it by!

Champions League final: 28th May, 2011, Wembley, England. Manchester United 1 Barcelona 3.

Football is not a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that!

The end is nigh!

Or so I thought!

I was 18 years old when Arsenal beat Manchester United 5-4 on penalties to win the FA Cup final in 2005. Having seen them romp to the title without dropping a single match the previous season and then relinquish the title to Chelsea, it seemed only fair that they should win something that year as well. My little knowledge about Arsenal's history had me believe that winning was a norm at Arsenal and it was something I could get used to.

I did not have an Arsenal jersey back then though I remember wishing that I did. I stood transfixed in front of the television as the players lifted the trophy and beckoned to Thierry Henry (who missed out due to injury) to join them in the celebrations.

Six years hence, I stand here in front of another television after yet another final. This time I have a jersey. What I do not have is a victory to rejoice. A defensive error in the 89th minute had gifted Birmingham City a 2-1 win in the 2011 Carling Cup final.

In 2005, I was only two seasons old as an Arsenal fan and I was under the belief that success was a way of life. Six years hence, I have grown up with the team, watching them improve individually and as a unit. I have rejoiced with every win, grimaced at every defeat, shed tears at every heartbreak. I have spent six seasons keeping the faith and then in the ensuing summer getting over the disappointment and consoling myself with the promise of the following year.

They say that you have to lose something to realize what its worth. But that's not true. Its not that you don't value what you have when it is still yours. It is that when you have it, it does not occur to you that you'll ever lose it. The thing about being the Invincibles is that you have to be invincible. In six seasons since 2005, Arsenal have been anything but.

Promise, quality, talent, faith, belief, maturity, tiki taka, ole ole one touches all amount to nothing if the trophies aren't wearing Arsenal ribbons at the end of the season. How long can Arsenal claim to be a work in progress? What is the point of flair football if you're bound to remain perennial underachievers, nearly men?

But as with other things in life, I guess we have to live in perpetual hope. There is always another match, another tournament. There is always next season. So much for keeping the faith.

WHEREVER. FOREVER. ARSENAL.

It's up for grabs now!

Hours remain before Arsenal take on Birmingham City at Wembley. Their first final since that fateful day in Cardiff in 2007. Six summers have passed since Patrick Vieira's last kick in Arsenal colours gave his side their last taste of silverware.

For a man who has won 3 Premier League titles and 4 FA Cups, Arsene Wenger has unfortunately had to spend a good part of the last half a dozen seasons baring the brunt of Arsenal's inability to win trophies. It's high time that stopped and just like his players, he will be desperate to get his hands on the trophy.

A cruel game football is as Cesc Fabregas will not get to captain his side for a cup final having pulled a hamstring in their previous tie. Theo Walcott, who opened his Arsenal account with a goal in the aforementioned final in 2007, is also out with an ankle sprain.

In Cesc's absence, Robin van Persie will lead his side out with a chance to finally win something. He will be flanked by the back-in-from Andrey Arshavin and Nicklaus Bendtner, who replaces Walcott. Birmingham will be especially wary of van Persie who is enjoying his best form in Arsenal colours with 12 goals in his last 12 outings. Arshavin's last goal was a winner against Barcelona and it doesn't take a goal to boost Bendtner's confidence.

Jack Wilshere and Alex Song will keep their place in the midfield while Samir Nasri will fill in for Fabregas. Wilshere, in his first full season, seems unfazed and has been in sparkling form and will look to put in another assured performance while Song will look to assert his influence in the midfield. While it is no mean feat to replace Fabregas, if there is anyone who can do it, it is Nasri, Arsenal's topscorer and best player this season.

Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny will continue at the back and will be supported by Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy. While the former two are steadily turning into a formidable defensive partnership, Sagna has been one of Arsenal's most outstanding players this season and Clichy kept Pedro Rodriguez quiet for 90 minutes just 10 days ago, something that will bode well for him in the final. Wojciech Szczesny will keep his place in goal. From playing for Brentford to taking on Barcelona in the space of a season and following it up with a cup final appearance ten days later is no ordinary feat for a 20-year-old, but then again this is no ordinary 20-year-old.

Arsenal have plenty of experience on the bench and if required can call up on the services of Marouane Chamakh, Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby, among others.

Birmingham play a physical game and will look to hoof the ball to their forwards. Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic are their two best players while Obafemi Martins lends more venom to the attack. Their midfield will have three former Arsenal players, Alexander Hleb, David Bentley and Sebastian Larrson. Each of them will have a point to prove to Wenger. Defenders Stephen Carr, Liam Ridgewell and Lee Bowyer will look to taunt the Arsenal players and nothing needs to be said about Ben Forster in goal.

Arsenal have already beaten Birmingham twice this season and despite the jitters of playing in a final, should make it three out of three. A win over Stoke City, another physical team who primarily attack with long balls, in their previous tie should hold them in good stead.

The recent inability to cross the final hurdle and the six-year barren streak will affect Arsenal mentally. They will also be weighed down by the favourites tag while Birmingham will relish being the underdogs, having last won a trophy in 1963. But if Arsenal keep their nerves, the obvious divide in class between the two sides will take them to victory.

Much has been said about how in these interim years Arsenal's maturity and resolve has  increased and how they believe that now they can go all the way. There has been a lot of talk about the evident potential in the youthful squad and how one trophy would unlock the doors to impending success in coming years. But the time for talk is over.

It's up for grabs now!