Today’s gossip from the papers:

Clint Dempsey’s name is again linked with us, apparently our scouts have been keeping an eye on him since January and Arsene has been told he’d be the perfect fit in our squad.

Another linked to us is attacking midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy of AC Milan. That story comes from his agent who believes any deal would be only a loan as Milan would be loathe to sell just a bright star, he’s 19 years old and only joined Milan last summer.

Enough of all that old malarkey, back to what matters, tonight!

Wolverhampton Wanderers are languishing at the foot of the table, out of the 32 games played this season they have lost 20!

It really is a sad state of affairs for them, where as we have found a rich vein of form at this time of the season, a time when we have so often struggled.

On paper we are the favourites for this one but I would issue a warning to players and supporters alike, a wounded animal is a dangerous creature and we should be on our guard and not take this game lightly.

We need to approach this game with caution and be fully committed from the off, no half-hearted, casual or complacency or we could well slip up and we cannot afford any more of those.

Many teams are just behind us and are praying for us to lose, now is not the time to answer those prayers.

Arsenal are never more vulnerable than just after a good victory and that came on Sunday against Manchester City through a late Arteta goal, now is not the time to let ourselves down and fritter away those hard-earned points.

I’m sure Arsene Wenger will have made the situation perfectly clear to the players that he would expect them to treat this game professionally and work hard for one another and keep their concentration from start to finish.

Teams around us are dropping points, let’s take advantage, not become one of them!

Let’s aim for that second spot, don’t look behind until it’s safe to do so.

Wolves as I said are fighting for all their worth, their Premier League survival and their pride, they are in front of their own fans and will be desperate to give them something to smile about.

We need to make sure we don’t give them a reason to smile tonight.

Big game for Alex Song, he may have to curb his attacking side, sit back and protect his back four, especially as Kos misses out and Djourou steps in no doubt. We must be focussed from the off, work for each other for 90 minutes and beyond.

Let’s show why we are where we are in the league and come away with all the points!

There are no doubt a few twists and turns to come over the next few weeks, but let that happen to others, not us, we must stay focussed and take each game as it comes.

Every game is a Cup Final.

COYG’s

Written by Steve Palmer.