The 'Unsung Heroes' who ensure The Emirates is made for a game like this!

As you take your seat in our fine Emirates Stadium, probably the last thing on your mind is the turf and the unsung heroes behind it.

The view is superb where ever you are in the ground. By the time you have found your seat and got yourself comfortable, no doubt its only then that you cast you eyes over the pitch and realise how spectacular it actually looks.

Our football club is known for its stylish way of playing with lots of possession, especially at home. But without such a wonderful playing surface at The Emirates we would not be able to perform in such a way and so well. The unsung heroes are of course the grounds men. Similar to the football team the grounds men are led by the captain and that person is head groundsman Paul Ashcroft who took over from Paul Burgess in 2009.

Burgess was poached by Real Madrid, apparently Juande Ramos when in charge of the Tiny Totts, came to the Emirates and was so impressed with the surface that when he became manager of Real Madrid, Burgess was on his wanted list. Some say that was his best signing as manager of Real Madrid. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with that.

Paul Ashcroft stepped up to the plate with ease having worked alongside Burgess for a few years.

So how does he and his team make it all work?

The grass turf sits on a bed of gravel, under the gravel is miles of pipe work which they call the air ventilating system. In layman’s terms it blows up to give the roots plenty of aeration and also sucks down to drain the surface of excessive moisture. Above that is more pipe work, that is the heating system, which keeps the soil at the best grass growing temperature.

To grow grass inside is not an easy thing  – most things need the sunshine to make them grow best and at different times of the day the ground is in the shade and to combat that they have a lighting rig which is a complex piece of equipment. It covers half the pitch at a time and has over 600 ultra violet lamps. The rig has sensors which work out how much light the grass needs for ultimate growing so theres a lot involved. Then there is the cutting, feeding and the marking out. I think you would agree that Paul and his team do a magnificent job and they keep us at the top for the best surface, year after year.

Without such a surface we wouldn’t be able to play the way we do and this week we face the other team in football who play in a similar fashion, just not as good 😉

Arsenal can beat any team on their day and I expect us to beat Barcelona on Wednesday night.

In the past when we have played them they have had everything going their way. Lehman was sent off in the first ten minutes in the Champions League Final  when any other side would have seen their keeper receive a yellow but not us. Barcelona, being most peoples favourites together, with my belief the governing bodies are all bent, we got a raw deal but with ten men we still gave them a game!

Last season we played them ravaged by injuries and fielded a weakened side and of course they gave us a run around. After that night everybody started raving about how wonderful Barcelona are and how they must be without question the best team in the world.

Not many commented on the lack of our first team players and the then second string team we had to muster but then they never do.

This time things look slightly better for us despite having just come through one of the most busy schedules that the FA could throw at us. From December until the present day we have hardly had chance to catch our breath and even when the chance came for a break, the silly friendly internationals came along but I guess that was the same for every club.

We have had some disappointments of late and if we had taken the many chances we have had we would be well clear of the rest in  the Premier league and had we played with a bit more heart in the Champions League qualifiers we would be facing a lesser task on Wednesday but we didn’t in either. However, we are still in good position and if we take the chances that come our way in this second half of the season we could be record breakers.

Our squad is stronger now and we have ‘fairly good’ cover in all positions,  well, nearly but Sagna missing and Nasri possibly being out are the two main worries but can we beat Barca with what we have? Sure we can!

The whole world will be watching this fixture between two sides who play football the way its meant to be played, it’s possibly the most exciting game that the Champions League could fix draw!

Another battle on Wednesday is Cesc Fabregas v’s the rest of Barca who are desperate for him to return home. Right now Barca have cooled their interest as he’s too expensive but I think if we go and beat his boyhood club and progress through, he may just think twice before leaving us for Spain.

Enough about them, let’s get back to the best team without question and that’s The Arsenal  – led by the best manager ‘Genius Arsene Wenger’. I say that now but I have been one of his worst critics in the past and probably will be again in the future but the man is a true legend. He infuriates me when he plays his Wenger tricks like resting eight or nine players in a particular game or leaving a substitution to the last-minute when I have thought it should have been sooner but I suppose that’s why he’s the genius and I sit here and write about the great man.

Barca have copied Arsene in nearly every way, even with the way they play but with the spending power they have they can afford players many clubs cannot match. The difference is that Arsene has worked his magic with a lot less but his legacy will lead the Arsenal to heights that even Barcelona will strive to reach, that I have no doubts on.

Pep Guardiola looks up to Wenger and realises that Arsene’s theories are the way forward, he also realises that he is ahead of his time and that the foundation he has laid down for future managers of our great club, will put us at the top. I believe that and I hope you do as well. Believe me when I say when they arrive they will not take us lightly, they will have to be at their best to get a result and we will have to be at our best to win but as I said before a win is on the cards and the return will be exiting.

While our football team has been struggling to win us trophies for a few years, Paul and his team bring silverware season after season and long may that continue. Hopefully this year, the team will add the silverware which will make Paul and his teams hard work and effort so worthwhile.Whatever the result we will see some quality players, two sides playing very similar styles of football as it should be played.

As said before, the eyes of the world will watching when Barca come to town and we will show just why The Emirates was built for games like this…

Written by Steve Palmer