Here come our teams…

Undoubtedly, the breath and the hook have long since been held or tensed, So let’s end the suspense: Here is my annual playlist with the best Afrobeats and Amapiano of the year.

“It’s nice to see Fulham finally getting some decent coverage,” says Richard Hirst. “All credit for the ‘unexpected success’ goes to Forest, but Marco Silva has done a great job and is doing a great job in reviving the careers of several players. “It would be wonderful to see Iwobi and Smith Rowe doing well this afternoon.”

I can’t disagree with that, he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s almost as if Watford and Everton are competence vacuum cleaners and failure there says little about a manager’s competence.

Other things Fulham could try: Get Smith Rowe in and around Jorginho, who passes well but is weak and slow; Stopping passes to Odegaard, without whom Arsenal wouldn’t have much creativity in midfield.

Of course, this match isn’t all we have for you:

Back to our preamble, How will Fulham defend Arsenal’s corners? Calvin Bassey looked like a player with the Rangers, has improved since then and is exactly the kind of dominant player who is likely to take responsibility for doing whatever it takes to get the ball away. The size of Berge and Lukic will also help, probably another reason why the latter came into the team today.

By the way, Craven Cottage: What a football pitch and what a place to quench your thirst before entering.

“Arsenal fans will feel at least a little palpitation when they see the names of Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi on the opposition team sheet.” writes Charles Antaki. “Beautiful footballers and seemingly charming young men who didn’t quite make it; But yes, the club was right to allow them to leave. Patchy form, injuries and, above all, the emergence of reliably better players have helped them. So may they prosper and prosper in Fulham, except today between 2pm and 3.30pm. Let’s say 4 p.m. just in case.”

Yes, agreed. Both are good and entertaining players – had he stayed fit things might have been different for Smith Rowe – and both are capable of causing trouble this afternoon.

E-mail! “Special praise for Lukic among Fulham’s ex-Arsenal squad,” chuckles Mammillaria Hahniana. “Respect.”

He just keeps going.

Arsenal, on the other hand will do a version of what they always do. The game is about Martin Odegaard and they will try to have Bukayo Saka on the ball as often as possible. His fight with the excellent Antonee Robinson should be a lot of fun.

So where is the game for Fulham? My impression is that they will try to block the middle with Berge and Lukic, rely on their center backs to properly defend the penalty area and try to get the ball over the goal quickly when in possession.

Of course it’s not that big at Arsenal. They are already without Gabriel and Benjamin White, news that will not have been lost on Marco Silva. In midweek, Manchester United’s failure to target Zinchenko, not the best defender in the world, was extremely strange, but it seems inconceivable that Iwobi and Traoré, playing on the left, would not be told to target Partey , definitely not right – back. And it is also likely that Jiménez will target Kiwior, with Lukic being used to strengthen the midfield, partly because of Arsneal’s attacking prowess, but partly to give their game-changers freedom to play.

As for Arsenal, As they are without the injured Zinchenko, Thomas Partey moves to full-back and Jorginho moves into midfield, while Leandro Trossard is in attack rather than Gabriel Martinelli.

Marco Silva makes four changes from the side that beat Brighton. Castagne, Wilson and Muniz, who are on the bench, go out, Kenny Tete, Sasa Lukic and Raúl Jiménez come in; Also missing is Reiss Nelson, who is injured but cannot play against his parent club anyway, and his place goes to Adam Traoré.

Ah, not quite yet – Artetz speaks. He says Zinchenko is injured, but his players have to adapt accordingly during a season and he is sure they will be fine. He knows Fulham have good attackers but he knows playing in England will be affected by the weather. You just have to make the most of what you get.

He is sure his team will move closer to the top spot, but they have to earn the right to win here, against a team with a good manager who is talented and consistent.

I’ll write these down, Then we will think about what they mean.

Let’s form some teams…

preamble