Arsene will want the players free from fear, to play with a focused freedom. We will have to have some big performances all over the pitch and not just from Robin van Persie who according to Robinho will be tactically nullified. If the rest of the team play well then van Persie will automatically do well such is the speed and interchangeability of our football when we are at

Arsene has selected his 18 man squad ahead of the trip to Milan. Park and Chamakh are missing from the list which probably gives a good indication as to which players will feature in our FA cup clash at Sunderland over the weekend.

There is something about playing away from home in the Champions League at the big stage, a chance to rub shoulders with some of the best players in world football instead of slugging it out in the mud against a side that doesn’t want to come out and play. Milan will be disciplined and organised but they will want to impose their own game on us.

Per Mertesacker’s injury over the weekend means that Arsene has to make a change to his back line. He has spoken publicly about a few options, probably to throw his opponent off the scent. Johan Djourou could replace Mertesacker and leave Vermaelen at left back which would probably mean less disruption to the defence but it is more likely that Vermaelen will come back into his best position at center half alongside the impressive Laurent Koscielny and either Francis Coquelin or Kieran Gibbs will replace Vermaelen at left full back.

Even though Gibbs is very short of competitive football since his injury I think I would prefer to have him in the side to give the team a better shape than playing a midfielder out of position on such a big stage.

Arsene’s other selection poser will be to choose between Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky in the creative midfield position. I think Rosicky’s game suits the Champions League better than Ramsey and his experience would benefit the team but having just played back to back games as well as the fresh Ramsey scoring the equaliser against Sunderland, I suspect that the Welshman might get the nod.

I am hoping for a very interesting duel between Thomas Vermaelen and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, if the ego rich Swede manages to escape the clutches of Vermaelen then he may just find himself struck by the Kobra that is Koscielny. I hope he has a frustrating evening failing to get away from his markers.

With so much pace in our back line it will be interesting to see how high up the pitch we push Milan, if we are brave enough to force our game on them and play on the front foot just as we did back in 2008.

Arsene will want the players free from fear, to play with a focused freedom. We will have to have some big performances all over the pitch and not just from Robin van Persie who according to Robinho will be tactically nullified. If the rest of the team play well then van Persie will automatically do well such is the speed and interchangeability of our football when we are at our best.

We need big games from Sagna, Vermaelen, Arteta, Song and van Persie, if those players do well in their duels then we have a good chance of getting a favourable result in Italy tonight.

It will be a big chance for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who I imagine is more than likely to continue his starting spot in the team. With a vastly experienced team trying to stop him, I guess it could go either way for the 18 year old. Either he will run ragged older legs or he will be contained by wiser opponents. As usual, the wide attackers will be important to us.

While I would like a similar type of game as the one we produced in 2008, I guess that it may well be little more cagey this time round. I hope we play at our Premier League tempo, move the ball quickly and hopefully create chances. If we do that then we are capable of grabbing that all important away goal.

Fingers crossed and come on you glorious Gunners.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up: