We have had the Emirates stadium to hold our hands when mass changes caused our level of performance to drop, this will not be the case this time so the players who are given the chance to play will have to hit the ground running. I would be very surprised if Arsene threw in many of the players from midweek as the game required a huge amount of physical and mental energy and when you look further down the line we have the small matter of Tony Pulis’ thugs and then the Carling Cup final against an even bigger collection of thugs. That is actually quite a frightening prospect.

If I was good enough to be one of the more important players at Arsenal then I would expect Arsene to leave me out of the squad due to my head not being right. To be fair if that was the case then I really shouldn’t actually be anywhere near the squad regardless.

The Barcelona victory and team display has left me on cloud nine and I haven’t been able to get down ever since. You won’t find many teams playing two games so far at the opposite ends of the spectrum, and I mean no disrespect to Barcelona but the Orient have far more class than the arrogant Catalans.

Removing my tongue from my cheek for a moment. From beating Barcelona at the Emirates to a trip to Brisbane Road to face Leyton Orient this afternoon, it will be a very different game to our last, it may not have all the glamour but one thing is for certain, our opponents will have to be fully respected this afternoon otherwise Arsenal could fail to beat lower opposition for the third time this season.

The O’s are unbeaten in 11 matches and are actually undefeated at home in 16 games in total. Only Charlton in the league and West Brom in the Carling cup have come away from Brisbane Road with a smile on their faces. The opposition will be highly motivated to cause an upset and will look to continue their good home form.

We have had the Emirates stadium to hold our hands when mass changes caused our level of performance to drop, this will not be the case this time so the players who are given the chance to play will have to hit the ground running. I would be very surprised if Arsene threw in many of the players from midweek as the game required a huge amount of physical and mental energy and when you look further down the line we have the small matter of Tony Pulis’ thugs and then the Carling Cup final against an even bigger collection of thugs. That is actually quite a frightening prospect. If we can get through these next few games without another injury to a key player then we would have been blessed by a small miracle.

Johan Djourou is back in the squad after a slight back problem against Barcelona but I would not expect him to be risked. Sebastian Squillaci is fit and itching for a game so either Djourou or Koscielny will certainly sit out, I suspect the former will be Arsene’s choice.

Bac is back, but will he go right back to right back? He may be needed as Djourou could be absent after a problem with his back or will king Eboue get back on the horse after a good performance against some of the best players in the world.

Alex Song may continue on the pitch as he missed a recent game through injury and was also brought off after 67 minutes so could have enough in the tank to go again. I do expect the forward trio to be the same three that have started most of our cup matches. It hasn’t really clicked as yet and has looked fairly disjointed but having said that both Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner have stepped up in recent weeks so hopefully they will have more spark than they did against the likes of Ipswich away.

It is easy to forget about the contribution of Marouane Chamakh in the early stages of the season as he has been locked away in the shade by Robin Van Persie but his performances in the first few months were fundamental to our current position in all competitions. His work rate and pressing from the front has been continued by the rest of his team mates. His hold up play and knitting together of the midfield was great so if there was one player that I would like to see have a really good game then it would be our Moroccan international.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up:

One to watch: Marouane Chamakh

It is likely that Chamakh will start through the middle with the more versatile forward Nicklas Bendtner playing from the right, we haven’t seen the best of Chamakh for some months now. It is difficult for many of the players to come in cold and perform to their best immediately but I am hoping that Chamakh can do just that. I would love him to power in a header from a cross, he needs it. If we are to continue in all these comps then it is players like Chamakh who will need to find their mojo’s.

Mean Lean’s Match Prediction:

Leyton Orient 1 Arsenal 3 (Bendtner, Chamakh, Rosicky)

Like I say in most of my match previews, if we have the right commitment and attitude when we do not have the ball then we will have enough to beat an in form league one side.

The obvious worry is the amount of players who have spent more time on the bench than on the pitch. If so, if the players want victory enough then they should have more than enough to get the victory.