Hope you had a relaxing Bank holiday.

But the time for relaxing is over. Tuesday’s match is our biggest yet. It is the kind you live to play in, and I believe we will be ready. Mr. Wenger has us ready, and he is confident with our ability to compete and come out on top, and I am as well.

In the first leg, ManU charged ahead early and held on to the momentum. We held them to just one goal, thanks to Almunia and his heroic efforts.

For the second leg, we must control the pace of the game. We hope to have van Persie back in the line up, with Cesc in central midfield, as this will only make more scoring chances.

It will be tough. This we expect. This is against Manchester United to go to the Champions League Finale. But this is not something impossible or even improbable to do. I know it will be much different playing at home in front of our fans, knowing everything is on the line. We still have more than a chance for this trophy and that is all I can ask for. We will be fighting.

- Manu

Hello.

This is the biggest one of the year by far. We are headed to Old Trafford and have a huge test. We know how important away goals are, and it is already our style to play free and aggressive. On the other hand, if we don’t take care on the defensive side first, well I think we all know about their weapons and how much they can score. So we have to be at the top of our game on both sides obviously, playing with the fire necessary for a game like this.

Because this is it. The Champions League is our last chance at a trophy this season. I am excited to be up against guys so good like Vidic and Ferdinand, guys who won this last year. I am ready to fight and do whatever it takes to push Arsenal past ManU, and I know our defense will be fighting too. You have to beat the champions to be the champions, and this is the first step.

See you there.

-Manu

Hello.

Well it was certainly a great thing to see Arshevin net 4 against Liverpool. And certainly not so great to see them come back for the tie in stoppage time. Even with so many injuries to our defense, this was hard to see. So we will have to work together, every one of us, to make sure this will not happen again. Especially with the Champions League game against ManU coming up.

It is tough to hear about all the injuries beyond mine. Van Persie, Gallas, Clichy, the list is a long one. But we have been through this before even just this season, so we know what it takes to prepare and be ready no matter the circumstance or the side. This is for a chance to go to the final, and our last chance for a trophy this season.

So we will be ready for them.

-Manu

It seems to me that we are coming together in a good way at just the right time. Even with a lot of our great defenders out we still managed to control the game against Villareal and move on to the Champions League semi-final, where we will meet ManU.

And of course we have Chelsea this weekend in the FA Cup. We have been very good of late at focusing just on the next game, not looking past any opponent, so there is no worry that we will not be ready for Chelsea, especially on a stage like Wembley.

We have fought so hard to get to this point where we have games with meaning, with tension. And we will continue fighting.

-Manu

Hello.

These are big games. These are why we do what we do. Games with importance and tension. Games that matter. We are no longer fighting to stay in the top 4, we are playing for trophies.

Even though we have a scoring edge against Villareal, do not think we are playing safe or looking for a nil draw to advance. We are focused and ready to keep playing aggressive, as we have been doing. We are clicking, playing together with purpose, and hungry to advance to the Champions League semi-final.

And especially with some injuries to our defense, we know we must be on the attack from the outset. We are ready for the fight.

See you there.

-Manu

Things are coming together. We’ve been playing improved for some weeks now, and it continues. The way Walcott can fight for possessions, Cesc with his ability to make plays others can’t – I feel that adding these things to a great defense will push us to the top.

Getting an away goal at Villareal was of course very important. Cesc has set me up for 3 goals in 2 games back, so we are playing tight together. English teams do not win there, I have heard this, but this feels like a win. We need to go home and hold them on our pitch, which I know what we can do and I feel this will be done. I am happy with the result, and happy to find the net, but all I am thinking about is finding it again and helping us move on to the semifinals.

To all the fans, thank you for your support when I was out, you helped me to come back strong and I’ll keep fighting for all of us.

-Manu

Hello.

Well, that felt good. Good to be back on the pitch, good to have Cesc back out there too, and good to have him set me up for 2 goals against Man City. We got the 3 points and are in a solid 4th in the premier league right now. This is where we have worked so hard to be, and we are playing very well right now.

And playing well is what we need to keep doing since the Champions League quarterfinals are here. We have been good about keeping our focus from game to game, better with scoring, still tough on defense. This needs to keep going, because Villareal will be ready for us. And this is our best chance for a big trophy this season, something I came to Arsenal to do.

See you there.

-Manu

The unbeaten streak is over, but we are on to the quarterfinals and that is what matters. Going into penalties to settle it, that was close but my teammates did well in such a tight spot. In Roma. After a long match where we did not create much. But again Almunia was up to it.

Moving on to the next round, it is a great feeling. There is much left to play and so we will focus and be ready, but for right now we can enjoy this moment. And be excited for the next.

-Manu

Hello.

So it is a big one for us in Champions League on Wednesday. As you know we will be playing Roma at the Stadio Olimpico – a place we hope to revisit at the end of this tournament, and I know this will inspire us to focus and play to our potential. Even though we take a 1-0 victory into this match with us, I know we must stay aggressive and go for the win.

To be honest, Roma have their backs to the wall, and this is when teams can be the most dangerous. With a win or a tie, we move on to the next round – and the flipside is of course that unless they win, they are out of the tournament. So we know they will come prepared and with passion – but they should expect the same of us. I hope to see a lot of you in the stands there.

-Manu