Carling Cup Finals 2007: Chelsea vs Arsenal

The journey started in 1996 when Wenger decided to use the League Cup as a chance to showcase Arsenal's talented youths and give them much needed exposure. Eleven years on, the young Gunners have gone beyond that and will be playing in the Carling Cup Finals against Chelsea, the English champions.

And what started for many of us to just catch a glimspe of Arsenal's future, every single Gooner will be looking to the likes of Denilson, Diaby, Walcott, Clichy, Djourou, Hoyte, Aliadiere, Almunia to beat the West London rivals and give Arsenal FC its first silverware this season.

Can the young lads do it?

Despite initial reports that John Terry will be out for a few weeks, Chelsea's screwed up medical team announced that he made a stunning recovery and will be playing in the finals. Apparently, Robben is also fit to play after picking up a hamstring problem on Wednesday.

So minus Joe Cole, we're facing a full-strength Chelsea outfit.

No wonder all those pundits are pointing to a Chelsea victory. In fact, it could very well be a rout if they get an early goal...

If Wenger's faith in the youngsters could get them past Everton, Liverpool and sp*rs, I'm very sure they'll give Chelsea a fight.

Looking at the sixteen listed on BBC, this would be my first XI:

Almunia
Hoyte, Toure, Djourou, Clichy
Walcott, Diaby, Denilson, Rosicky
Baptista, Aliadiere

Bench: Poom, Senderos, Adebayor, Helb, Fabregas

Chelsea's key players would be the wingers, Robben & Wright-Phillips, and the hideous looking striker, Drogba. The lads must keep them close and tie their cash-rich nuts to a leash.

I'm confident Hoyte and Clichy would recover for the finals. We need them to hold their tricky wingers. Although I say their main threat comes from the flanks, I don't think we should put Flamini or Diaby in the wings to help our fullbacks. I'm sure Rosicky & Walcott are quick enough to quell any dangers.

And pace is the key to beat their defence. With Terry and Cashley just returning from bad injuries, they might not be too quick on the turn. So we need our nippy wingers and striker to run them to the ground. And when they're tired, we can bring Fabregas, Adebayor and Helb to kill them off.

Ok, it ain't going to be that easy...

Whatever it is, it'll be a win-win situation for the young Gunners. If we lose, the kids get a taste of a Cup Final and they learn from the experience. But if we win, well... I don't have to spell it out.

The whole lot of Singapore Gooners will be in full force at the Liz to cheer the young Gunners on. So join us! If you're the shy sort, don't worry. Just shout along with the rest. No one's going to look at you. And if you need some help with the Arsenal songs, here are some of them.

It's going to be a really big night and I'm getting nervous.

Come On You Young Gunners!!!