Boro Mania

In what will become a new feature on the site we have had a chat with an Arsenal fan ahead of the impending clash at the Riverside Stadium.

This particular Arsenal fan may be familiar to you regular readers as he has given us his opinion on both Justin Hoyte and Armand Traore in the past. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Jamie Sanderson runs a very popular blog revolving around Arsenal and in particular the young players coming through. You can view it here - Young Guns.

Introduce yourself, how long have you been an Arsenal fan and do you get to many games?

Well, I found football late. As a 10-year-old I really rebelled against it but got bored one day and discovered the joys of football when Arsenal beat Man Utd in the FA Cup. I'm 17 now and totally addicted, making up for lost time!

I'm from "up North" so I don't get to as many games as I want to, but i still go as much as I can, when work permits. The Emirates is such a fantastic stadium, but when you're paying £4.50p for a bottle of water and a hot dog, you realise that it's much easier (and cheaper!) to watch it on TV.

There have been a few murmurs of a minority of Arsenal fans becoming disenchanted with the current lack of silverware, do you feel Arsene Wenger is under any pressure?

It depends really. The majority of the "older" supporters are content with the situation because they remember the days when Arsenal were an average and really quite dull club. Whereas younger fans grew up with the 49 unbeaten squad as role models so losing games was really quite unknown.

It's quite fair to say that there is pressure on Arsene Wenger to deliver trophies, but this is a top four club, so pressure if expected. But to say his job is in danger or anything like is far from the truth. Arsenal is an incredibly well run club and the future looks very very bright. His only challenge now is to turn that potential into success.

What did you make of the reception given to Emanuel Eboue the other night?

It was very harsh. Eboue has been out for 6 weeks with an injury and was only 50:50 to be in the squad. The plan was to give him the final 15-20 minutes to get some game time and work his way back, but Samir Nasri got injured and he was forced on early.

Naturally he didn't last the distance and playing out on the left, he was frankly horrible. Eboue's a character and for stages of last season was quite poor, but the fans made a joke about it, evening singing a sarcastic song "You've Only Come To See Eboue".

So we were all shocked when a minority turned on him, because he's a really top lad. I think a few idiots starting booing, and it became accepted and younger more influential fans picked up on it. It was really something out of nothing.

What are you ambitons for Arsenal this year? Do you still think you can challenge for the title?

At the start of the season we were of course aiming for the title, yet a poor start has hampered that. It's been testament to the quality of the League this year that we've lost 5 games and are still very much in the title race. Arsenal were 5 points clear at the top after Christmas last season, so we know how quickly things can change.

The Champions League is where we've looked really classy though, and our prospects look very good in that competition. To cut a long story short, a trophy of any distinction is the aim.

As you are a blogger on the reserve and youth teams at Arsenal give us a few names for players to look out for in the next few years.

There is many really. The obvious name is Jack Wilshere. In 12 months he's gone from captain of Arsenal's Under 16's to skinning Michel Salgardo in front of a packed Emirates. The boy is superb. I would compare him to Lionel Messi of Barcelona in terms of style, but he's got a rugged English element.

There is a boy called Benik Afobe who partners Boro's Jake Fowler for England's Under 16's, he's a really exciting prospect. Put either of their names into YouTube and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. In truth we've never been so rich in talent, and nearly all of the players can be considered big names to watch out for.

What sort of reception will Jeremie Aliadiere and Justin Hoyte receive from the Arsenal fans?

There is mixed feelings about Aliadiere. When it was obvious he was going to leave we were all really sad because he was a Gunner for 9 years and although he never quite reached his promise, when you're at a club for 9 years you become respected.

We knew about his cocky attitude as well, and we were all stunned when he abused Wenger at his Boro' presentation. Ever since that and the goal he scored against us at the Emirates he's become the panto villain.

As for Hoyte, we've got absolutely no problems with him. He will get a huge round of applause from our fans, because he's a true Gooner and we're all keen for him to succeed.

Boro have been on the wrong end of a few hidings from Arsenal in recent years but last year saw Boro put on a fantastic display to win the game 2-1 and I believe Wenger is yet to beat Southgate in the Premier League, how do you see this game going?

It's gonna be a tough one. I think right now is probably the best and worst times to be playing Middlesbrough. On the wrong end against Hull it showed weaknesses that we can certainly exploit, but on the other hand you're always wary of the "wounded animal effect".

I think it's gonna be a close one, but with form very much mixed from both sides, a narrow Arsenal win or even a draw is the safe bet.