No we don’t attract controversy. You attach Controversy to our name.

Extremely excited at the prospect of seeing Arshavin and Walcott back in action for us tomorrow, I went to the BBC website to check if Rosicky was also in the squad. Turns out folks, he is. Then I went to read the match preview. What a load of rubbish that was!

The Fulham-Arsenal match is a league match. Quite why the Beeb felt the need to mention the Jack Wilshere incident from a Carling Cup match beats me. As if they didn’t give that enough publicity after the game, they decide to mention once again. Worst thing is I have yet to come across any news source that has explicitly echoed Di Matteo’s views.

His stance if I could compare it, is almost like saying a thief is justified for attacking a house owner because he wasn’t being co-operative. I mean didn’t Thomas foul Wilshere to begin with?

Anyway, enough about that I suppose. It is London Derby No.1 tomorrow for the Arsenal. And the pre-match mood from fans, players and management alike is that of optimism. And why not, so far I’ve yet to witness a game where Arsenal have been bad for the whole 90 minutes of a game.

Last year, it took only the second league match of the season for this to occur. The Fulham defeat was in my top 3 worst moments of the season, with the defeat to Hull at Home and the CL semi-final defeat to Utd double leg a joint inclusion in that list.

We were so bad, I actually told my Utd supporting friend at the time, that if we played like that again we would have serious, serious problems. And I’m always trying to convert him to come to the Gooner side. There was very few positives to take from that game and most of the positives were probably off the pitch related.

I wanted to say Fulham don’t appear as imposing as last year. But they have signed Duff and Greening, two players I respect and rate enormously. Not only did the cottagers beat us at Craven Cottage, they also claimed their most comfortable point at the Emirates. This year we need to get this sorted. Do I sense a sort of sequel to Fulham vs Arsenal: The Gunners shoot back? Perhaps.

The return of Arshavin is a boost, but perhaps the Walcott news for me is bigger. Had Theo been fit for the Eastlands match, I am convinced we wouldn’t have lost. I can’t say the same about Arsh because surprisingly apart from the goal of the month contender at Old Trafford, for me he has largely been lukewarm compared to his last season impact.

With Rosicky also being fit, I wonder how Wenger is going to line up tomorrow. He might well start with Diaby and Eboue and leave Rosicky and Walcott as subs. Although it were up to me, I would start with Rosicky and Eboue and leave Diaby and Theo on the bench. The rest of the team picks itself really.

I loved Eduardo on the wing, he really is an old fashioned winger at times, hugging that touchline. And Van Persie’s profligacy in front of goal doesn’t mean he deserves to be benched. I think whatever result we achieve (and I think it will be a comfortable win) we will definitely give a more whole-hearted performance.