Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Nick Simmonett 
Date:Tuesday December 19 2006
Time: 12:43PM
UK time is: 23:42:22
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Liverpool vs. Arsenal
Anfield
19th December 2006
19:45
On Sky
Liverpool V Arsenal
Arsene Wenger will field another youthful side on Tuesday as he takes another crop of young guns to Merseyside to take on Liverpool in the Carling Cup quarter final.
Wenger has long been accused of not taking the competition seriously by fielding a team full of teenagers, a charge he has often denied. Both managers have stated their intention to field strong sides.
Arsenal will be wary of Liverpool, who will be looking for revenge after being outplayed, outclassed and very well beaten at Ashburton Grove in the Premership. Rafa Benitez will be keen to keep the Kop sweet.
Ao far in the competition Arsenal have beaten West Brom (2-0) away and Everton (1-0) away while Liverpool have seen off Reading and Birmingham in their previous ties.
Vital Quotes:
Defender Kolo Toure on why he wants to win the competition: 'We are looking forward to it. We have never won it (since 1993) and it would be good to win this trophy as it is part of a season in which we need to win something and we are looking forward to the Carling Cup.'
'It is going to be a tight game,' he added. 'We beat them in our stadium, but they will try to beat us in their stadium and we see it as a big challenge.
'We want to win to go to the next stage as it is an important cup for us.'
Liverpool Team News:
Liverpool will field a strong side with the likes of Peter Crouch, Luis Garcia and Dan Agger all expected to start.
Player to watch: Luis Garcia
The thumb-sucking Spaniard always seems to raise his game for the big teams, he has a wicked shot on him and he likes to get into the box.
Arsenal Team News:
The game could see an emotional return to action for Lauren. The right back made his comeback in a behind-closed-doors friendly last friday in which he completed 55 minutes.
Traore, Randall and Denilson should all feature along with the boy who has been dubbed 'Cesc mark II' for his exceptional passing abilities.
Rosicky, Baptista and Toure also travel.
Player to watch: Rosicky
The Cezch Republic captain returns from injury and he coud prove to be the difference.
Match Facts & Stats
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Your Comments
cant wait, will be a feast for me too see all these youth players especially denilson anf fran, ado i wanna see how mozart is doing.
hazzagooner
Really looking foward to tonight's match. Always great to see into the future and we're rarely disappointed with Wenger's unrivalled eye for talent. The Carling Cup - although not the most prestigious cup - is fast becoming my favourite to watch (Champs league knock-outs take the top prize) purely because of the young talent we continually field.
Hopefully lot's of goals! Liverpool have a knack for making cup games exciting (FA cup and Champs League final, obviously, spring to mind) and I hope we get the same here.
Parano!d
Should be a good game
SeasideEssexXile
liverpool are cowards,putting out their first team squad against our returning injured,reserves and kids,they must be so scared of losing,or so desperate to win,i hope we can give them a footballing lesson,the bunch of hoofers
fran merida
Cowards for putting out a team people spend their hard earned money to go and see? It is more likely to be Arsenal for short changing fans who are hoping to come and see stars play. Joke of a comment from Fran Merida - shame on Benetiz and Liverpool for wanting to win a game and reward their fans .... prat!!
Sir_Harry
everyone knows this is not a very important game for the Arsenal,except to blood new boys,and bring on recovered players,it goes to show that we have a strong squad,and it looks like liverpool are desperate to win this game and are scared of our 16 and 17 year olds,i never feel short changed paying money to see our future,the only prat is you coming onto our website and commenting on things that have nothing to do with you,why dont you crawl back under your stone,you slimy c unt
fran merida
Calling another manager and teams cowards because they are interested in going for a trophy is the act of a prat especially when one of your senior players seems to disagree ... naming yourself after one of them makes you sound like you might be more interested in some bum fun with one of your lovely kids that offering any serious comment. Want to slag of other teams and people will come on to your page to respond. Idiot
Sir_Harry
Have you broken up from school little boy? You seem mightly impressed that you can break the swearing rule on Vitalfootball which should lead you to be banned from every team site and page. You have still not explained how the players including Toure want to win this worthless trophy and exactly why Liverpool deserve the description 'cowards' because they want to win a trophy which carries with in European qualification. I find most Gooner fans such as Iceman10, Luckys_7, Rocky7 and Puregold amongst others to be intelligent fans able to engage in intelligent conversation and banter, so it was somewhat surprising to hear the pathetic remark "Liverpool are cowards, putting out their first team squad". Maybe you expect Benitez to confer with Wenger before deciding on his first XI? - it is really the dumbest, stupidest comment made on Vitalfootball in the last 3months. Oh and '61Neveragain' would have been a far funnier name than calling yourself after a little Spanish boy - in fact I imagine someone might start using it. See, you don't need to be stupid all of the time.
Sir_Harry
like i said before,no-one cares what you have to say,your just a sad and pathetic spud,calling them cowards indicates that they are scared of a bunch of kids,and they know that if they were to put out their accademy and reserves against ours we would beat them,i repeat,i posted the same comment on the liverpool site and said it to my liverpool friend,your the only person who disagreed,its strange that you would come onto our site and write comments about it,dont you have a life then?do you love liverpool or arsenal,and why was my comment removed?its ok for you to be homophobic,but to suggest that you play withyourself is not allowed,im not looking for your approval,i dont want you to be my peer,or suck up to me like your trying to do with all the other gooners,your just a little man who supports a small club with a big chip on you shoulder,
fran merida
and talk about the most stupid thing written on this page for three months,how about when you said you would beat us at the grove,now that really was the most stupid thing said,the only bum fun that i was having was with your mum,she didnt think i was a little boy then.why dont you go off and worry about southend,and stop interfering with things that dont relate to you,or do you wanna come back and call me some more names
fran merida
i could understand your useless team putting out a first team squad against our academy players in the league cup,because you would be desperate to try and win something,and maybe be in europe for two years running,but it would help cos you play us in the reserves,you put out a first team squad and still play rubbish
fran merida
but it WOULDNT help,
fran merida
Fran Merida, big man named after a little boy - with a little boys mentality - just supported Arsenal since they've been winning eh? You almost sound like you are frothing at the mouth, better make sure you remove that gimp mask before you choke. Nice to hear you being abusive about your fellow gooners ... difference being, they actually all have something intelligent to say rather than make foolish formulaic remarks ... oh and I actually predicted the Grove result as being 2-1 to you lot ... I wouldn't brag too much about 2 disputed penalties and a goal which the flag might have gone up on on any other day. This would be the same lot who have been given a footballing lesson by Bolton, Man City and CSKA Moscow. .... mmm
Sir_Harry
COWARD - "a person who shrinks from or avoids danger, pain or difficulty" - I'd love to know how Liverpool selecting their first XI counts as cowardince
Sir_Harry
Sir Harry, I happen to know that FM goes to more Arsenal games than you do Spuds games. Easy to be critical from your armchair pal. Personally, I'm not really interested in what a homphobe qualifies as intelligence. Given your obvious prejudice, I rather doubt you possess any.
Little Dutch
So little Dutch, naming your self after a young Spanish boy is supposed to be normal? Something very dodgy there ... I get Rocky_7, I get Iceman10 but .... and I should remind you that its was YOUR fan who started the abusive comments ............. I think anyone who criticises a team as cowards because they might want to win something rather than reminise about coming second as the act of a prat/idiot. Hell, even your great Toure wants to win .... if someone criticised Arsenal for putting out a full strength side and called you lot cowards I'd happily call them prats/idiots .... Curious how you know how many SPURS games I go to, are you a stalker?
Sir_Harry
'Normal' is another word for boring. Is pretending to be a knight of the realm normal? I don't know, I don't really care. I find it interesting you accuse someone else of crass immaturity when you're prepared to break out the 'he started it' argument. Did you know a prat is a whale's penis? A pretty offensive comment really.
Little Dutch
D'oh ... Tottenham Hotspur where originally Hotspur FC. They were named this because they played on land owned by the Duke of Northumberland. The most famour Duke was Sir Henry Hotspur, scurge of the Scots and the French who appeared in Shakespere's HenryIV where he was known as 'Sir Harry Hotspur' - so I call myself after a famous figure in English History who's family name is essential to what my team is called today. And Little Dutch, the Oxford English Dictionary definition of prat is 'a silly and foolish person.' An older definition dating from the 16th century but no longer in use is that prat is slang for buttocks. Please let me know where you sourced your information from - I cannot find your definition anywhere.
Sir_Harry
I'm well aware of the 'Henriad' connection to your team, that blatantly was not my point. Fran Merida is an Arsenal player, I cannot summise why it is you believe using a pseudonym from a military figure from the 12th or 13th Century (I forget which) is so much more noble than using the name of a current player. Have you been decorated by the queen? I suspect not, so you ARE in all probability masquerading in the same way that everybody else on this blog is. Theorefore you lack the moral legitimacy to criticise someone elses pseudonym on such hypocritical pretenses. As for prat, ask a marine biologist. Do you know what homophobe means?
Little Dutch
I did - never heard of the expression. A whale's penis is actually called in marine biology ... a whale's penis. So using your analogy then things should not be named after historical places/person/figures, why are Arsenal still called Arsenal? I choose to name myself after a historical figure with a connection to my team not a 16 year old Spanish boy yet to make his Premiership debut ... oh and a homophobe is someone who doesn't like homosexuals. I have no problem with homosexuals ... those with paedophile inclinations are those I really despise.
Sir_Harry
Not my point at all Sir Harry and you know it. My point is you criticised somebody elses pseudonym on the basis that it was childish to pretend to be somebody else. Yet you are using a pseudonym based on Harry Hotspur. At what point did I ever say you should not do that? I was saying you are hypocritical to criticise somebody elses log in name for the reasons you gave. If you are not homophobic, may I ask why you used homosexuality in the context of an insult? That would suggest some sort of ambivalence towards the practise. You used homosexuality to insult FM with the clear insinuation that it is derogatory.
Little Dutch
Oh total ambivlance. But I described Fran Merida as a Prat - silly and foolish person - because he called a team selecting their first XI as cowards and I got called a "slimy c unt". Now surely if the person wants to start using derogatory sexual reference towards another poster (of whatever club) who makes the quite reasonable observation that the opposition is entitled to pick whatever team they want, they get a . And I criticised someone's pseudonym as it strikes me as a somewhat weird choice - a 16year old schoolboy who has yet to play for your club?. I respect Rocky7 (Rocastle) and I think it is great to remember one of your great players, as I do with Iceman10 (Bergkamp) - his suggestion that they have picked their team because they are scared of a group of kids, just illustrates that while a great number of Arsenal posters, when resisting the urge for a dig, make intelligent and thoughtful comments, there is the odd one (as there are with my lot) who are just scum.
Sir_Harry
how do you feel about taking 114 mins to beat southend utd,with an offside goal then?your manager didnt put out your first team,and ended up playing dour inept football against a struggling side,i went past your stadium during the game and it was so quiet i thought the game had been called off due to the fog.it was arrogance to think that southend would be a pushover,and you couldve lost it near the end,just goes to show most prem managers are not too desperate to win the tie,but why is benitez?
fran merida
Fran Merida, I called you a prat - a foolish and silly person - for calling Liverpool cowards i.e. something you said. You responded by calling me slimy c unt. You actual believe your response was proportionate?
Sir_Harry
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