The fixture is finely balanced with Ramos knowing that, after a strong performance in the first leg, his side let Arsenal off the hook by not adding to their one goal lead before Theo Walcott snatched the luckiest of lucky equalisers. The task is ostensibly simple, beat Arsene Wenger's side for the first time since November 1999 and we are in the Final and on our way to Wembley. But how do we succeed where we've failed 21 times before?
1. Believe.
The main challenge facing every single Tottenham player on that pitch this evening lies in between their ears. 21 matches of frustration, hurt and, ultimately, disappointment is pent up inside each and every man, so much so that a kind of mental block has develops that hampers our every attempt to break the hoodoo. In simple terms, the players don't believe we can win, even when we take the lead. In the first leg of the Semi Final last at White Hart Lane last year, we raced into a two nil lead only to crumble in the face of victory. On the surface it may have seemed like Cesc Fabregas' slick passing did the damage, but in truth our confidence was so paper thin that even the slightest turnaround shattered our belief.
However the tide is turning. Ramos is a born winner and a manager who instils this belief in his side. Over the past couple of games against Arsenal our performances have been characterised by tigerish tackling and spirited attacking, so much so that I believe that Ramos will lead us to a victory over our North London rivals in his time at the club. I know the players are determined, but lets hope this evening they have the confidence and belief to make it happen.
2. Hassle, Harry and Harass.
We must not afford Arsenal the time and space to pick passes. When allowed to play to their style even their younger players can beat any side in the world. What we did in the first leg so impressively, particularly in the first half, was to close down Arsenals players down from the front, making them as uncomfortable as possible and thus forcing defensive errors and creating space for the likes of Berbatov, Lennon, Keane and Malbranque to exploit. If we can do that in the early stages of tonight's game, and grab a quick goal, we can't go far wrong.
3. Don't let up and don't sit back
All the best sides know when to go for the kill and almost all of our past five of six performances against Arsenal have been characterised by two things, 1) strong first half displays where we go in a goal to the good and 2) weaker second half as Arsenal come back to grab a draw or we crumble. Needless to say this evening must be where this trend ends. Simply put, had we pressed and been more adventurous in the second half of the first leg as we did in the first, we would be going into this game with at least a two goal advantage and the tie would have an entirely different complexion. Tonight's game isn't about half measures; victory will only come from 90 minutes (or 120) of thunder, passion and most importantly, attacking football. We cannot sit back and allow Arsenal a foothold in the game. Arsene Wenger has instilled a belief in his team and history as shown them that no matter what the score, as long as they don't panic, they are not out of the game. Tonight that has to change.
4. You can only beat what's put in front of you
The players must ignore jibes regarding the experience of Wenger's team, if anything this should be an incentive to prove our ability. Make no mistake, whatever players the Frenchman fields this evening, they will have the ability to win the game. Equally we must not panic, as we have so often done, in the face of their more established players. Fabregas, Adebayor, Gallas, etc. are all fantastic players but we have some fantastic players as well. I'd have hoped that long gone are the days were I cringed at how we panicked when Thierry Henry got the ball but even though he has departed, his legacy lives on. We must not pay them too much respect, because we cannot win if that is the case.
5. Defend and Attack set-pieces
Arsenal have improved markedly from set pieces this season, we have, in both in attack and defence. At the back we have looked slightly more solid since adopting a zonal approach to marking but Arsenal will still be aware that corners and any free-kick within crossing distance will represent a big chance for them to snatch a goal. With Ledley King back we should be more solid but victory will require full concentration from every single player as we cannot afford to give anything away without a fight. In an attacking sense it would be foolish to dismiss the potential significance of the same situations in the final third of the pitch. We rarely seem to gamble or make runs from set-pieces, and too many of our corners are completely wasted. Good teams - winning teams - score goals from every possible situation, not just free flowing passing football.
So there are five key points that can lead us to victory this evening but it is far from a definitive list. As supporters all we can do is trust to hope, to sit, stand, shout and bite our nails for one evening of torture for the chance to witness something special. Tonight feels like the night, and surely it has to be but though the odds may be slightly in our favour, one has the feeling that we're in for a few more surprises before the night is up.
COYS!!!!!