Arsenal

The club

Years since a trophy
1 (FA Cup, 2005)

The bottom line
The most debt-laden club in the world thanks to a £260m bond to finance the new home. No need to panic yet. If they can fill the 60,000-seat stadium, nearly twice Highbury's capacity, there should be plenty left to bankroll Arsène Wenger's frugal forays into the market.

An optimist speaks
Huge new stadium completely sold out. Thierry Henry's still there. Another Champions League final here we come.

A pessimist speaks
Huge new stadium a complete sell-out. Pascal Cygan's still there. Another last-day duel with Spurs to avoid the Uefa Cup here we come.

Fans chant
"Boring, boring Arsenal" (most effective when already 4-0 up after half an hour).

Arsenal: the movie
Bunch of ammunition workers in Nowheresville SE18 seek fame and fortune in bright lights of 1913 suburban north London. Baying mob in Tottenham hate their guts. Male lead Bertie Mee brings double ecstasy before tragic slide into mind-numbing 1-0 victory addiction. Enter a mysterious Frenchman, who dramatically resolves all their problems, moves them to big house down the road and raises family of world-beating cut-price multinational attacking full-backs.

Remaindered by Christmas
The Arsenal Dressing Room Big Book Of Cockney Banter. Pat Rice - Plus 101 Other Top Gunners Recipes.

If they were a sweet...

Lemon bonbon
A classic French concoction, popular precisely because they are goodgood. But there's a sweet-and-sour mix. On better days they're fizzing and leave you salivating for more, on other days you can be left dwelling on a bitter aftertaste. Critics point to a brittle nature but a European presence definitely on the rise.

The manager: Arsène Wenger

Touchline type
Nylon jacket over thin red tie and crisp shirt. Initially calm but by half-time stalking the technical area.

Fans hate
Nothing. Eternally grateful since transformation from Steve Bould hoofing the ball into the mesosphere to a weekly exhibition of jet-heeled total football.

Will say
"I'm not interested in talking about any other team. Although Man United are falling apart and as for that bloke at Chelsea... "

The players

World Cup report
An impressive 16 representatives. Almost all transferred their club form to global stage: Henry scored goals, won free-kicks and sulked; Theo Walcott didn't play; Manuel Adebayor looked confused.

Line into McClaren?
Theo Walcott (or any other of the English third string). A confirmed fan of cosmetic dentistry, Steve McClaren will approve of Wenger's habit of sending new players to see an orthodontist in Paris to check that their jaws aren't misaligned.

New boy
Tomas Rosicky, a £6.8m ready-made Wenger-style attacking midfielder, was the first to arrive. But it never was going to be a Chelsea-style summer, with the house move and whopping mortgage.

Poll could show three yellows to
Robin van Persie walks a fine line between boyishly enthusiastic tracking back and ankle-biting lunges. Otherwise a distinctly hardman-free squad.

Their Theo
The man himself aside, Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner has been compared to a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic (a compliment). Formed a deadly partnership at junior level with Arturo Lupoli.

Key Wag
Ambitious fringe striker Jérémie Aliadière goes out with ambitious fringe Page 3 girl Leilani Dowding. World Cup Wag ingénue Melanie "Theo" Slade will grace the tabloids.

The tactics

Plan A
High-speed perpetual-motion end-to-end passing move culminates in Henry teeing up a painstakingly realised open goal for non-existent fellow striker. Have occasionally been flustered by more muscular teams, so expect them to visit the gym before heading to Lancashire.

Plan B
Grudgingly give in to necessity to hump it long towards effete reserve African targetman, who proceeeds to perform 16 step-overs, beat three men and shin the ball out of play.

The ground

Getting there
Holloway Road tube (Piccadilly line) is "exit only" on match days. Highbury & Islington (Victoria), Arsenal (Piccadilly) and Drayton Park (BR) are walkable.

Being there
Fortress Emirates? Curse of the Emirates? Pretty Much Like Highbury Only Much Bigger Emirates? Nobody knows, though years of "Highbury Library" jibes will end. Look out for the Legends Package: "Hospitality in the company of a player from Arsenal's glittering past." In other words, a cup of tea with Nigel Winterburn.

Title odds

7-1

The facts

Ground: Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, Islington, London N5 1BU
Switchboard: 020 7704 4000
Capacity: 60,000
Ticket prices: £32-£94
Ticket office: 020 7704 4040
Disabled facilities: 020 7704 4040 (Disability liaison officer)
Club shop: 020 7704 4128
Official website: www.arsenal.com