Our Arsenal fans here in the Transfer Tavern are hoping to gain a little advantage in the London Derby semi-final tonight against Chelsea.

Arsenal dropped out of the top four for the first time under Arsene Wenger’s time in charge last season and with the Frenchman looking like retiring within the next 18 months (hopefully), a piece of silverware other than the FA Cup would be a nice way to go out.

Having been knocked out of the FA Cup at weekend, the Gunners will surely use that to motivate them through to the final in February and use it, very much like Man United did last season to spur on their Europa League charge. In fact, many of our resident Gunners believe it’s a must.

If Wenger is to have a solid second half of the season, our punters believe that building momentum is going to be key, and there’s no better place to start than against their local rivals in the cup.

Our landlord thinks, should Wenger choose these two players, the Gunners’ season will still be very much alive…

Konstantinos Mavropanos

The young Greek international is one of the country’s brightest talents and big things are expected of the centre back. having only recently made his move to the Emirates, Mavropanos will be eager to get going and impress early on.

He’s a defender who doesn’t make many mistakes and thrives in a one-on-one situation, with his strong and physical presence he may be the type of player Wenger has needed all these years.

Chuba Akpom

With Giroud currently out of the first team picture and the possible departures of a few players, Akpom could come in and not only revitalise his own career but impress enough to keep the Gunners flying high in the cup.

Having only played a handful of games this season and bagging himself a couple of goals in the process, The Nigerian will be hungry to start and show Wenger exactly what he’s capable of after impressing against Norwich City in the earlier rounds.