Mike: Two Januarys on the trot my surprise birthday treat (8th Jan), from wife, weekends away in Blackpool and Portsmouth with tickets to Birmingham games....both called off on the Saturday morning.

Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsenal Wenger on Sky Sports: "We lost the final and it takes desire to respond and do well because we’re proud and we want to win games. There were questions after the final but they’re a good side and when you play in a final you have to accept you can lose.

"We want to attack and we played a bit more cautious at Wembley. We'll see if we can be more comfortable with a back four.

"Jack Wilshere is not available. He's just played two games in four days. He gave a lot in those two games and he was a bit short in training but he should be back on Sunday."

Bondie: Traveled from Great Yarmouth to Manchester to watch City v Sunderland midweek game. Called off 1 hour before kick off. 410 mile round trip.

That's cleared that one up then.

Arsene Wenger has just said that Wilshere should be fit for Sunday's trip to Brighton.

My weather battle?

In trying to get to Australia to watch the 2010-11 Ashes, I was left at Heathrow for two days because of the snow.

Got there eventually, saw England win down under for the first time in a generation.

On battling the weather, I want to know the victories and the defeats.

Have you played Sunday football in a typhoon? Have you had to undertake a crazy journey because the weather has caused eight trains to be cancelled? Did you turn up in freezing conditions when no one else did? Has the heat ever stopped play?

John Murray's journey brings us back to the weather and my question to you this evening.

When have you ever battled the weather in the name of sport?

If you feel moved to get involved (and, if you're stuck in the snow somewhere, why wouldn't you), you can text 81111 or tweet using the hashtag #bbcfootball., external

BBC Radio 5 live

Now, alongside this entertaining and informative live text, you can listen on BBC Radio 5 live on your wireless or at the top of this page.

The team have gone to great lengths to be in north London tonight. At one point, BBC football correspondent John Murray was stuck in Norwich...

The full teams, then...

As discussed, there's no Wilshere for Arsenal and Petr Cech is back between the posts.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was cup tied on Sunday, also returns, while there are recalls for Danny Welbeck and Sead Kolasinac. Nacho Monreal is injured.

Arsenal XI: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Welbeck, Aubameyang.

Subs: Ospina, Holding, Iwobi, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Nketiah.

Manchester City have made just the two changes, one of which is enforced. Bernardo Silva comes in for the injured Fernandinho while Ederson returns in goal in place of Claudio Bravo.

Vincent Kompany plays his second game in four days.

Manchester City XI: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Kompany, Danilo, Bernardo, Gudogan, De Bruyne, Silva, Sane, Aguero.

Subs: Bravo, Stones, Laporte, Jesus, Zinchenko, Toure, Foden

There's also some suggestion that Jack Wilshere has an ankle injury. Be still my suspicious mind...

If we're making comparisons to the sides that took the field in the League Cup final, Arsenal have made four changes and City two.

When I say City are at full strength, I mean relative to the injuries we already knew they had. Raheem Sterling is still out.

Both first-choice keepers, Petr Cech and Ederson, return.

Now then. I've heard no word that Jack Wilshere is injured. In the week that his Arsenal future has been on the agenda, he is not even in the Gunners' 17.

Manchester City are pretty much at full strength.

Full line-ups on the way...

Is blue the only colour you're allowed to paint the lines when white isn't suitable?

Whoever did this at Arsenal might have been really pleased with themselves, until it was pointed out it is the same colour as City's shirts...

Image source, Twitter

Full team news will drop very shortly. I'm well aware that is the final fixture of a fantasy football gameweek and the selections tonight could mean the difference between you having to get Tom Carroll off the bench or not.

We also eagerly await what Arsene Wenger has picked out of the cloakroom. When Arsenal are struggling, his coat tends to get bigger. On a night this cold, he could turn up looking like the Michelin man.

But, as Queen told us, the show must go on.

The snow has been cleared (kind of), the Emirates has been readied and we will have a Thursday night heavyweight of Premier League action.

More magic from Pep's champions-elect? More misery for under-fire Wenger?

Or something completely different?

Image source, PA

And it has snowed.

A lot.

Image source, PA

Since then, Arsene Wenger has been a little, erm, tetchy...

Yep, the football gods have a sense of humour and, in a delicious quirk of the fixture list, have sent Manchester City to meet Arsenal only four days after they played them off Wembley in the League Cup final.

Image source, Getty Images