Arsenal 1-0 Reading

GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Reading (Adebayor 29) Having been under the cosh since I wrote that neither side seemed to bothered about who won this game, the Reading barricades are finally broken. Toure and Walcott combine wonderfully down the right flank, with the former eventually lofting a shoulder-high pass towards Emmanual Adeabyor just inside the Reading penalty area. Adebayor controls the ball perfectly, leaves Andre Bikey for dead and has the simple task of poking the ball past the horribly exposed Marcus Hahnemann. One-nil, to the Arsenal.

26 min: But not for long. Arsenal turn the screw again, this time with Theo Walcott getting in behind the Reading defence and pulling the ball back from the byline, only to see Ibrahima Sonko hack the ball out for a corner, which is only cleared as far as Aleksandr Hleb. He begins running towards the Reading penalty area, only to be uncermoniously tripped by Dave Kitson, who gets booked for his troubles. Song Billong sends the ensuing free-kick inches wide of the right-hand upright.

24 min: The ball's fizzed in, Hanemann flaps. Another corner for Arsenal, which Reading clear.

23 min: Arsenal up the tempo and Cesc Febregas picks out Emmanuel Adebayor in the center with a wonderful 35-yard pass from the right channel. Adebayor's first touch isn't all it might be and a Reading defender intervenes. Arsenal corner.

21 min: It's all a bit flat here, to be honest - and I don't just mean in the office. The game is ebbing and flowing nicely, but neither Arsenal nor Reading, or even the crowd, seem to bothered about the result at the moment. Arsenal win a corner, Reading clear.

18 min: A long ball out of defence from Arsenal is dealt with in comical fashion by Ivar Ingimarsson who mis-cues horribly, almost allowing Theo Walcott to nip in and embarrass him. Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann sprints off his line to grab the looping "clearance" and spare the Icelandic sweeper's blushes.

15 min: "If Reading are playing a 3-5-3, does that mean they have 11 outfield players then?" asks Edward Taylor. "Surely that's not fair." It may not be fair, Edward, but they need all the help they can get and will probably still lose. Of course there's always the possibility that I got it wrong and they're actually playing a 3-5-2. But that's unlikely.

13 min: A half-chance goes a begging for Reading when the ball is sent fizzing into the Arsenal penalty area and looks to need only the faintest of touches from Dave Kitson to be diverted past Jens Lehmann. No touch is forthcoming.

11 min: Corner for Arsenal, which is taken short and then crossed into the Reading penalty area, where Emmanual Adebayor is waiting completely unmarked. The Togolese rises like a salmon and heads it ... high and wide. Shocking defending and an even worse header.

9 min: Cesc Fabregas bursts between Murty and Sonko to latch on to a glorious pass down the left channel from Hleb. He beats both defenders for pace, but scuffs a lame effort straight at Marcus Hahnemann in the Reading goal.

7 min: Robin van Persie sends the first shot in anger screaming high and wide over the crossbar from the edge of the Reading penalty area. It was a shot on the fly from a free-kick or short corner pulled back to him from the byline.

5 min: Nothing noteworthy to report so far, so now seems as good a time as any to publish an email from Gary Naylor. "Does your picture of Little Cesc grabbing the badge and raising a single digit indicate that he intends to stay at Arsenal for one more season?" he asks. "I trust he'll be in his usual seat at Camp Nou come Wednesday for Barcelona vs Manchester United."

1 min: Arsenal get proceedings underway. Reading appear to be lining up in a 3-5-3 formation, with Ibrahimo Sonko, Ivar Ingimarsson and Andre Bikey playing as a back three, supported by Graham Murty and Liam Rosenior playing wide on the right and left respectively. Arsenal are playing a more bog standard 4-4-2, with Aleksandr Hleb and Theo Walcott patrolling the left and right touch lines respectively.

Pre-match niceties

The teams emerge from the tunnel, with both lining up in their usual attire. Steve Coppell has orchestrated a Great Purge of Stalinist proportions on the Reading squad that got beaten by Fulham last weekend, with Nicky Shorey and Stephen Hunt being the most high profile casualties. Funnily enough, there's not an Irishman to be seen in their starting XI today, with Kevin Doyle and Shane Long also conspicuous by their absence.

The big question today concerns the version of Arsenal that turns up today - will it be a broken-spirited rabble who've downed tools for the season now that there's nothing left for them to play for, or will they turn on the style and put on a show now that there's no pressure on them to get a result? Time will tell.

Team news

having been grumbling about the lack of opportunities he's been getting, Theo Walcott is handed a chance to impress in the Arsenal starting line-up and comes in ahead of Emmanuel Eboue down the right. Meanwhile, between the sticks, Jens Lehmann retains his place in goal as Manuel Almunia is again sidelined with the wrist problem which saw him miss the defeat at Manchester United last week - a result that ended the Gunners title hopes.

Reading, still reeling from their reverse at the hands of Fulham last weekend, are three points above the drop zone going in to today's round of matches. Captain Graeme Murty returns after recovering from a knee problem - he's one of six changes made by Steve Coppell following last week's dismal .

The teams

Arsenal: Lehmann, Toure, Gallas, Song Billong, Clichy, Walcott, Fabregas, Silva, Hleb, Van Persie, Adebayor.Subs: Mannone, Senderos, Denilson, Bendtner, Eboue.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Rosenior, Kebe, Cisse, Harper, Convey, Kitson.Subs: Federici, Doyle, Fae, Matejovsky, Duberry.

Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)

Kick off is at 12.45pm. Barry will be here around 12.30pm, if not sooner. While you're waiting, why not read this article about Arsene Wenger laying down the law to Mathieu Flamini? Alternatively, you could log on to our sport blog and squabble childishly with like-minded individuals.