Arsenal v. M'boro, Jan 10

I'm a Arsenal supporter living in Austin, TX. I was wondering if there are any suggestions as to how I can secure 2 tickets to the Middlesbrough match on January 10.

I understand that I could try to get tickets through Arsenal.com 1 month in advance, but there's by no means a guarantee of tickets. Also, it seems that all of those tickets are booked through ticketmaster.co.uk, and they do not offer to ship tickets overseas.

Also, I hear I can mail a blank check (sounds a bit frightening), or fax credit card info to the box office, yet I cannot find out if the tickets would be mailed to the states, or if I could pick them up at the box office at Highbury the day of the game. I'd rather not have them mailed, in case that they wouldn't arrive before Christmas (a heavy mail period both here and in Europe), and I'd be leaving from Dallas right afterwards, and might not be able to wait for the tickets to arrive in Austin.

And I've been looking at buying tickets from ticket brokers, both in the States and in the UK, and those tickets are pretty damn pricey. I hear that one can buy tickets from scalpers or "touts" outside of the stadium on the match day, but I'd rather buy them before I leave.

I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but I've never been to a (real) football match, and I can't afford (financially or emotionally) to *#*#*#*# this one up. Any comments/suggestions would be oh so ever helpful.

Thanks,

Derek