Danny Boy

If you don't already, I urge you to listen to the Danny Baker show on Five Live. Obviously 9-11 on a Saturday morning might not be amenable to most people, but the podcast doesn't half light up a grey drizzly February commute. Currently loving the Roman numeral footballers feature (VIDIC!) and of course the ever present 'Sausage Sandwich Game'. A couple of hours of irreverent fun of a vaguely sporting nature, all held together with Danny's infectious enthusiasm for the absurd. Worth checking out.

Hubris...

...would be to overdo last night's result, but a picture paints a thousand words:

However, as Rowan, a Chelsea fan for whom I have the utmost respect, said (on Twitter):

Get back to me in May and we'll talk

Nuff said.

FIFA Fo Fum

With UEFA's recent sudden & random use of the two match ban for Eduardo based on video evidence, as well as the new FIFA decision to stop Chelsea from buying any new players for 18 months, it has clearly become time for some new legislation in football to handicap the top clubs. I have therefore devised some other rules for the 2010-11 season, as follows:

Portsmouth must play wearing one white glove on their left hands.
Fulham can only pass East-West in the first half, then North-South in the second.
Sunderland must play in pink and have My Little Pony boots, shaped like little hooves.
Everton must wear their shirts and shorts back to front.
Aston Villa's coaching staff will only be allowed to communicate to the players in Elvish.
Spurs' players must pass the ball to each other in alphabetical order.
Liverpool must arrive to away matches on monocycles, juggling fiery clubs.
Wigan's goalkeeper must sport a parrot on his shoulder throughout the match.
Burnley can only employ players called Dave.
Hull City's matches must take place on the Humber Bridge and they forfeit the match if the ball gets wet.
Wolves must paint their kneecaps to match their opponents shirts.
Stoke City cannot kick-off if there is an odd number of hot dog sellers outside the stadium.

Any more bright ideas before I pack this lot into a roast swan and mail it to the football authorities? You may notice that Manchester United are missing from this list but Sir Alex would just tell them where to stick their silly rules and carry on regardless :)

It's A Fix(ture)

This is a fascinating insight into the vagaries of the football fixtures calendar.

BBC Sport: Secrets of the fixture computer

Essentially, it's a massive Zebra Puzzle (incorporating the railways, the police, the FSF, bank holidays and horseracing amongst other things) and takes months to complete. For example:

"West Ham are paired with Dagenham and Redbridge. But for reasons of revenue, Southend request they do not play at home on the same day as the Hammers as they believe it impacts upon their attendance."

However:

"Southend are in Essex, as are Colchester, so they cannot play together on the same weekend. Colchester share stewards with Ipswich so those two clubs also request they do not play home games on the same weekend. Transport links dictate Ipswich and Norwich do not play together on the same weekend either. In other words, when West Ham play at home can have an impact on when a club as far away as Norwich (108 miles) play their home fixtures."

As I say, fascinating. Geek out.

Go For The Juggler

OK, so Eduardo's cheeky volley was good, but this lot are incredible:

Pros: The opposition would never get the ball off them.
Cons: They'd spend the entire match in the centre circle.

(via the quite interesting qikipedia)

Out Of The Hat

Following Arsenal's win on penalties in Rome, myself and Jeremy at work had a natter about the possible outcomes of the Champions League Quarter Final & Semi Final draw this coming Friday.

He reckons the English clubs will be thrown together; I think they'll be kept apart (thus maintaining the potential Blatter/Platini hell of an all-English semi-final) but what do you think?

Go on, bung your predictions in the comments (and I'll pretend like there's a prize* for the person who gets nearest or something).

Format: winners of Q1 & Q2 meet in one semi-final; winners of Q3 & Q4 in the other.

Me:

Q1. Arsenal v Porto
Q2. Chelsea v Barcelona
Q3. Manchester Utd v Bayern Munich
Q4. Liverpool v Villareal

Jeremy:

Q1. Manchester Utd v Liverpool
Q2. Arsenal v Chelsea
Q3. Porto v Villareal
Q4. Bayern Munich v Barcelona

Alex:
Q1. Arsenal v Liverpool
Q2. Manchester Utd v Chelsea
Q3. Bayern Munich v Villareal
Q4. Porto v Barcelona

Rowan, sort of:
Q1. Arsenal v Barcelona
Q2. Manchester Utd v Villareal
Q3. Chelsea v Porto
Q4. Liverpool v Bayern Munich

* oh alright then, I'll stretch to a M&S pork pie (winner to collect)

Over By February?

I noticed yesterday that the Guardian website has decided that the Premier League title is such a foregone conclusion, there is even no point in displaying the leaders in the table:

Sadly, I'm inclined to agree :(

Brazitaly

Looks like it was a fantastic friendly between Brazil and Italy at Arsenal's Emirates stadium last night. Missed the game, due to my stubborn insistence not to give Sky another penny of my money, but from the highlights (thanks, 101greatgoals) a free-flowing match full of entertainment and two cracking goals from Elano and Robinho. Proper football, played as it should be: skilful, fearless and exciting.

Right then, Spain v England. What chance a dour 0-0 draw?

Offside Online

Idiots.

Premier League goes to war on internet pirates

They're going to make the same mistake the record industry did. Don't fight it; embrace it. As I commented here back in November, if they offered reasonably priced, live streaming Premiership matches with decent bandwidth, picture quality and commentary, the thousands - nay, millions - of fans who cannot get to a game or see it on TV would pay for it. More money in the FA coffers, not less.

Idiots.

17 Years 21 Days

The new Liam Brady anyone? As previously mentioned, the future is here and its name is Jack.

(animated gif via arseblogger)

Change 19

Today's change was that I started five-a-side football again, after a lengthy hiatus.

I scored twice in an 8-5 win, thanks for asking. And today, I can hardly move :)

How To Watch Football

OK, so I'd rather be actually at the match but this is working pretty well for me today:

uStream.tv + Twitter + Guardian online commentary + BBC live text = one happy Gooner

Of course, we still need to avoid throwing away an early lead for once *sigh*

Snow Goal

Inventive goalkeeper abuse from those cheeky Atletico Madrid fans.



They still lost.

Rafa Laffa

Great quote from the Liverpool boss responding to Demento's whinges about the fixture list:

There is another option - Mr Ferguson organises the fixtures in his office and sends it to us and everyone will know and cannot complain."

Splendid stuff; just hope he hasn't peaked too soon and done a Keegan:



They didn't.

It's Fab

We have a new captain. The man who has been earmarked for the job since the moment he arrived has, due to a bizarre set of circumstances which if they weren't happening to my club would be hilarious, got it:

Fábregas handed armband

Goodplaya puts it best, when comparing him to the previous four Arsenal skippers:

To the best of my knowledge, Cesc does not get sent-off twice a season, did not play for Chelsea, is not mad and does not have a drink problem.

Quite. 

I wish him the very best of luck, starting tonight with eight of his first-team players missing for the visit of Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. Sheesh.

Fifteen Lovejoy

Just heard that utter n*b Tim Lovejoy on 606 complaining about the Arsenal fans starting a Mexican Wave last night:

"...oooh so you're just all concentrating on standing up and sitting down, why aren't you watching the football, thought Arsenal were an attractive side, why aren't you watching them then, it's a disgrace, etc and so on..."

a) Carlos Vela is Mexican.
b) He scored.
c) The Mexican Wave was a tribute to him.
d) Tim Lovejoy is a c*ck.

Nothing further to add.

Oh, I'm sorry, there is -- did Chelsea just get knocked out 5-4 on penalties by Burnley, Tim? Ooooops...

Wilshere Class

This is rapidly turning into a football blog. Sorry about that, but the quality of some/most/all of Arsenal's youngsters last night was breathtaking. 

Arsenal 3 - 0 Wigan

Five English players were in the starting line-up, one of whom was 16-year-old Jack Wilshere who once again impressed. Direct, with poise under pressure, the ability to ride a tackle and a keen eye for a through ball, he provided the eye-of-a-needle pass for Simpson's first goal. As Gunnerblog said,

"Fabio Capello was in the crowd last night, and I doubt it was to watch Titus Bramble."

which made me laugh a lot. 

It was the usual £10/£5 tickets so myself, Paul, Jenny and PJ joined a full-house Emirates (over 59,000 for a mid-week Carling Cup game?!!) and watched as the little scamps took Wigan to pieces, with Ramsey impressing again in midfield, Djourou a rock in defence and Vela scoring another sublime chip:

A word too for Fabianski who produced a close-range double save of the highest order near the end to deny De Ridder and then Zaki a consolation goal. 

So the quarter-final draw is on Saturday. Who's next for the kids - Spurs again?

Samir We Go Again

What a match.

Arsenal 2 -1 Manchester United

Two proper footballing sides playing proper football. You can stuff your long throw routines up your arse; that's what this game is all about. Even Fergie admitted afterwards:

"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say that if you're going to be beaten make sure it is against a team that plays football."

And this is the way to win a match; watch Walcott's run across the edge of the box that drags three players out of position and opens up the gap, Nasri runs into the space, Cesc plays him in, thunderous shot, two-nil:

Of course, the question is still, "What do we do at 0-0 after 85 minutes when the opposition have had nine men behind the ball for the entire game?" but the amount of confidence this win will bring to the dressing room is immense. Love it. Still 6 points off the pace and United have a game in hand, but feels much better to be a Gooner today!

Four Heavens Sake

Last night I arranged to meet Jason at the East Dulwich Tavern to watch the football, something that happens far too infrequently due to our 'busy social schedules' (him launching record labels; me mostly reading The Gruffalo). Anyway at half-time in a thrilling end-to-end North London derby, I turned to him and said:

"You know what, mate, this could end four-all..."

Guess what.

Arsenal 4 - 4 Tottenham Hotspur

I wouldn't mind -- it was top quality entertainment -- but we threw away a two-goal lead in the last minute. Super goal from Jenas to make it 4-3 but why, oh why can't we kill a game off? Some of the most talented young players of a generation and they give possession away in their own half, forget to close the opposition down and allow the smallest player on the pitch to sneak in for a rebound off the post. We went to sleep and paid the price. Wenger must be fuming; I know I am.

*fumes*

Rhapsody In Blue And White Stripes

Another fantastic Danny Baker moment - a version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody with every word replaced by a footballer's name. Why? Just because. Listen:


Update: since I bothered to edit the MP3 down, there is now a YouTube version with video and everything:


All together now "Cousins Sealey Mathers ... Pugh Geeeeee".

Brilliant. People are staring at me in the office, chuckling like a simpleton.

At De End Of Der Day

This guy is hilarious, I really like 'Squeaky' Stevie G and the fact that it's apparently been recorded in Lidl:



Actually, Lidl sounds like it should be a Scouse dialect; perhaps a particularly obscure one from the less-leafy bits of Toxteth.

Eh, what's up with 'im? Calm down, he's just talking that Lidl (and that).

Dream Caused By The Flight Of A Bee Around A Lollipop?

I do love Danny Baker and catching up with his recent 606 podcast, hidden within a discussion about the wearing of an old Sheffield Wednesday shirt abroad, I was utterly astonished to find out that Salvador Dali designed the Chupa Chups logo:

Actually, so was Danny; he still wasn't buying it at the end of the show. Have a listen:


Excellent!

Joke In 'Ere

You couldn't make it up. I do have a small soft spot for Newcastle; whilst at University there, I spent some very happy afternoons in The Strawberry public house, (sadly no longer) right in the shadow of St James's Park. But this is madness:

Joe Kinnear press conference transcript

Well done Joe, way to go mate. Keep the press on your side and you may have had a slim chance. But you've utterly screwed it. If there's anyone that bears a grudge more than policemen and judges, it's journalists.

The Black & White circus continues...

Tiger Tiger

It must be dreadfully boring to support a team that wins all the time

Wednesday : The Joy Of Six (Arsenal 6 - 0 Sheff Utd)

Saturday : Straight To Hull (Arsenal 1 - 2 Hull City)

Hopefully we're getting this out of our system early in the season, but it's still infuriating to say the least. Where was the passion, the drive, the energy shown by our 19-year olds in midweek? Ah yes, they are all still striving to make a name for themselves, presumably paid a reasonable (but not ridiculous) salary whilst hoping to emulate their seniors and play at the highest level. Our first team looked bereft of ideas, possibly assuming Hull were just there to have a nice day out and try the famous balti pies. Well wake up, Gunners, it's no good battling to draws and even victories against the other members of the so-called Top Four, if we throw away any advantage by stumbling to defeat against the likes of Fulham and Hull.

Personally, I think Chelsea are nailed on for the title this year, given the money they have spent and the players they have brought in (imagine Deco alongside Fabregas in our midfield!) but whilst I agree 100% with Wenger's stubborn refusal to get into the big boys money pissing competition and instead try to organically grow the team from seed wherever possible, it still has to generate points on the board at some stage. Buying trophies is no fun, but winning them still is. Come on you Reds, sort it out...

Era We Go Again

Barney Ronay on Arsenal's U-11s:

Is this the new Arsenal era era?

Very funny :)

Tanks On The Lawn

Nicely measured response from Goonerboy post the Abu Dhabi takeover at Man City (and their subsequent backtracking once they realised the true sorry state of the club, post-Frank)

Goonerboy: Enough is Enough
Personally I think it's gone too far to come back, the sport has already lost any connection to its local roots. How long before we have a summer all-star tournament sponsored by global billionaires with teams bidding for the services of international players competing for untold millions in prize money.

Couldn't happen? Look at cricket. The Indian Premier League? Stanford 20/20? Sorry football, you're next.

Threeo*

Hat-trick for young Mr Walcott last night against Croatia (1, 2, 3 via 101 Great Goals)!!

* and that one IS mine!

They Think It's All Over...

...actually it is now:

Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal

A game that sums up our season; rampant for the first third, failing time and time again to take our chances in the second and then losing all semblance of organisation whilst continuing to play the most pure, stunning, visionary, one-t0uch and yet utterly ineffectual football in the third, er, third.

Oh well :(

One particular personal highlight was having my text read out on 606 following the match, of which I am quite proud and stand by every word:

Have we all forgotten that Wenger said this team was "not ready", way back in August? If they finish third, they will have outperformed both expectations and last season. It is maturity that we need, and that will come. No need to panic buy; just build up the squad around the proven talent which is already there.

All true. If you read some of the Gooner blogs, you'd think we'd just been relegated from the Ryman's Premier. Have faith chaps, this is the third young team AW has put together. Rome (or should that be Milan?) wasn't built in a day*...

* unless, depending on how long the rouble cheque took to clear, you're Chelsea**

** and if I am now found with a rolling pin embedded in my skull, look here...

11

Now this is worth building a shed for:

11 - the beautiful game

I Have Nothing To Say...

...that wouldn't be termed 'partisan', 'biased' or' sour-grapes' by many people who have not set foot on the left wing of a snowy pitch on a Sunday morning in February against a fat pub team of middle-aged cloggers from the arse-end of Tadcaster. I have, however, so I shall say what I like :)

Whilst tonight was one of the most entertaining games of football I have witnessed for a long time, the decision of the referee to award a penalty for the alleged 'tug' on Babel was an utter disgrace. I ask anyone who may have stumbled across this corner of the internet to look at the first leg and the Hleb incident on 65 mins (no penalty given) and then examine tonight's Babel incident on 85 mins (penalty given) and explain to me in no uncertain terms what the rubbery fuck was the difference? Eh? Nothing. Oh, apart from the referee. Either it is or it isn't a penalty. Yes or no. Black or white. Pinky or Perky. Cheech or Chong. Randall or Hopkirk (Deceased), etc...

For most of the game it was impossible to split the teams. I was discussing this at length with some Liverpool fans in the pub when the penalty as awarded; even they had the good grace to be embarrassed. The Guardian MBM commentary described it as "not entirely clear-cut". That should be in the dictionary under L (for Liberal). I know I'll almost certainly have calmed down by tomorrow but for now the result has a nasty aftertaste. Admittedly, us taking the lead on 13 minutes forced Benitez into a reluctant attacking formation. Perhaps we would have been better off scoring in the 89th minute. Now, for the purist, an almost certainly dour Liverpool-Chelsea semi-final does not fill the heart with glee. Oh well. Penalties, anyone?

Anyway, I keep reminding myself that Arsene told us in August that this team was "not ready". Having been top of the league and in with a shout of the semi-finals of Europe's 'super-league', all us Gooners begged to differ. Maybe he was right. Bring on 2008-09?And Theo...

7

Ronaldo, schmonaldo:



R.I.P. David 'Rocky' Rocastle 02/05/67 - 31/03/01

Wii Can Haz Football?

Blimey, this looks awesome:



Now who do I know with a Wii who lives, say, 500 yards down the road, Paul?

Watch! The! Football!

There are some moderately important football matches being played this afternoon so I thought this might get us in the mood:



Up the Arsenal...

Must. Keep. Believing.

1-1 with Middlesbrough today
0-0 with Wigan last week
1-1 with Aston Villa the week before
2-2 with Birmingham before that

It's not going well for my team (since the dreadful injury to Eduardo, if you want to look for triggers to the dip in form). Man Utd are now top on goal difference, with a game in hand. If Chelsea win their game in hand by six clear goals (unlikely, unless it's Derby again :) they would move up into second. We now have to go to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge in the league as well as (thanks to the Champions League draw) play Liverpool three times in a week.

It's going to be tough.
But exciting.

Bring it on.

I Knew It!

The first time I post about how well Arsenal are playing in nearly three months and THIS happens!

We were utterly, utterly woeful. That'll teach me. Sorry, Arsene...

Take Five

I haven't been writing about the football much, possibly because I don't want to jinx Arsenal's current good form, or maybe just due to sheer laziness :)

Anyway, last night we beat Blackburn 2-0 at home to go 5 (count them) points clear of Manchester Utd at the top of the league, with the same goal difference, +36. I saw most of the match in the Blythe Hill Tavern* with Paul; it was a slightly nervous affair with us defending our early lead on 4 minutes (go Senderos!) for the rest of the game, Adebayor scoring the second in the last minute. We had chances to kill it off (Hleb in particular had a couple of fine efforts from the edge of the box, one thudding back into play off the post with Friedel well beaten) but they didn't really threaten. Even after a couple of spurned opportunities from Arsenal old-boy David Bentley towards the end of the first half, I always felt that if they did mange to bundle one in, we would be able step up and go on to get 3 or 4. Nobody really performed to their best - I felt Flamini was subdued by his standards this season, and Eduardo drifted in and out off the wing - although with so many of our squad on the treatment table, perhaps the team were told to hold something in reserve.

So, with Cit-eh beating the Scummers at the weekend, we have a cushion at the top. With massive games in the FA Cup (Man Utd) and Champions League (AC Milan) coming up, who knows what Le Prof is thinking about the squad, but it will be nice to have Touré, Eboué and the hugely-improved Alex Song back from their ACN trip, even if they are all crocked, again.

Up the Arsenal!

* fantastically welcoming local Irish pub, if you're passing, by the way...

NO TO GAM£ 39

Bloody silly idea. Tell them here:

FSF: NO TO GAM£ 39 Petition

"I wish to protest at the Premier League's proposal to play a 39th round of foreign fixtures. In proposing to seed these games the Premier League has shown beyond doubt that it is more interested in making money than the integrity of the country's top league competition. The idea shows a total lack of respect for the game's supporters and those of other domestic leagues world-wide and I strongly urge all Premier League Chairmen to reconsider this ludicrous, insulting and greedy decision. NO TO GAM£ 39."

If they are that desperate to play a match overseas, how about the Charity Community Shield? It has no bearing on the outcome of the season, is usually a fairly entertaining match (for the same reason) and as it is between the winners of the Premier League and the FA Cup, will almost certainly be two teams that everyone might like to see.

Bingo. You can thank me later...

UPDATE: if they keep serving up this drivel, we have nothing to worry about; no-one in their right mind overseas will pay to watch it and we can all go back to business as usual...

Eat My Goal

Now I may not be as quick as I used to be but I reckon I can still cut it out on the left wing (OK, maybe against a fat wheezing full-back who works in the bacon factory and smokes too many Rothmans).

But this ... this is amazing:



Tell me if it's video trickery. Actually, don't. Let it be.

Something Afoot

So I managed to mash up my foot playing 5-a-side the other night; just look at the pretty colours:


Luckily, x-ray revealed nothing broken; severely bruised navicular bone (it says here...) and a metric ass-load of 'ouch'. Same leg as last time too *sigh*

10011010 To The Arsenal

This looks a bit interesting; MMORPG for football?

Football Superstars

"What if you could play football online with thousands of other people in 3 to 11-a-side squads, controlling a single player from the footballer's perspective? Play casually in the park with friends at first, then more seriously within a well-drilled team on well-tended turf. Eventually, hard work and persistence may lead to you turning professional and earn you money with which you could buy the best that life can offer. Lead the life of a football superstar in a utopian world. Your first international qualifier beckons..."

Don't think it's due out until Q3 08 but could be amazing; need never leave the house again...

More background here:

Game on for virtual football world

Blimey...

Look In The Mirror?

Hang on, we appear to have been relegated!

(click for bigger)

Good win though, Wigan understandably came for a draw and we had to dig deep (especially in the face of some, er, 'borderline' tackling from Lucky Emile, amongst others) but Willy G showed why he's captain with a fine headed goal and Rosicky marked his return from a long-ish injury with a nice finish to a swift counterattack as Wigan had to press forward in search of an equaliser with only minutes left.

Oh, and did I mention this? Arsenal old-boy Grumpy Nic doing us a favour at last :)

England 2 - 3 Croatia

I think this sums up England's performance, not just tonight but throughout this (non-)qualifying campaign:

England 2 - 3 Croatia

Still, at least we get rid of Quiff Boy ... what's that?
He hasn't resigned yet?
You're joking, right?

No?????

Demento (Slight Return)

Rattled, Fergie old fruit?

Man Utd probing Arsenal 'abuse'

"Manchester United are compiling a security dossier after claims that their manager Sir Alex Ferguson was verbally abused by Arsenal fans."

You. Don't. Say.

Sheesh :)

Grapes, Anyone?

Ah, it's nice to see we have them this rattled so early in the season.

Hargreaves mocks Arsenal 'beauty'

"Both of our goals were from really beautiful pieces of play ... their goals were a bit more scrappy."

So Rooney scuffs his shot, which rebounds off his knee onto Gallas's elbow and trickles in at the near post past a wrong-footed Almunia. Er, yes, beautiful. I will happily admit that their second was a lovely flowing move through Saha and Evra but so was our first and Cesc's cool-headed finish showed real class.

Sorry, Owen, wrong again.

Ferguson criticises referee Webb

"On our bench, we were getting terrible abuse from people two or three feet away from us. There is a lack of security. It is absolutely disgraceful the abuse you and your staff take. All sorts of things are being shouted and screamed at you and there is an absolute danger here."

Now I am very glad he has brought this to the attention of the watching media. Next time 65,000 people at Old Trafford start chanting 'disgraceful abuse' at Arsene Wenger, I shall watch with pride as Sir Alex halts the game, marches to the centre circle and turns to the fans with arms spread wide, shouting "Stop."

No, really, I'm looking forward to it.

And three final words: "Game. In. Hand."

Seven Up

It wouldn't be right to let the week pass without comment on Arsenal's 7-0 demolition of Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday. Free-flowing attacking football of the highest order at its absolute finest. The Czech champions didn't know what had hit them; they even went and apologised to their army of travelling fans at the end of the game. Two for Fabregas, two for Walcott and my man-of-the-match Hleb involved in absolutely everything.

I think my favourite was the 6th goal; from a Slavia corner at one end to a bulging net at the other in just over fourteen seconds, involving six different players and ending with an assured finish from Cesc who had run the length of the pitch to get on the end of it. Awesome.

Yes, I know style <> trophies and we haven't won anything yet. But let's enjoy the journey and keep the faith. Remember, "Arsene knows".

First Ade

Emmanuel Adebayor has auctioned his hat-trick shirt, the one he wore in the 5-0 win against Derby, for £50,000 in an auction to raise money for leukaemia research. He really is a jolly nice chap (and he can keep scoring beauties like the one against Spurs all season long, if you don't mind, please).

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Frank Lampard has donated his shirt from last Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Manchester Utd to Shelter. A spokesman said they were "very grateful and hoped to be able to house up to fifty homeless people inside it in the very near future".

*flees*

In For A Penny

...in for a rouble. Separated at birth?

"I want to be in a position that will allow me a blocking stake and will then wait for it to go up in value."

After statements like that, I think it's a valid comparison; where's Dangermouse when you need him?

(On the back of a londonist post which alleged a similarity between Greenback and Avram Grant but I reckon mine is better...)

Hands Off Our Club

Oi! Where's my lawyers letter, fatty?

Some You Win...

What a peculiar week.

My man Stuart Broad gets clobbered for six sixes in one over in the Twenty20 World Cup, England go out & Freddie is injured (again).

Then Arsenal crush Sevilla 3-0 with an outstanding display of Cruyff-esque attacking football (Thierry who?)

But to cap it all, The Special One only goes and resigns from Chelski and Spurs put SIX past a team who sound like a disease. Even Darren Bent managed to score; ergo, they must have been sh**.

You really couldn't make it up :)

Top Posting

Kick In The Spuds

I am flabbergasted. It would appear that tomorrow's North Laaahndan derby between the globally-admired demi-gods of free-flowing beautiful elegant creative one-touch football and Spurs is NOT ON THE TELLY!!!!

It's a travesty.

El Scousers wander down to the South Coast to hoof the pigskin around a corrugated iron shed in Portsmouth, and that's on.

Chelski One-Nil trek North to have their shins brutally examined by Blackeye Rovers, and that's on.

But where is our steeped-in-tradition local encounter at Three Point Lane? Nowhere, that's where. And they wonder why pubs arrange dodgy satellite feeds from Norway and savvy internet punters stream things from China. What is the point of have three lunchtime games (at 12.00, 12.45 and 1.30 respectively) if you are not going to show them? They may as well have been at 3.00 in the good old fashioned way.

Sky & Setanta - what a complete set of swag-bellied harpies.

Still, more listeners for Lofty on BBC Radio London I suppose...

Arseki? No Thanks

Obviously the sale of shares by David Dein to a not very nice Russian is a matter for concern. As Henry Winter says:

The battle for control of Ashburton Grove is officially under way. All eyes are now on Danny Fiszman, Arsenal's majority shareholder, to see how he reacts to Dein camping on his lawn and firing 50-rouble notes at him.

I'm with Arseblogger. Yes, I know it's not the 1950s; yes, we have a stadium sponsored by an airline; yes, we have to compete with the other clubs bankrolled by fat cigar-smoking fraudsters. But it will pain me to see all our tradition go to the highest bidder when in Arsene Wenger we have a manager who would rather use his considerable intelligence to draw together seemingly disparate elements into a team that can compete on the pitch, rather than be a puppet in a global money pissing contest .

(And if Dein can't get control of Arsenal, do you know what he wants to do? He wants to be Head of the FA....)

UPDATE: Very good precis on Gunnerblog

RIP Puerta

Sad news today - Antonio Puerta, who I wrote about as a potential summer signing for Arsenal, has died after suffering a heart attack playing for Sevilla against Getafe on Saturday night. Apparently, he had an incurable, hereditary heart problem (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy) and was only 22 years old.

We do come to see our football idols as superhuman and this just serves to bring it back into perspective somewhat. Hopefully some of the bitching and mind-games might ease this weekend as people remember a talent prematurely cut short:

Paint It Black(burn)

Can Blackeye Rovers (as The Fiver famously tagged them) continue to kick lumps out of other teams and pretend that it is Premier League football? The display at Ewood Park was disgraceful - yes, it's a man's game, blah blah blah, but if I remember correctly the point is to pass the ball from player to player and try to create a scoring opportunity; not to see how brutal a challenge you can get away with, before the referee remembers that there are assessors in the stands and brings out the yellow cards. And they only had ONE player sent off (their captain, if that is any indication of their utter shamefulness). It's a disgrace and this picture sums it up:


One of these players is a skilful top-level international midfielder attempting to reach the ball* and the others play for Blackburn Rovers. As Cesc asked of Mark Hughes last season:

Didn't you play for Barcelona? Because that's not Barcelona football.

Yes, I know we only managed a 1-1 draw because Crazy Jens made his second successive bizarre error (three and you're out?) but I imagine we might have scored more goals had we realised it was actually hurling/Aussie rules/WWF.

Tsk.

UPDATE: Goodplaya agrees with me

* for those of you wearing blue/white, that's the round thing that the other team are attempting to pass around, but don't worry yourself with technicalities; ankles and knees look awfully similar when your hair flaps in your eyes...

Coffeeside, Ref!

This would look good in my (as yet still imaginary) shed:

Football Stadium Coffee Table

"Manufactured from Solid Oak with a Stainless Steel frame and a glass top to protect the mirrored football pitch underneath, this table is superbly built and would make a perfect addition to any living room or bar."

Or shed...

Stay Out Of The Sun

Great mirth around some of the Arsenal blogs today as it turns out The Sun exclusive on Boca Juniors' highly-rated striker Rodrigo Palacio moving to Arsenal was entirely made up to show how easy it would be to wind up the papers. That said, he was genuinely going to move to Barcelona this summer for £15m before they went and signed Thierry - wouldn't the irony be delicious if Arsene Wenger subsequently tempted him over to fill TH14's shirt...

Pass-berry Beret

Arsenal appear to have signed The Artist Formerly Known As Prince:

Actually, he's a Croatian-Brazilian by the name of Eduardo da Silva who was the record goalscorer for Dinamo Zagreb last season with 34 goals.

As I said, "Trust Arsene".

Moving

He's gone:

Henry confirms Barcelona transfer

And we're in:

Lightly confirms Blythe Hill transfer

What a day!

I May As Well Quit

You may have noticed that I am a fan of the 'pun' post title.
But this one made me laugh out loud. You win, rotorgoat:

Follow This Link

A (Fairly) Recent Conversation On IRC

[14:18] (fourstar) so i went to Lillywhites yesterday and i was truly saddened
[14:18] (fourstar) it's just a f*cking 'Sports World' in a wonderfully famous & historic London building
[14:18] (greatbiglizard) tbh, it's been pretty ropey the last couple of years
[14:19] (fourstar) yeah, i didn't know - it is clearly the fifth circle of hell, staffed by incontinent meandering baboons, stocking only ill-fitting highly-flammable nylon sportswear, available in size (a) big-boned b*stard offspring of Giant Haystacks or (b) amoeba
[14:20] (fourstar) and now the aforementioned baboons have walkie-talkies
[14:21] (fourstar) so they spend all their time shouting random shoe sizes at the stockroom, the occupants of which are plainly out of their minds on ridiculously strong skunk (or busy contemplating the physical influence of supercoiling DNA-modifying enzymes and calculating the chemical energy of nucleoside triphosphates required to unwind the DNA double helix into single strands)
[14:21] (fourstar) but i reckon the former...
[14:22] (fourstar) anyway, they only ever have anything in a size 6 or in pink/yellow stripes
[14:24] (fourstar) w*nkers

Can I Kick It? No.

This is a very beautifully designed football by the acclaimed Japanese Poku artist, Takashi Murakami. However at $400 a pop, I think you'd have to team it with cashmere jumpers for goalposts and a platinum whistle to do it justice. And then stand around dissecting its relevance to Otaku culture in the context of disenfranchised Tokyo youth and their obsession with the unattainable goal of perfection. But whatever you do, don't get it muddy :)

[via Boing Boing]

Woof Woof

So it's splashed all over the papers that José Mourinho has been cautioned by the authorities for trying to get rid of a dog. Well I'm no Chelsea apologist, but even I think that's a bit harsh - Michael Ballack has had at least a few decent games this season...

Fourth Again

I was hopeful, but it was not to be. Arsenal couldn't quite do enough to nick third place from the (Red) Scousers, who were even helpfully losing 2-1 at home to Charlton until a last minute penalty. A (dire, by all accounts) 0-0 draw at Portsmouth means that for the second year in a row we finish in fourth and will have to play [insert random Eastern European side here] to get into the group stage of the Champions League proper. Oh well.

My predictions for the summer are pretty much as they were before with the most handsome man in the world MacGyver Franck Ribery coming in (fingers crossed) and I hear we've just bought a Polish keeper with New Rave hair. We need Henry and van Persie back to full fitness, Baptista can go back to Madrid (and if Reyes won't come to London we can pack him straight back off to Sevilla for £12m or swap him for their up-and-coming winger whose name eludes me at the moment - oh yes, Puerta) and although some of the blogs have been urging Arsene to ditch Hleb, I reckon Freddie will move on and we'll need him and those other midfield options on the bench. If we can keep Clichy and Eboué fit, Gallas can partner Touré in the middle. Sorted.

Right, then, cricket...

Do Not Pass Go(dalming)

The makers of Monopoly, Hasbro, are bringing out a Here & Now UK Edition. You can vote for which locations are included and the leaderboard currently shows St Albans & Sheffield taking the Mayfair & Park Lane positions with Cambridge third (Bond Street). York is just sneaking into the list (Whitechapel) ahead of St Andrews (Old Kent Road).

Monopoly: Vote For Your City

All jolly good fun but I will not be buying one, whatever the final outcome, as I have my fantastic Arsenal Monopoly set (although they missed a trick by not putting Tony Adams on the Go To Jail square :)

Keep Off The Grass/Clay/Grass/Clay/Grass/Clay (etc)

So the two top world tennis players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are playing an exhibition match on a half-clay, half-grass court in Spain*.

Interesting. I wonder if the Premiership might like to look into this idea. Arsenal could play Bolton on a pitch that is half perfectly-manicured bowling green, half sloping Sunday-league war-zone covered in molehills and dog turds with only one net and assorted WAGs lighting up the regulation B&H for half-time :)

* It doesn't say if they will be swapping ends within each set in the usual way; I am assuming not but feel free to prove me wrong?

Hard Toffee

It would appear that Arsene Wenger doesn't read my blog.

Arse Out - Thursday, 8 March 2007

"Notice a pattern? We are all too often outplaying the opposition for huge swathes of the match, without actually putting the ball in the net, then getting hit on the break with ~5 minutes to go and not having enough time to respond."

Everton 1-0 Arsenal - Sunday, 18 March 2007

"Andrew Johnson's stoppage-time goal maintained Everton's European push. Johnson had worked hard throughout the game without really having a chance to speak of before he crashed a shot past Jens Lehmann following a corner [in the 91st minute]."

@#%$£$%$£$rgh!!!

Still, at least Liverpool drew with Villa so we are still in 3rd place (with a game in hand). Actually, I've just noticed that Everton have moved above Spurs in the race for UEFA Cup places, so I suppose it's not all bad :)

Sunday Bl**dy Sunday

So this afternoon we have Everton v Arsenal, England v Canada and the Australian Grand Prix. I'm going to need another telly...

Come on the Gooners/Three Lions/Red Bull Racing*

* delete as applicable

Arse Out

What have the following got in common?

• Drogba (84)
• McCarthy (87)
• Alex (83)

Yes, that's right. They are the scorers and times of the goals that have in the last 11 days halted any chance of silverware in all three Cup competitions (Carling, FA and Champions League).

Notice a pattern? We are all too often outplaying the opposition for huge swathes of the match, without actually putting the ball in the net, then getting hit on the break with ~5 minutes to go and not having enough time to respond. Yet again, last night against PSV Eindhoven we ran rings round them with some wonderful passing, intricate interplay and fantastic vision - but no end product. Adebayor, Baptista and Fabregas were all guilty of failing to convert good chances and it came back to haunt us as their (admittedly excellent) big Brazilian central defender, Alex popped up to head the winner from a needlessly conceded free-kick near the corner flag.

Yes, we have had injuries (Robin van Persie has been particularly missed) and yes, we have had a lot of fixture congestion (the Man City match has been moved four times!) but that's why you need a squad of experienced players who can pace themselves throughout a season of 40-60 matches. Our youngsters have taken over for the Carling Cup and were fantastic, but in general we rely too heavily on Thierry Henry and when he is missing or not on form, as he has been somewhat this season, it really shows.

So what to do?

Despite the emergence of Hoyte and Djourou I still think we need an experienced defender who can play anywhere across the back four. Gallas is awesome in partnership with Touré but his 6 week absence due to an ankle injury showed how brittle we can be at the back. Clichy is a world class left-back going forward (reminding me of a young Roberto Carlos) but needs cover when he goes on those rampaging runs into the opposition penalty area. I have never had any faith in Senderos who seems to hit the panic button when any big centre-forward comes near him (cf: Drogba). Eboué is becoming a liability with his rash challenges and play-acting and if he can't get a grip he is going to spend more of the season suspended than he is on the pitch (weirdly, Kolo looked great at right-back last night but I'd rather have him in the middle...)

In midfield, we have an embarrassment of riches. Cesc is just magical, Denilson is a mini-Cesc and Gilberto sturdily mops up behind (and now takes the penalties to boot). Diaby has recovered from his awful broken leg and is like Vieira in so many ways, it's uncanny. The choices come on the flanks where for me Rosicky is a certain starter on the left when fit (bye bye Freddie?) but Hleb gives the ball away too much for my liking and has been known to forget to tackle back (and get an ear-bashing from Crazy Jens for his trouble). But do you start with Theo-o-o-o? He may be quick but he is slight and gets knocked off the ball too easily (yes, I know he's only 12). For a while yet, he's going to be used as an 'impact' player off the bench. Time for him to actually make an impact.

And so to the front. Thierry is a genius, when he turns up. As an Arsenal fan, it sticks in the throat to criticise him, given all he has done for the club, but this year must have been his worst to date. Injuries aside, he's missing a bit of that sharpness, that devilry, that sheer enjoyment of the best elements of goalscoring-for-fun which he brought to the team. He's been injured - ankle, back and now groin - but I want the old Thierry back. RvP started brilliantly but has also succumbed to a foot injury (see any themes developing here?) and Adebayor, whilst he has had his best season so far and given a lot of good defenders a torrid time with his quick feet and good movement, has also missed some stinkers. Baptista ("Beeeeeeast") has blown hot and cold - brilliant against Liverpool, rubbish against Blackburn, effective against Reading, anonymous against PSV. Will we keep him? Well we don't want Reyes back so Mr Dein and Mr Wenger are going to have to get round the table with Real Madrid and thrash out a deal. They might just recall him; they've had a poor season and with an ageing squad he might just get a second chance in Spain.

Summer signings? I hear we have targeted the promising 20-year-old Ajax winger, Ryan Babel, but we have 'promising' coming out of our ears. Samuel Eto'o has been mentioned in the papers but Chelsea and Liverpool are also keen (and Chelsea have deeper pockets if it came to a bidding war). Franck Ribery also crops up regularly especially after a good World Cup in 2006 but that trail might have gone cold lately (I'd still welcome him) . Still, once we've got through this first (trophyless) season at The Emirates, I fully believe in Arsene's ability to dip into the summer market and come up with a gem. He's done it before. Keep the faith.

The future's bright, the future's red and white.

And on that note, this should cheer up a somewhat depressing Thursday morning :)

Poll Position

(This will sound like sour grapes but I simply don't care.)

Graham Poll is the worst referee ever to be given the chance to take charge of a first-class football match. Not just wrong decisions but unadulteratedly ridiculous, completely unacceptable downright mistaken ideas about the basic game of football. The man simply does not understand the rules. What little he does have in his plainly wooden head fluctuates between petty card wielding and blind nonsensical waving-on of play. The man is truly an idiot. I hope he goes on to have a hand in a title-deciding 94th-minute penalty at Old Trafford so that other teams may share in his wisdom. The complete and utter &£%$.

Yes, we missed chances; yes, we should have been ahead at half-time; yes, we had players missing due to the 'brawl' on Sunday. But when the referee is that inept, forget it. Because it simply doesn't matter what you do - even Sky's Andy Gray (and this is saying something) had to point out that the referee was (and I quote) "rather inconsistent". No shit, Sherlock.

Right, I'm off to hack people down in the penalty area; apparently it's completely acceptable these days. Don't even think about talking to me about this match until I've had at least three coffees tomorrow. And then make sure I'm not wielding something blunt...

[insert extended swearing here]

Let's Hear It For The Kids

So it was not to be :(

Chelsea won the Carling Cup 2-1 in Cardiff in a match that had everything - three good goals, a mass brawl (followed by three sendings off) and an astonishing 11 minutes of added time. Both their goals came from the on-fire Didier Drogba after Theo Walcott had given us an early lead - the youngest ever scorer in a League Cup Final and his first goal for Arsenal - with a quality finish after a neat one-two with Diaby (who also had a great game before having to go off injured) on the edge of the box :


Arsenal were rampant for the first twenty minutes of each half but Petr Cech kept Chelsea in the match with fine saves from, amongst others, Baptista and Diaby. If we'd been two up going in at half time it could well have been a rather different story. But 'ifs' (and indeed, 'buts') don't win trophies and as our youngsters visibly faded towards the end, Chelsea were that bit more experienced. The fracas was a bit unseemly but even Fat Frank had to admit that it just showed how much both sides wanted to win.

Unfortunately, we now lose Touré and Adebayor (unless we can appeal his card for mistaken identity - stand up, Mr Eboué) for three matches at exactly the wrong time. FA Cup replay aside, the run-in to the end of the season is hotting up and we need to be thinking of leapfrogging Liverpool into third place with our two games in hand. Bah.

Anyway, I'm hugely proud of the 'Young Guns'; some of the fluid passing, movement and interplay was awesome to behold and for a team of so-called kids they made the Premiership champions look positively pedestrian for lengthy periods of the match. The future's bright, the future's red & white :)

(And I'm also genuinely glad that John Terry seems to have recovered - Abou Diaby looked visibly shaken after the accidental boot -> face incident. Foot high, head low? Immaterial as long as he's OK; nobody wants to see players seriously injured like that, especially in what was one of the most open and enjoyable cup finals for a very long time.)

We're On Our Way To, Er, Cardiff...

I have just about recovered from the drama of the extra-time win over Spurs at the Emirates last night. We had decent seats just above the losing visiting supporters in the new South Bank and the atmosphere was amazing for a midweek Carling Cup match; the noise never relented (OK maybe a smidgeon, shortly after they equalised with five minutes to go...) Anyway, our 'kids' are in the final against Chelsea on Sunday 25 Feb and Arsene has promised to stick with the team that has got this far (quite correctly, in my humble opinion).

Goooooooooooooners!

So to celebrate all of the above, here is Freyja having a little dance:

The Old and the New

Today was my birthday. I am 36. I am a square.

In other news, Arsenal's young lions (starring Walcott, Denilson, Hoyte & Traore) fought back from 2-0 down against Spurs to draw 2-2 in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final. Julio "The Beeeeeeeast" Baptista bagged both (whilst also netting an own goal...) to set up the second leg at the Emirates for a do-or-die showdown next Wednesday 31st.

For which, luckily enough, I now have tickets...

(Black)burn in the fiery pits of hell

Blackburn 0 - 2 Arsenal

"Arsenal made light of the 12th-minute dismissal of Gilberto to deservedly beat Blackburn, thanks to goals from Kolo Toure and Thierry Henry. Gilberto was shown a straight red card for flicking a leg out at Robbie Savage after the pair had tangled."

You can't blame Gilberto for lashing out - when you see the idiotically-grinning figure of the lank-haired stinky Welsh pikey that is R. Savage Esq. hurling himself towards you, you've got to be fearing for your wallet. Still, an excellent headed finish from Kolo and then (yet another) contender for Goal Of The Month from Monsieur Thierry saw justice done at Ewood Park. Watch out Liverpool, we're right behind you...

It's a tennis score

Liverpool 3 - 6 Arsenal : Julio "The Beast" Baptista arrives in style...

Cannon & Balls

I was lucky enough to attend the Square Mile Sports Awards recently which was, and this may surprise you, a somewhat boozy affair. Arbuthnot sponsored a table, took along some brokers & traders and a very good time was had by all. The winner of Sportsman Of The Year was ... [checks hastily scrawled notes] ... Darren Clarke, for his heroics at the Ryder Cup, but what puzzles me is the reminder I put in my phone (after possibly the eleventy-third bottle of Veuve Clicquot), which simply said:

"You can't fire a cannon from a canoe"

It has something to do with Martin Bayfield and Clare Balding. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

There is some corner of a foreign field...

Splendid coffee table book of photographs of non-league football matches from around the world:

European Fields

Some of the pitches are surrounded by breathtaking scenery, others just a dirt pitch in the middle of a slum, but the people's game still remains the same. No overpaid whining crybabies here, thank you very much...

Scarf, ace*

Visit Savile Rogue for your 100% cashmere football scarf, available in all 92 English league club colours and one or two of Johnny Foreigners as well. Lovely.

* And that is my favourite post title of 2006, even more than 'Big Brother Is Watching You Watching Big Brother' way back in February...

Wembley Way

Today we took Freyja to see the new Wembley stadium. And here it is:

"Where?", I hear you ask? OK, try zooming in a bit:

Still not got it? OK, how about 400%?

(Come on, that's not bad from the Horniman Gardens in SE23...)

Tempus fugit

Good lord, how time flies. Over a month since I last posted. Admittedly, it was a fairly quiet month - or so I thought until I started writing this.

• There was the work curry night at Bengal Village in Brick Lane which was great fun and ended somewhat drunkenly in the Big Chill Bar (the suits looking somewhat incongruous amongst the asymmetric hair and day-glo legwarmers)
• There was Antonia's mini baby shower followed by Antonia's mini baby arriving. Woot. Well done you (and Ian, of course - welcome to sad Dad land...)
• There was my knee going pop* (again) which meant an MRI scan and a jolly nice BUPA consultant advising keyhole surgery on the flappy bit of cartilage causing all the trouble
• There was a quantity of beer with Doug in a splendid little bar tucked away near King's Cross (no, not that type of bar)
• There was my first visit to the fantastic Emirates Stadium for the disappointing 0-0 draw with CSKA Moscow where, despite an astonishing 24 (twenty four!) shots at goal, we failed to hit the target. Cow, arse & banjo...
• There was a 70s party at Alex & Kat's excellent new house in the WestCrystalGipsyNorwoodHillPalace area where despite wearing that shirt, I was trumped in the fashion stakes by Alex's brother Pete (or is it Nick :)

And suddenly it's November...

* in fact it was more of a craaaskeeeuurrrgle sound but you get the idea...

Theoooooo....

Germany (U21) 0 - 2 England (U21)

"Theo Walcott came off the bench and scored a wonderful goal to secure the England Under-21 team a place in the European Championship finals next year with a tense victory at the BayArena."

And here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIRMKocEHsQ

Let's have a few more of those for the Arsenal, young man...

Ashburton Grove a-go-go

Slightly disappointing start to The Gunners tenure at the new Emirates Stadium with a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa to kick off the 2006-7 season:

From what I could tell from the highlights, we started similarly to last year - fantastically stylish football, awesome movement on and off the ball but ultimately finding it difficult to break down teams that put 8 (or 9 and occasionally 10) men behind the ball and defend for most of the game. We're going to need a Plan B if this season isn't to be a damp squib.

That said, Theo Walcott came on and looked particularly lively on the left so Wenger does intend to play him, even if it is as a substitute:

"I am happy because we were in a tricky situation when he came on, one-nil down. I know there is a lot expected from him. He played with freshness and straight away he became dangerous on the left flank and he was involved in the goal we scored. I must say that overall when he came on his performance was very positive."

FingerSkilz

FingerSkilz - The edited highlights!

This is hilarious, and ace. World Cup to follow...?

one rainy night in paris

So near...

Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal

Thanks to a mystery benefactor (you know who you are) I was able to get a ticket for this illustrious occasion and, with a late dash on Eurostar, enjoyed some excellent French hospitality with the Gooners in the square outside Gare du Nord before heading to the magnificent Stade de France. The atmosphere was amazing with a healthy mix of Arsenal and Barca milling about outside the stadium and in the local bars. Tickets were changing hands for €2,000+ so we hastily clung onto ours and took our seats; right behind the goal in the middle of a sea of (thoughtfully provided by AFC) yellow shirts. The match is well documented - Lehmann sent off, Barca goal disallowed, Arsenal 10 men, Campbell goal, Barca pressure, two late goals,wrong result - but I'm really incredibly glad I was there. The team ran their hearts out but 70 minutes against possibly the best club side (in the world...) was always going to be a big ask. Gah :(

Arseblogger puts it very well here (please forgive the language, it was an emotional night!)

And if it did achieve anything, it was to convince Thierry Henry to pledge his future to Arsenal (and not, as predicted on the oh-so-hilarious email I received 100+ times, 'f*ck off to play for the winners') for four more years. We will be back.

Champions League again

Astonishingly, it all went to plan.

Spurs lost 2-1 to West Ham after eating some dodgy lasagne (ahem...) and the Gunners beat Wigan 4-2 to pinch fourth spot and enter the 2006/7 Champions League (admittedly in the qualifying rounds against Racing Talinn and AFC Moldova but who cares...)

A fitting result for the last game to be played at Highbury.

It may also help Thierry to decide to stay - a good article here about the various arguments for and against.

Finally, we have the small matter of the final of the Champions League 2005/6 on 17th May in Paris. Arsenal v Barcelona - the purists final!!

Watch out Spurs...

Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa

With Tottenham and Bolton both losing, and Blackburn a point behind, fourth place is now in our own hands. Win our remaining 7 matches and we're definitely in the Champions League next season (and Thierry will almost certainly stay).

Six of those seven are Man Utd(a), West Brom (h), Man City (a), Tottenham (h), Sunderland (a) and Wigan (h) as well as the rearranged away game at Portsmouth to fit in somewhere.

Going to be a very exciting end to the season.

the Real deal

Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal

"Thierry Henry struck just seconds after half-time to give Arsenal a stunning Champions League victory over Real Madrid in the Bernabeu."

Having been written off as the underdogs, Betfair prices for the Arsenal win pushed out at far as 7-1 at one point. So thank you very much, everyone, from the heart of my wallet :)

Did I mention I had a ticket for the second leg at Highbury? *sigh*

arsenal in transition?

A lot of sense talked in this column:

Transition: This one, the next one, or not at all?

and on ArsenalLand in general.

P.S. Theo Walcott for President...

186 not out

Congratulations to super-Gunner Thierry Henry who last night bagged a couple against Sparta Prague in the UEFA Champions League of Money and That(TM) and in the process broke Ian Wright's Arsenal goalscoring record. Long may he continue (although we still look rubbish when he's injured...)

49ers

So Arsenal's unbeaten record comes to an end at 49 games.
Well done lads, tremendous achievement, shame it had to be United but it was inevitable really :)

go on gooners

I couldn't let today pass without a mention of Arsenal FC's record breaking run of 43 Premiership games without defeat.

Bravo. Up the Gunners (an ting). You never know - keep it up and I might just avoid the wooden spoon in our BBC Fantasy Football League. . .