Arsenal Awards - Season 2011/12

Well we got there in the end. All things considered, third place was a very good outcome for us this season, given the dreadful summer we endured, the shocking start, injuries and bursts of poor form that all threatened to ensure our lowest finish under Arsene Wenger, and the possibility of missing out on Champions League football for the first time under his stewardship too.

But we limped our way over the finish line with a nervy 3-2 win at West Brom on the final day of the campaign, and it was very much a sense of relief and good riddance to the least enjoyable season that we’ve had for some time.

Instead of doing a text heavy month-by-month boring analysis of the season, I’ve decided to do as I did to celebrate the calendar year of 2011 and go for an Arsenal Awards themed blog to look back at the season just finished. Hope you enjoy!

Match Of The Season

ARSENAL 5 – SP*RS 2 – Premier League, 26^th February 2012

I think there are a few decent nominations for Match Of The Season. The 5-3 win at Chelsea, the late 1-0 win against Man City, and the 2-1 away win at Liverpool were all games of high intensity that we had to work incredibly hard to win. But none of them quite had the added meaning that our victory over Sp*rs in February had.

I don’t need to remind you of the scenes leading up to the game. But they were 10 points ahead of us in the League. Their best side in 50 years, our worst in the Wenger era. They went 2-0 up inside 35 minutes, and seemingly on their way to a 13-point lead over us that probably would have been too much to hunt down. But then something happened. Bacary Sagna had had enough, and rose highest to meet a Mikel Arteta cross to bring us back into the game. Moments later, and it was Robin van Persie whose sweeping left footed shot curled into the top corner. 2-2 at half time, then in the second half there was only going to be one winner.

It only took us five minutes in the second half before we were ahead through Tomas Rosicky, and Theo Walcott added two goals to the tally to complete a fantastic turnaround that ultimately was the beginning of the end of the supposed power shift in North London.

We won our next four games in the League to complete a seven game winning streak. Whilst at the same time, the wheels were well and truly falling off up the Seven Sisters Road, and Sp*rs couldn’t win a game to save their lives.

The hype around T*ttenham slowly began to fade after this, and they are now back in their rightful place which remains in our shadow. This match was a reminder once and for all, that North London is red.

Young Player Of The Season

WOJCIECH SZCZESNY

Maybe not the toughest category for competition, largely due to the absence of Jack Wilshere, the drop in form of Aaron Ramsey, the injuries of Kieran Gibbs, and the lack of game time for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson. But even had the above not happened, I think Wojciech Szczesny would have been in a good position to win this award anyway.

All right, we conceded 49 goals in the League this season. But we’ve had Szczesny to thank on more than one occasion, most notably for his penalty save in the Champions League qualifier against Udinese that helped us progress to the group stages.

The young Polish international has very much established himself as our number one, and has made great improvements to his game since he first arrived on the scene in the back end of the 2010/11 season.

Not the complete package yet by any means, and is still prone to mistakes with his distribution and can be rather eccentric when coming off his line. But I think he’s had a decent season, and mistakes made in the final few games can be associated to the fact he played through a shoulder injury, such is Wenger’s faith in him. He will only improve, and he's highly regarded by Arsenal goalkeeping legend Bob Wilson.  That should be enough to convince any doubters that this lad has what it takes… 

Most Improved Player Of The Season

LAURENT KOSCIELNY

What a season this man’s had. Especially after a difficult first season in English football, but now Laurent Koscielny is rightfully regarded as our first choice centre back, and in my view was exceptionally unlucky not to make the Premier League team of the year.

His positional awareness, reading and understanding of the game have been invaluable, as has his never say die attitude on the pitch. He’s outplayed several world-class forwards, including the likes of Fernando Torres and Sergio Aguero, and his consistency and bravery are admirable and vital in what’s been an otherwise struggling back four.

Definitely the man to base our back four around next season, and thoroughly deserving of his first French international cap, and place in their preliminary Euro 2012 squad for the summer. Would’ve had a serious sniff at Player Of The Year, had a certain Dutchman not existed.

Low Point Of The Year

MANCHESTER UNITED 8 – ARSENAL 2 – Premier League, 28^th August 2011

I hate this award, but it’s got to be done. Unfortunately, there are a few possible winners of this one. Defeats at Swansea, Blackburn and Fulham were all horrendous, as was the manner in which we ballsed up our superb recovery at home to Norwich only to concede a late shocker to draw. There’s even a good argument for the summer transfer window as a whole, and how that destabilised our squad, and resulted in the loss of our two best players from last season and a series of “panic buys” to make up for it.

But I can’t look past the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United. It wasn’t only the result that was painful; and we all know, that was bloody hard to take. But the fallouts from it were horrific. We Arsenal fans suddenly became split, there were arguments, talks of protests, and generally awful behaviour from various members of our fine community. It became a miserable community to be a part of, and the shit stirring from most sides of the media didn’t aid it.

Luckily we did get past it though, and came out stronger at the other end. It’s only a bad memory now, but at the time it was an absolute nightmare.

Rising Star

ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN

I was tempted in a way to make this a ‘Who To Look Out For in 2012/13’ award and give it to Jack Wilshere, but decided against it as I’m just more hopeful than anything that he’ll be fit for the start of the season. When he is back, he’ll need to be eased into the side, and we can’t put too much expectation on him too early. That’s what happened with Aaron Ramsey after his injury, and we all know how that worked out for him this season.

Anyway, I’m digressing. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of our main signings over the summer, but has been used sparingly by Arsene Wenger this season. He has bags of potential as we’ve seen on more than one occasion, and I’ve no doubt he has a huge future ahead of himself.

There were many calls from Gooners to use him more than he was through the tougher times in the back end of the season, but when Wenger did call on him The Ox didn’t quite have the impact many were hoping for, proving the decision to ease him in was the right one. He excelled against Milan, and was excellent in the home defeat against Man United, just to mention two of his many good moments in his first year in the Premier League.

He scored in each competition, and has explosive pace, strength and determination. We all hope to see more of him next season, and I’m sure we will. It’ll also be interesting to see if/how he’s used by Roy Hodgson at Euro 2012. Hopefully he returns with some international experience, no injuries and the chance to shine next season.

Goal Of The Season

ROBIN VAN PERSIE V EVERTON – Premier League, 10^th December 2011

It was the Arsenal 125^th anniversary game against Everton at the Emirates Stadium. The club had put on a fantastic show and there were plenty of legends in attendance. All that was missing was an Arsenal goal. And when it came, it was something more stunning than could ever have been imagined.

Alex Song made the goal with a delightful chip through the middle, and Robin van Persie let the ball drop over his shoulder and volleyed it into the far corner of the Everton goal. It was technically one of the best goals I’ve seen. Certainly this season, and it confuses me how two hit and hope shots (Cisse and Crouch) were deemed the best goals in the Premier League. But oh well, guess I’m biased.

RVP’s strike was controlled, calculated and he made it look easy when it was anything but. A fantastic goal, to mark a memorable day for the club.

Flop Of The Season

JU YOUNG PARK

A couple of worthy runners up in this award, first one being Andrei Arshavin who was nothing more than a passenger for the part he played this season. He arrived with so much potential, but has failed to really utilise it despite being excellent in bursts. Yeah he got a few assists this season, but was mostly useless, lazy and ineffective. I’d be surprised if we see him in our colours again.

Another one is Marouane Chamakh, who I do have some sympathy for. Because he was playing pretty well for us whilst van Persie was injured last season. But RVP got fit again, started scoring for fun, and Chamakh was left unable to get any kind of game time. He actually played OK when he came on against Norwich, but ultimately didn’t get the game time required to be of any use to us this season.

But I’m going to give it to Ju Young Park, a player we signed last summer from Monaco for just under £3m. Upon his arrival, Wenger said, “he will add true quality to our attacking forces and will be a valuable addition to the squad”. Sadly, he wasn’t.

Just one substitute appearance in the League, two appearances in Europe, and three starts and his only Arsenal goal in the League Cup, and I fear that’ll be all we see of Park in an Arsenal shirt. Can only assume he was purchased to be a backup striker and to aid our marketing potential in the Korean market, but Wenger realised quite quickly that he isn’t good enough for Arsenal, and for that reason he’s my Flop Of The Season and he has to be sold this summer.

Signing Of The Season

MIKEL ARTETA

Another who would probably feature on the podium for Player Of The Season, but Mikel Arteta has established himself as our midfield metronome, and by a long way was our Signing Of The Season in my view. Probably a player we should have signed a couple of years ago, but that’s irrelevant to this piece.

I’ll double this up and make his Mr Consistent as well, as he has been exceptionally consistent all season long, and until we beat West Brom on the final day of the season, we hadn’t won in the League when Arteta was absent. He controls the midfield, provides fantastic link up play from defence to attack, and generally made the team better with his presence.  He also popped up to score some great goals, including the winner against Man City, and a screamer against Aston Villa.

A fantastic signing, despite apparently being a “panic buy”, and he’ll be fundamental to our progress next season. Hopefully playing alongside a young lad called Jack. But let’s not get carried away just yet.

Emergence Of The Season

TOMAS ROSICKY

I felt like Tomas Rosicky deserved an award of some sort for the part he’s played in the recovery of our season, and I think Emergence Of The Season is a fitting tribute to his efforts. It was tempting to give him a ‘Breakthrough’ related award, but that seems more relevant to younger players, so emergence it is and what an arrival Rosicky had in the second half of the season.

It all appeared as if his Arsenal career was heading towards its end, and that he was nothing more than a squad player as we entered 2012. He was linked to a move away to German side Wolsburg, with several fans appearing to agree that it was time he moved on.

Luckily, he didn’t. And with Aaron Ramsey struggling especially in the difficult month of January, Rosicky stepped up and really took the attacking lead by the scruff of the neck in our midfield trio. From nowhere, he suddenly burst onto the scene and was at the forefront of our seven game winning streak. And having not previously scored in the League for two years, he bagged three goals in our run in including the all important third goal in the 5-2 win against Sp*rs.

A hard worker, Rosicky was the epitome of our effective pressing system, and never shied away from getting back to support the defence. He emerged with a bang, and I can only hope it wasn’t a one off, and that the Little Mozart carries it on into next season.

Champagne Moment Of The Season

THIERRY HENRY V LEEDS – FA Cup 3^rd Round, 9^th January 2012

It gives me goose bumps even thinking about it. The return of the prodigal son, the all time club record goal scorer, the best player I’ve ever had the privilege of watching play. I’m not big on footballing clichés, but it was almost meant to be that Thierry Henry would score on his return to the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal, in the FA Cup 3^rd Round match against Leeds United, of whom we were struggling to break down when he came on in the 68^th minute.

It only took him ten minutes to mark his return. And it was a classic Henry finish, too. Picked up an Alex Song through ball, collected it in his stride perfectly, and rolled it into the far corner of the net with an almost gentle side footer past the Leeds keeper. He’s the coolest character around, but the celebration that followed was nothing short of pure emotion. He loves the club, and it was a fairy-tale that he scored on his return to win us the game.

Sure, there are good shouts for the John Terry slip at Stamford Bridge, the fight back against Sp*rs and the consequent minding of the gap they so often told us about. And even the full time whistle at The Hawthorns, and the relief that ensued knowing that we’d finally done it and finished third to reach the Champions League for yet another season.

But for me, none of them come close to triumphant Return Of The King. It was a special moment, and one that only we Arsenal fans will ever truly understand the value of. Champagne doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s a moment that’ll be etched in Arsenal folklore for decades to come.

Player Of The Season

ROBIN VAN PERSIE

I’ve decided to save the best till last, and quite simply there has been nothing better than Robin van Persie this season for Arsenal. 36 goals in total, top goal scorer in the League, PFA and FWA Player of the Season, and the man who we relied on to get us out of the abyss we were facing, and lead us to the third place finish.

Yeah, we’re not a one-man team, and Robin will be the first to admit that. As he did in his acceptance speech for the PFA award, where he specifically praised Theo Walcott for his contribution to the Dutchman’s goals. But it’s a pretty scary thought to consider where would we have ended up had we not had van Persie in our side. One that I won’t explore now, tomorrow, or ever.

He’s been our hero this season. His leadership has been exemplary, and in my eyes he is an Arsenal legend. We can all only hope that he’s with us again not only next season, but the seasons after that one too.

It’ll be a nervy wait until we know what he wants to do, but in the mean time let’s just enjoy the class act that has been Robin van Persie in the 2011/12 season.

Happy St Totteringham's Day 2012

WEST BROM 2 - ARSENAL 3

Never in doubt. NEVER IN DOUBT!

If only that was the case, and Arsenal strolled to a 4-0 win over West Brom today, maybe I’d have a few less hypothetical grey hairs this evening. As it happens it didn’t, but we still managed to pick up the three points necessary to guarantee Champions League football next season, with a hard fought and exceptionally nervy 3-2 victory away at West Brom (or West Brow, if you solely follow Andre Santos).

Once again though, we had to do it the hard way. 20 minutes into the game, it seemed a carbon copy of the Norwich match last weekend, after Yossi Benayoun’s gift of an opener was quickly cancelled out by two very avoidable goals from the home side. The first was as a result of an awful decision by the linesman to not call Shane Long offside, who ran through to finish home after a through ball from James Morrison. It wasn’t even debatable. He was miles offside, but for whatever reason (I blame his extreme incompetence) the linesman didn’t give it.

Graham Dorrans then put the Baggies in front after some poor defensive work allowed the Scottish international to drill the ball home only four minutes after the home side equalised, and there was a horrible sense of déjà vu given what we saw at the Emirates only one weekend ago.

In truth, it wasn’t a great game to look back on defensively. Both goals we conceded were pretty poor, and Martin Fulop in the West Brom goal had an absolute mare. Quite the contrary to what I was thinking would happen pre-match, given he’s an ex-Sp*rs player, and shit goalkeepers like him are usually at their best against Arsenal. Luckily not this time, and all three goals we scored were a present, starting with Benayoun’s in the fourth minute after Fulop completely ballsed up collecting the ball inside the box allowing Yossi to nick it off him and roll it into an empty net.

The second was equally as impressive from the flapping goalkeeper. West Brom were dispossessed inside their own half, and the ball fell to Santos, who’s shot fizzed its way towards Fulop, who palmed it into the net.

2-2 at half time, and nerves were paramount, because as we’ve seen all too many times before this Arsenal side has a fantastic ability at fucking things up at the most inconvenient of times.

Theo Walcott came on for the second half instead of Tomas Rosicky, and it didn’t take long for us to go in front again. Nine minutes actually, and again it was Fulop we had to thank. The goalkeeper almost impossibly palmed a Robin van Persie corner towards his own goal, and Laurent Koscielny nudged it over the line to give Arsenal a lead that was never again surrendered.

OOOOO I wanna dance with Koscielny!

West Brom pushed in the final minutes, and substitute Kieran Gibbs denied Billy Jones inside the area with a block that was worth approximately £30m. And despite it being nervy, frantic and extremely panicked at times, Arsenal held on to secure the win and that coveted third place that guarantees access to the Champions League group stages next season.

There’s probably not a whole lot of point going into detail with regards to the analysis of today’s match. Especially the negatives, seeing as the season is now over so there’s hardly any point as it’s not exactly something we’ll be looking to correct next weekend.

But there was a fundamental feeling of relief at the full time whistle, because Sp*rs beat Fulham 2-0, as we all expected, so anything other than a win and we would currently be sitting fourth, with our fate in the hands of Chelsea. Who in their right mind would want that?

It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t the assured performance that many were hoping for, but it was enough. And at the end of the day, that’s all that counts.

A St Totteringham’s Day celebration to mark the end of an era for Pat Rice, who shared some emotional moments with Arsene Wenger in the dying minutes, and bowed out in style with a win that he totally deserved to mark 44 years of immense service to Arsenal Football Club.

From here we enter the season debrief, and the players and fans alike should feel relieved that we’ve managed to stumble over the finish line, to take the third place that seemed impossible at the end of January.

Hopefully not the last time we see RVP wear the famous red and white (and blue next season).

A huge amount of credit needs to be given to the players, the coaches and other backroom staff for the turn around, and despite the incredibly nervy finale to the season, nothing but praise should be given because for so long it seemed such an unlikely outcome.

Yes, we are still well short of where we want to be. And yes, there are still plenty of on field and backroom issues associated with the club that will hopefully be fixed over the summer months. There will be time for critique, and some critique there will be I’m sure.

But for now we must surely just rejoice that we’re officially the best club in London again, and that the gap has well and truly been minded between Sp*rs and us (thanks for the warning, by the way).

We are also able to watch the Champions League final without literally bricking it over the possibility, however unlikely, of Chelsea winning the competition as it’s Sp*rs at risk of being dumped into the Europa League. No matter how hilarious that might sound, it’s no excuse AT ALL to want those chav-ridden bellends from Fulham Broadway to win the most elite club competition in European football. Do you really want those lot parading their smug like faces around town, having been the first London based club to win the competition? No, of course you don’t. So make sure you don your Bayern Munich scarf come next Saturday. No exceptions.

Let’s enjoy ourselves until then, and reflect on a well and truly barking final day of the Premier League season, as well as all the other twists and turns that have come before it. And let the preparations for season 2012/13 begin.

Happy St Totteringham's Day 2012. 16 years and counting.

It's (Somehow) Still In Our Hands & Thoughts For West Brom

Does anyone actually want to finish third this season?

It would appear not, as all the chasers for the coveted final spot in next season’s Champions League group stages dropped points in the penultimate weekend of Premier League action for season 2011/12. As both Sp*rs and Newcastle failed to take advantage of our dropped points on Saturday, and incredibly we still find ourselves in third spot, with it all still in our hands. The mathematics is simple – three points against West Brom next Sunday, and it’s ours.

But that’s a lot easier said than done right now, as we’ve only taken three points from an available 12, and it appears we seem to be capping off the season in the same manner in which we started it. Bloody awfully.

I won’t go into details about what went wrong against Norwich, as others have done it and I don’t want to repeat what you’ve already read. If I could recommend one blog that analyses it expertly, then check out this from @arsenalvision. Fantastic insight into what went wrong in midfield, and how we struggled as a result of it.

It looked so good at this moment, but in the end it wasn't enough to beat a sharp Norwich side.

If I could mention one thing about Saturday, it’s that Norwich were very good value for their point. And in all honesty, they are the ones who should feel hard done by, not us. It wasn’t our day, and it is flabbergasting how at this stage of the season the players didn’t look right, given how much there is to play for. But we’ve been very lucky, and have one final chance to do it ourselves. So let’s hope the players pull their fingers out, they get a bit of a drilling, and they produce the goods next Sunday at The Hawthorns.

Following on from the midfield horror show against Norwich, I wonder if it’s worth mixing it up a little for West Brom. It’s clear to me that the midfield trio of Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, and Tomas Rosicky just isn’t working. Mainly because our success this season has come with two holding/anchor type midfielders, and one sole attack minded one (when Mikel Arteta was fit this was). However now, with Arteta absent and Ramsey starting, there are two attack minded players instead, and our shape is struggling as a result. And given that Song enjoys a good mosey up the park at the best of times, the protection that has been so strong in front of the defence is getting exploited far too easily.

Given this, I’d be tempted to start young Francis Coquelin instead of Ramsey in midfield, alongside Song and Rosicky on Sunday. He is a natural defensive midfielder, and would provide that assurance that has been missing since Arteta’s injury. Song can bomb forward, and Le Coq can hold the fort in front of the defence. His pass rate is decent (84% in the League), has unquestionable talent, and deserves a run in his natural position given the amount of times he’s had to fill in at full back.

Should Coquelin get the nod in midfield against West Brom?

That’s the position he came on against Norwich in. Bacary Sagna’s unfortunate and tragic leg break means that maybe Coquelin is likely to be favoured to start at right back on Sunday instead. But how about Carl Jenkinson? Anyone?

He is, after all, a natural right back. Plus, he’s fit. And before the injury he picked up mid season, he was enjoying a decent spell in the side in which he improved admirably after a difficult start to his Arsenal career. Le Coq is more than capable to play at right back, but due to the current failings in the midfield I think he’d be better off shoring that area up.

Of course this is just my mindless speculation. I’m no expert, and certainly wouldn’t fancy my chances in a tactical debate against Arsene Wenger. And if I’m being brutally honest I don’t think he’ll change the midfield for West Brom. He rarely takes team selection risks, or ventures into the unexpected, especially when the stakes are so high. Because if it went wrong, it would be all too easy to lay the blame on the fact he went with a young inexperienced 20-year-old instead of the Welsh international captain. But how I’d love him to take the gamble. Surely it couldn’t be worse than what we saw on Saturday.

Either way, team selection aside, it’s the mental preparation and application on the training field that are more important for this week. Because against Norwich that’s what was wrong. West Brom are in a similar situation to the Canaries of not having much to play for, although I’m sure they’d all love to give Roy Hodgson a winning send off before he takes the England reigns.

But for Arsenal there are potentially severe consequences in not winning the match, as we can’t rely on another Sp*rs screw up, although we will of course be hoping that in form Fulham can aid us as much as possible. Hopefully the result at White Hart Lane won’t matter, and we get the job done ourselves.

Finally, there have been a couple of off field developments that have come to light today. Firstly, @LeGrove reported that Steve Bould is the new Arsenal assistant manager, with Pat Rice retiring this summer. This has been doing the rounds for weeks, so not exactly new news but certainly good news if it’s true. Bould is an Arsenal legend, a defensive expert, and has a fantastic record with our Under 18 side. All of which are ingredients to suggest he’d be an excellent number two to Arsene Wenger.

And secondly, @YouAreMyArsenal has suggested in this blog that Arsenal have agreed a fee to sign Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila on a four-year deal. Again, the speculation about our interest in the talented Frenchman hasn’t been secret, but this is absolutely brilliant news if true. Especially if the reported fee (£16-18m) is correct. They are quick to emphasise that this is still not 100% confirmed, and as always I am hesitant to believe it fully until it appears on the club website. But it is certainly a very positive rumour from a reliable source, and one that I’m sure we all desperately hope comes to fruition.

Is M'Vila Arsenal bound over the summer?

The signs are good off the field but the focus now must go back to what happens on it. We have just 90 minutes left of the Premier League season, and we’re going to need to dig deep and really apply ourselves to ensure we make it over the line. We’re stumbling towards it right now. Let’s get over it in any way possible and say good riddance to this horrible season.

Race For Third: And Then There Was Three...

So the finish line is well and truly in sight for the 2011/2012 Premier League season. After last night’s matches, the League table evened itself out in terms of games played with all 20 clubs now having endured 36 of the 38 games.

The results yesterday didn’t go in our favour at all, with Sp*rs cruising to a 4-1 win away at struggling Bolton, and Newcastle coming out on top with a hard fought victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge thanks to two goals of the highest quality from Papiss Cisse.

This now means that there is only one point separating us in third place and Newcastle in fifth, with Sp*rs currently occupying the final Champions League spot on goal difference ahead of the Toon Army. And realistically, it’ll now be two out of the three of us that provisionally make it into the competition next year, as Chelsea are probably too far back being four points behind Newcastle in sixth.

It doesn’t really change much from the Arsenal point of view though. Even if Sp*rs and Newcastle dropped points last night, the objective for us will have remained the same: win our last two games, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop us from finishing third.

Sure, we can hope that others do us a favour. And it’s very easy to look at the fixture list and think that there’s a chance Sp*rs might come up stuck away at an admittedly poor yet fighting for their lives Aston Villa on Sunday. At the same time, you’d be forgiven for placing a small amount of faith in title chasing Manchester City taking some points away from their trip to the Sports Direct Arena/St James’ Park/whoever Ashley has now sold stadium rights to. But we can’t expect it. Nor base our preparation around the idea.

Both sides play 24 hours after our final home match of the season, in which I’m extremely hopeful we will take three points against a dipping Norwich side who have little left to play for this season. Yet no doubt they’ll be up for their first ever trip to the Emirates Stadium, however there is absolutely no reason to believe that we shouldn’t be better prepared or more focused for their arrival.

Anything less than three points against Norwich, and then surely the tails of Sp*rs and Newcastle will be wagging, and they’ll have something extra to fight for in their games on Sunday. Plus it would leave us with the daunting task of needing a win at all costs against West Brom on the final day of the season – Roy Hodgson’s last hurrah before he leaves the Midlands for the gloomy skies of the English football HQ.

I’m confident about Norwich, but I’m bricking it about West Brom. The neutrals/romantics/Baggies will all believe that the game is meant to be for West Brom. That Hodgson will cap off his tenure in style with a victory over one of the big guns, and that the players will be giving it their all to make sure this happens.

However, with nine defeats at The Hawthorns this term already, they are definitely beatable. Hell, we’re Arsenal. Everyone is beatable. And again I go back to my previous point, that if our players can’t get themselves mentally ready and apply themselves fully for these final two games, then quite simply we probably don’t deserve to play Champions League football next season.

And maybe, just maybe, the romantic football tale doesn’t always have to follow the script. It can’t always come to fruition. Last night Fabrice Muamba returned to the Reebok Stadium to watch his team mates play for the first time since the cardiac arrest he suffered at White Hart Lane as we all know about. Something extra for the players to fight for. Something else for the fans to get excited about. But Sp*rs ensured there was no happy return for Muamba, and no celebration for Bolton. I hate them, but they were professional and clinical, and very good value for their big win at the business end of the season. That’s the attitude and application we need to take in to our remaining games.

I will not be happy if those fuckers finish above us….

Momentum is the key to the final stages of the season, and currently it’s Newcastle who top the entire League form charts right now with 15 points from their last 18 available. Sp*rs have 10 from 18, and we have only eight points from our last six matches. I don’t think this is detrimental to our chances, but it’s significant as it shows that Newcastle are the team with the momentum, and after beating Chelsea last night their confidence will be sky high. But all we need is two wins, and all their current momentum will count for nothing.

Whilst I remain confident about our chances of taking the maximum six points necessary to finish third, it’s worth being realistic and balanced and mentioning the consequences of what would happen IF we were to finish fourth. Because that nasty little bunch that play in Fulham and wear blue currently hold a pretty important Joker card that has the potential to absolutely ruin whoever takes the final "provisional" Champions League spot.

Should Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on 19^th May, the place in next years competition would be theirs. The thought of them winning the competition is sickening enough, but add that fact into it and it becomes so utterly repulsive it adds a whole new level of support directed towards Bayern Munich. The last time I supported them in a European final, they screwed us all over by allowing Man United to win it in 1999. If they do it again this year, and I’ll be tempted to personally fly over there and slap every single person who has anything to do with their club. England always lose to the Germans. No doubt it’ll happen in Euro 2012, so get the bloody job done Munich or else… yeah….

But that scenario is totally avoidable. As I’ve said all piece, and everyone is saying all the time now, all we need to do is focus on ourselves, firstly ensure we’re 110% prepared for Norwich on Saturday, and take six points from the remaining six.

If you ask any of the other clubs whose position they’d rather be in, they’d 100% say Arsenal’s as we have the extra point on the board. Let’s get the job done and make sure that the same thing is being said at 5pm on the 13^th May.