Football is a game of agony and ecstasy. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Yesterday was definitely one of the highs. A moment where finishing above your rivals, denying them Champions League football and securing your own place in Europe's top tier rested on 90 minutes of excruciating football. But we did it.
In all honesty we offered very little in terms of threats, in the first half there was a wayward header from Koscielny who ultimately scored the winner (again and was easily MOTM) and one of the worst efforts from Cazorla I can remember but I'll let him off because he's been sensational this season. Apart from that Newcastle looked like they were going to score and there were warning signs. We went in at the half 0-0 as did Tottenham. 8 minutes into the second half the breakthrough came when a Walcott delivered free kick was nodded goalwards by the Poldi and similarly to last season Koscielny hooked it, rather nicely, over the line.
The remainder of the match was horrific, Newcastle had fits and starts at goal. One of the many moments of brilliance however was when pictures from SHL emerged with their fans celebrating falsely believing Newcastle had equalised, thank you Lord Sugar for that. Then of course the news we all new was coming MonkeyMan at scored for the spuds and we had to hold on, seconds after that we should have wrapped it up when Theo went through one on one after beating 2 men and managed to hit the post. I genuinely feared the worst then but we held on and the celebrations began.
All the drama and celebration of yesterday aside ultimately for me this has been a disappointing season, particularly in the domestic cups. The fact that last season there was a 20 point gap between us and the champions and this season there is a 16 point gap shows virtually no improvement in the league either. Gary Neville for me hit the nail on the head yesterday he said that the players deserve to celebrate and they should celebrate because they've earned their place, but this summer we need to just go for it.
For now though, before the summer of stupid rumours, stupid money moves and no doubt countless links between everyone and Arsenal, we should ENJOY this moment. These are the moments we follow football for. I'll be back at various points throughout the summer when the transfer mill goes into overdrive but for another season NORTH LONDON IS RED!
So its all come down to this. 90 minutes on Sunday in the deepest North East. It's easy at this stage to do what I've been doing for the last few days - contemplating all the points we've dropped this season, but that's not the way to think about it. We know 3 points on Sunday will guarantee us Champions League football which may determine what we can do this summer, if you believe the papers.
For the players they know what they have to do. Newcastle will be no pushover however, they've taken some real beatings at home recently and will want to give their fans something to cheer about this weekend. Let's not forget Wenger and Pardew don't exactly get on. Hoping for Sunderland to get a result at the Lane is pointless because it's unlikely and if we do our job we don't need it. Personally I see nothing but a Tottenham win.
Wenger has some decisions to make this weekend as it looks like Arteta will miss out due to a problem he picked up against Wigan, that means that Wilshere is the most likely candidate to replace him. Upfront a decision also has to be made. Podolski scored twice against Wigan after two lacklustre performances beforehand. I think Giroud holds the ball up better and gives us a man to aim at, but I think on his left foot Podolski is the best finisher we have. It's a tough one and that's why we pay Wenger a small fortune to do his job.
Newcastle have some dangerous players including Cisse upfront who can score given half a chance. They have had injury problems this season but that aside they are still a threat and will cause us probems given the chance. We will have to hold the ball and use it wisely, I noticed we gave the ball away a lot on Tueday and that's something we just can't afford to do on Sunday.
Whether you believe the papaers or not, the motivation of some players is the Champions League but it is not the be all and end all. However it end's up, we have to address the problem that we will be 20 points behind the Champions and that is something that is just unacceptable. A lot of business needs to be done over the summer, money is there to be spent and players are there to be bought. A vast improvement is needed for next season and if we do our business having finished 4th fantastic, if we do it having finished 5th we'll all be gutted but we'll be back.
Once again no prediction due to the nature of this game. Have we got the bottle? only Sunday will tell. COYG!!
Well due to Chelsea's inability to see out a game we're in a position where only 2 wins will do. As expected Tottenham beat Stoke and have jumped us back into 4th. The importance of Champions League football is pivotal and decides who and what we can do this summer. We take on a Wigan side who are literally fighting for their survival, if they lose tomorrow they are down. A game that is simply must win for both teams, they will be buoyed by their FA cup win over City and us having 10 days rest. Anything over than a win tomorrow leaves us praying for a favour from Di Canio's Sunderland at the lane on the last game of the season.
I'm worried about this match. Wigan are a team we don't seem to perform against, we absolutely have to perform against them. With Newcastle safe, we can go there knowing they don't need a win but it's almost irrelevant if we can't take 3 points tomorrow. With Giroud serving the last of his ban, Podolski looks most likely to retain his spot up top. Apart from that we have no injury worries the central role in the midfield will be up for grabs between Wilshere and Rosicky. I think Rosicky will probably be the preferred option and that's not necessarily a bad thing considering he isn't afraid to shoot unlike the rest of our team.
Wigan on the other hand will probably field a side similar to the team that beat City on Saturday. With stand our performances from McManaman who ran the show along with threats from their other players Kone, Gomez and co. However they have defensive problems with Alcarez in at right back which may be our best option to get in behind them.
This will be a hard game, a really hard game and we know that Wigan play good football and they are dangerous. But if we come out and really go at them and play like we all know we can, we can do it. We can't bank on other teams to do us favours but as it stands we have our destiny in our own hands.
As it's such a crucial game and I'm superstitious I'm not going to predict this one, just pray for an Arsenal win.
After a draw with United last weekend, we sit a point ahead of Tottenham but a point behind Chelsea who both have a game in hand against each other. We have 3 games left this season and if we win all 3 I think we'll be there. That starts against QPR this weekend. QPR as I'm sure you're well aware have been relegated and therefore have nothing to play for, that said Redknapp would love nothing better than to spoil our run in.
It won't be an easy game but we should have more than enough to beat a QPR team who have been poor so far this season. We start again with Podolski upfront as Giroud serves the second match of his ridiculous ban. I thought Podolski was so-so on saturday but he's really the only dangerous striker we have, regardless of just how fit he is. I expect the team to be the same, Rosicky should retain his starting place after playing well on Sunday. The only position that might change is left back where Monreal will give Gibbs tough competition.
As for QPR they have Zamora returning from a suspension that saw him attempt to take Jordi Gomez's head off his shoulders. Samba is the only doubt though after missing the game with Reading. QPR will be dangerous going forward with Remy, Taarabt and Zamora playing upfront all of whom have 5 goals this season. However with 3 in their midfield we should look to dominate the game in the middle of the park, despite the power of M'Bia. If we can boss the midfield then hopefully we'll be able to play our football and do our thing.
Chelsea play United on Sunday and if we can get 3 points, we'll put the pressure on them to get a win at Old Trafford and with any lucky, they'll slip up. COYG!
Prediction: QPR 1-2 Arsenal
Again sorry for not posting before the United game, but it's been a busy weekend for myself again. We got a point and if you'd have offered that to me beforehand I'd have taken it. On the basis of the match I think a draw was probably the right result but it's just frustrating to know their only goal came due to our own mistake.
We flew out of the block and for the first 35 minutes we were all over them, a few United hangovers were still looming in my opinion and after 2 minutes, Rosicky who had a blinder found Walcott in space (who was offside) and although De Gea got a touch on it, the power took it in. Our problem this time was not finding that second goal. Podolski who I'm still not convinced is fit, smashed a shot but it was easily saved by De Gea.
Then the mistake from Sagna. He was dithering with the ball and his pass went straight to Van Persie who charged past him. In his effort to get back and correct his error he took Van Persie down inside the area and it was a penalty. You can have no complaints. Of course Van Persie scored and as much as I hate him to his credit didn't celebrate again. That knocked us back and it took us a while to get going again after the half. United went through a spell of 20-25 minutes where they were in total control but couldn't make it count. The final 7 minutes of so where really end to end and either side could have nicked it.
Without Giroud, we had to start Podolski who had his moments but I'm still not sure about his fitness. We spent a fair amount of money on him and it would be crazy not to play him because if he has been unfit this season, so far he's done pretty well. Rosicky also played really well and along with Podolski and Cazorla, one of the few players who will actually shoot and as the old saying goes if you don't shoot you don't score. Both I think can be a little disappointed about being taken off.
With Tottenham dropping points yesterday we sit 2 points above them having played a game more and are now behind Chelsea by a point again having played a game more, but we have to remember that the game they both have in hand is against each other (got it?). I look at our last 3 games: QPR, Wigan, Newcastle and they are all winnable matches. If we win all 3 I think we'll be there. A Chelsea win against Sp*rs would help no end but all but end our hopes of finishing 3rd, but quite frankly I'm sure every Arsenal fan would take that right now.
The end of the season is gonna be close and almost certainly nerve racking. Until next time have a good week!
After Tuesday's result we're left at the moment in a sort of limbo. It's out of our hands but due to cup games for others we'll be in the position come Sunday where we will have played 2 games more than Sp*rs. Whether we go into that 5 points ahead, 3 points ahead or 2 points ahead will entirely depend on how we perform against Fulham. I must admit, the Everton game was disappointing but we might get away with it if we pick up tomorrow.
Now Fulham are a team where if you look at the head-to-head it'll seem as if we dominate the fixture, at home this may be true, but away it's a different story and in recent seasons we've struggled to get 3 points at Fulham. This season Fulham are essentially where they end up most seasons, slap bang in the middle of the table. They took the game to us at the Emirates we only got away with a draw thanks to Giroud bagging a couple. There is no doubt we need a win this weekend with Man City heading to the lane.
Team news this evening has been slow to come out. A few players were in the line for tests to make sure they were fit. Wilshere again looked rusty on Tuesday but that is to be expected, rather worryingly is that Cazorla is also set for a test and if he doesn't make it through I'll be worried. Being hopefully though I think the team will be something like this: SZCZ, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Ramsey, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Gervinho, Giroud. It's possible that Gervinho may be replaced by Rosicky but I'm not sure he's fit.
Fulham have problems in the middle of park, so much so that Jol has recalled Alex Kacaniklic from his loan spell. Due to problems on the other side of the park Brian Ruiz was deployed on the right meaning that Berbatov had to sit behind Petric. No doubt that Fulhams main threat is Berbatov but Petric and Ruiz also pop up with goals here and there. Berbatov and Ruiz provide a physical side to Fulhams game.
That said on our day we should be able to overcome Fulham. But at this stage of the season there are no easy games and every 3 points counts and with the potential of Tottenham slipping up against City we need to make sure we've done our job and he pressure is on.
As the games begin to run down every win is crucial and with Robin van Rapist and co coming down next weekend we need to make tomorrows game count. COYG!
Prediction: Fulham 1-2 Arsenal
Firstly apologies for missing the Norwich game at the weekend, these things happen from time to time and after being pestered I'm back tonight (mentioning no names). But we scrapped and scraped, got lucky and took our chances in the second half and came away with a big 3 points to lift us up to 3rd. That puts us a point ahead of Chelsea who have a game in hand and a point ahead of Tottenham who have played the same number of games which puts our position in our hands.
Tonight however we face the in form team in the league in an Everton side still with a slight chance of making the top 4 and if they beat us tonight they'll be right back in it. Arguably this match is more important than the United match in a couple of weeks. If we win it puts us in a great position going into the final run in.
The manager has decisions to make tonight. Fabianski took a kick to the ribs at the weekend and may miss out which would see SZCZ return between the sticks. Mertesacker has served his ban and should return to partner Koscielny at the back. Monreal is also back in contention after colliding with the post against Reading. Further up the field Rosicky is back but Wilshere could be in the starting line up. Walcott impressed at the weekend and I think he'll get the nod ahead of Gervinho. Podolski who scored at the weekend I think will be benched sadly. I think the team will be something like: SZCZ, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, Cazorla, Giroud.
Everton I think will continue with the line up that beat QPR at the weekend. This means that the big guns will be in Moyes team so we'll have to watch out for the likes of Fellaini, Anichebe, Mirallas, Pienaar etc. The defence will have to be on form as Everton have both pace and power.
We picked up a valuable point against them at Goodison we really need to go one better tonight to put ourselves in the best position to finish in the top 4. A win tonight would put us 4 points clear of the Chavs and the Spuds and both have tricky games coming up including a vital match against each other.
A huge game tonight however you look at it, but big games bring big rewards. COYG!
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Everton
