It all comes down to this--as it should--the last weekend of the season deciding winners and losers, the champions, the relegated, and the teams moving on to European competition next season. Arsenal are in third place, just one point ahead of fourth and two of fifth. Arsenal secure their place in the Champions League with a victory, else everything has to go our way. Fourth place is unacceptable this season since Chelsea have ****ed their way into the CL finals and will get an automatic place in the competition next season should they win the tournament (blech!). Since five English teams can't be in the competition (where or where would we be without the team from Cyprus?!), the fourth place finisher gets to fuck off to Europa league, and the fifth place finisher can sit and spin with no European aspirations available. Robin van Persie continues to chase the Golden Boot, currently four goals ahead of the hair be-plugged Wayne Rooney. If he were playing in Spain for one of the giants, the competition being what it is, maybe he'd be up there with Messi and Ronny with 45 or more? Pretty ludicrous that Ronny has 45 LEAGUE goals and is five behind Messi. Huntelaar has 29 in Germany, Ibra has 28 in Italy, Giroud has 21 in France, and Dost has 32 in Holland.
A rather insane finish to the season, don't you think? We make a marathon out of a jog against WBA, but pull through. We still have class and character despite a tough finish to the season that relied more on the shite form of our rivals than our own good play. In the end it is a 40-million pound victory, a secure place in Europe (for the 15th? straight season), and a little incentive for free agents to come to The Grove (including our own). The City of Manchester is in upheaval. The scummy mercenaries, led by the scummiest mercenary of them all (Tevez), raise the league trophy and in so doing tarnish it forever. Chelsea and City have proven that the trophy is in fact for sale to the highest bidder. As much as we hate United, better them than City or Chelsea, right? Though it is nice to see the gum-chomping grin wiped off Ferg's face at least for one day of the year. Arsenal finish third but a country mile behind second. Even erasing four or five lousy performances this season and we're still a long way off from the top of the table. Things need to be better next year. Sp*rs don't collapse all the way out of European competition despite what was a late season meltdown under the twitchy guidance of the won't-be England manager. They finish behind us, as always, with Newcastle faltering as well, finishing fifth. A Chelsea Champions League win (vomit) knocks Sp*rs into Europa League and Newcastle out of Europe altogether, IIRC. QPR stay up despite the filthy antics of the loathsome Joseph Barton, who is looking at a lengthy suspension for yet another petulant and churlish display--one that United fans will certainly take exception to. Bolton cock it up in the end, allowing QPR to remain in the "Premier" league. The day will come where Arsenal hoist the league trophy again, when the likes of Birmingham, Stoke, and Sp*rs are relegated to nPower League 9, and the entire City of Manchester falls into a sinkhole, but that day is, alas, not today. Still, it was (generally speaking) a good one for The Gooners. Farewell to Pat Rice. Please stay Robin Van Persie (and Yossi Benayoun). Get fucked City & Sp*rs. Till next season.
Fulop had a shocking game. Maybe his last for WBA. Feel sorry for him. At least it wasn't our mistakes that decided the game this time (though our defending was atrocious at times, especially for the second goal since the first was clearly offsides).
crazy how much money Gunners were almost out this year if not for two plays, Gibbs and Szczesny v Udinese.
