As difficult a season as it was, looking back there were some sublime moments peppered throughout. These are the seven games that really stand out to me and probably cover the season well enough. Getting three points at Chelsea is always a tall order and it was made ever sweeter by scoring five on them, including one where the abhorrent John Terry fell on his ass and watched it go in. The game was thrilling from start to finish and marked a turning point for our season. That win was our third in a row in what would eventually be an eight-game unbeaten streak that saw us climb from fifteenth to fifth in ten games. A third-round FA Cup game is usually the type where Wenger sends out the teenagers to get some burn. With the likes of Coquelin and Miquel in the lineup, bolstered by the veteran talents of Squillaci and Chamakh (eep), it looked like we were going to try and grind out a slight win. We did just that except the goal we scored was the most memorable of the season--Thierry Henry, returning to the Arsenal on loan, scoring at 78' (ten minutes after being substituted on) and setting off the biggest crowd celebration in years at The Grove. A tearful, joyous moment for Gooners worldwide. Arsenal, Blackburn, London--the kind of game where one-nil to the Arsenal would suffice and everyone would go home content. Instead we got a nearly instant goal by van Persie, scoring at just 2' and setting into motion our biggest scoring output of the season. The game marked a coming-out party of sorts for 18-year old Arsenal starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who netted a speedy brace at the expense of Blackburn's helpless fullbacks. From that point forward Gooners, if they weren't already, were sold on the young man, and the support has never waned. London is red. Coming into the game Arsenal were in fourth place and the Sp*rs had been sitting in third for most of the season. The term 'power shift' was thrown about in London quite a bit up until this game. Media darling Harry Tourettes had Europe on lock and everyone singing his praises. In the background, somewhere, a little bird was chirping about the Sp*rs annual implosion still on the horizon. Arsenal's thunderous come from behind win rocked London, sending the Sp*rs into a tailspin (four wins from twelve following) and helping to vault Arsenal into third. The events set into motion Tottenham's fall out of the Champions League, possibly cost Harry Twitchnapp a gig with the national team, and even resulted in a commemorative DVD for Sp*rs fans to hold onto forever -- "Arsenal v Spurs 2-25-2012, the first 34 minutes". After a devastating blowout loss at Milan, Arsenal seemingly had little to play for in the second leg at The Grove. Outclassed and humiliated by the Italian giants the first time around, Arsenal were likely to clunk their way through the 90-minute formality and bow out of another season of European football. Instead, Arsenal exploded out of the gate, scoring three goals in the first half and running circles around Milan. In the end Arsenal didn't have the energy to complete the comeback but the spirit and determination shown in the game was recognized and heralded by Gooners and football pundits alike. Arsenal v City kicked off just following a win by Manchester United that seemingly put City's title chances on the edge of the cliff. City knew they had to win. With all the focus on Manchester, Arsenal took the pitch and put on one of their most complete performances of the season, totally controlling the game. City grew frustrated early on, jawing at each other and picking up fouls. The volatile Mario Balotelli was sent-off following a scissor takedown of Bacary Sagna--but only because the referees didn't notice a brutal stamp on Alex Song earlier in the game. Mikel Arteta scored a cracking goal at 87' to seal the deserved win for the Arsenal and seemingly put City's title aspirations in the ground. The last several weeks of the season conspired in Arsenal's favour. Unable to maintain the gap between themselves and the enemies at the gates, it came down to the last game of the season--win and Champions League football is assured, so were the riches and free agent signings that come with it; lose and you take your chances with Chelsea in the Final and a playoff in the fall. Arsenal made it difficult, as usual, going down 2-1 on cheap goals. Martin Fulop, WBA's hapless keeper, decided it was a good time to have a shocker and allowed three of the softest goals of the season, keeping Arsenal in Europe for the fifteenth season in a row and sticking it to Sp*rs who would eventually be disqualified from the tournament on a technicality. More importantly, the game was a relief for Arsenal fans exhausted by a tumultuous season. We improved our standing from the season prior but looking at the gap between third and second there is little doubt that a tremendous amount of work remains to be done.
