Budapest Or Bust - Diary Of A Champions League Weekend

It has been an emotional couple of weeks for Arsenal fans, has it not? Full of both joy and pain. The joy of a first title after so many years. The pain of late Champions League Final defeat. The joy of being able to share both our happiness and sadness with family, friends and strangers alike. And the constant battles in trying to explain to supporters of other clubs - amidst all the hate and Schadenfreude - that they haven't got a f*cking clue what they're talking about!

By a stroke of good fortune, both of my season tickets survived the second ballot, and I was able to buy two tickets for the final. Thereafter, the question of logistics took over (in 2006, I had the foresight to buy flights and accommodation the day the semi-final draw was made - only to end up having to buy a 'secondary market' match ticket; having failed in no less than three official ballots), as I set ourselves a budget of £2500 for the two of us.

£1800 of that went on the flights that I reserved! Meaning that if I couldn't buy Category 3 seats, then we wouldn't be going.  And goodness knew where we might sleep!?! But it all ended up falling into place, with the match tickets costing 180 Euros each and a late search for a hotel room meaning me finding a room for £350 (extortionately over-priced for what it was, but it was at least somewhere to rest). Budget hit; almost to the penny.

I'm not going to go into minute detail as to our trip itself. I'm sure that you don't want to read about that! I'll merely highlight a few things along the way, before I get to the match-going experience. But I am happy to start with the flight out, during which I was astonished - bearing in mind the time of day - to witness copious amounts of alcohol being consumed. Like the guy in the seat the other side of the aisle to me, who was clutching no less than three cans of Stella to his chest at 7.30am! 

We had an uneventful flight and transfer to the Fan Park; which was already pretty busy when we arrived at around 11.15am. By the time we left at 2pm to check in at our hotel, it was really busy; maybe 10,000 or more Arsenal fans getting fully engaged with the DJs, a penalty shoot-out against Gunnersaurus, and a bizarre interview with Emmanuel Eboue, whose command of English appears to have diminished since he left Highbury. The interview with Roman Kemp was - thankfully - more comprehensible!

Having checked in at our hotel and had a short rest, we headed back towards the Fan Park, where we met up and had a drink with some of our neighbours from Block 17 (shout out to Vic, Kelly and Andy for starters!), before joining the procession heading for the stadium. Unsurprisingly, we met quite a few other Arsenal fans that we knew along the way; my mate Nick from Borehamwood, Grant from Finchley who was marching alongside comedian Matt Lucas, Graham (aka Animal, who goes home and away, who sits directly in front of us at The Emirates and whose MO is to shout abuse at the linesman for every perceived officiating error), another comedian - and host of Handbrake Off - Ian Stone (no sign of Alan Davies and his crew, however), and others. Time being tight, I never got the chance to meet up with the likes of Matt and Sam, Stephen and Dani, Benny Brown Brown Brown, or Smash. Jill, who had gone on ahead, was another I regret not catching up with. My Arsenal family; and, let’s face it - we’re ALL family! Everyone was impeccably behaved along the route, and in excellent voice, as the anticipation built. 

We were kettled in for about 15 minutes whilst the Police held everyone up to allow both team coaches and a load of blacked-out VIP vans to shoot past us on the main road heading towards the arena. During this time, I was somewhat put off by a young man in possibly his late 20s telling myself and my wife how good it was to see 'old people' like us making the trip for a possible 'once in a lifetime' experience. I didn’t know how to respond, to be honest. I'm in my mid-60s, and hardly on my last legs!

Entry to the ground went off without a hitch - and a very impressive arena it is too! We were in our seats and taking in the surroundings a good hour before kick-off. Getting a drink was tricky, so I chose to miss the beginning of The Killers’ set when I hoped that the queue would have diminished. I got back to my seat just as they were belting out Mr Brightside - and it was fascinating and enervating to see the entire Arsenal end belting out the lyrics whilst the Parisiens stood silent and bemused at the other end of the arena!

Onto the match itself - finally, you may be muttering…

Lots of tricky decisions for Arteta to make, as in all honesty the depth of the squad is such, and the way the season has progressed, that only 5 spots are genuinely nailed down (Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice and Saka). With Timber not deemed ready to start, and White injured, it was Cristhian Mosquera who had the unenviable task of dealing with Kvaratskelia. In the other full back role, it must have been a toss-up between Hincapie and Calafiori. The choice of the former suggested that the Manager was opting to contain PSG early on, before unleashing the bench later.

The boldest decision was the selection of MLS over Zubimendi. The youngster certainly did nothing but enhance his burgeoning reputation; perhaps leaving Thomas Tuchel regretting not adding him to the England squad. I wasn’t surprised to see Trossard selected over Martinelli, nor Kai over Big Vik.

Six minutes in, and we were in absolute dream land! A Marquinhos clearance ricocheted off of Trossard and into the path of Havertz, and time seemed to stand still as he took the ball in on goal before he emphatically blasted the ball into the roof of the net. Beer and bodies flew everywhere around and over my wife and me! This was beyond our wildest dreams… although the thought would surely have crossed every Arsenal supporter’s mind that this was perhaps too early…

From then on, and for a considerable time, it was attack versus defence. Arsenal looked unbelievably solid and well-drilled, barely allowing PSG a glimpse of goal throughout the rest of the first half, but there were worrying signs nonetheless. They were sitting incredibly deep, and barely had an outlet. And whenever they did win the ball back, they surrendered it back within just a few passes; thereby piling the pressure back on themselves. But for all the pressure, PSG were creating virtually nothing, despite winning a series of corners and penning Arsenal back in the style that the latter are so used to doing to Premier League opponents.

Once - just once - did Arsenal have an opportunity to stretch their lead beyond PSG's capabilities. For a change, a tidy move down the right saw Havertz freed by Odegaard, but the German's first touch was just a tiny bit too heavy; giving Marquinhos the opportunity to get a block in on Kai's goal bound effort. Such fine margins... but with Odegaard, Saka and Trossard unable to keep their cool when on the ball, it just kept coming back and back for the most part.

Now, lots of people are getting annoyed about what happened at the end of that first half. But I think otherwise. With injury time virtually up, Arsenal first messed around with a throw in; taking forever for Rice to finally launch it into the box. And with time well up, Saka's leisurely stroll to take the resulting corner would have tested my patience too if I were the referee. Teams always waste time when they're ahead, and Arsenal paid the price for wasting what were absolutely precious seconds in that two-minute spell. 

Whether that flicked a switch in the referee's head - or whether perhaps it was the (alleged) arrival of a large sum of Riyals in his Bank account during half time - the rest of the game was refereed entirely differently to how the first half had been. There was zero tolerance for time-wasting (and that's fair enough), but he seemed to suddenly begin to favour PSG in much of his decision-making. Time after time French fouls went unpunished, and yellow card offences failed to get their just dues. And time after time Arsenal players were penalised for what were, from where I was standing, perfectly fair challenges. All around me, groan after groan after groan went up as decision after decision went PSG's way. Mosquera was booked for taking a massive 7 seconds over a throw in. Saka was booked for a perfectly fair tackle. And at one point no less than 10 successive decisions (or which half were questionable) went PSG's way. All this served to pile further pressure on Arsenal as they strove to hang on to their lead.

I suppose that it was inevitable that PSG would equalise from a penalty. Finally, after fully 65 minutes, Kvaratskelia played a one-two and went on the outside of Mosquera, only to be caught and brought down. A definite penalty... although - if I may indulge myself - the Georgian actually had a massive bleeding gash on a shin-guard shaped area on his shin from a previous challenge which might leave one to ask why he was allowed to still be on the pitch instead of being forced to have it patched up. Dembele, inevitably, sent David Raya the wrong way; and we all knew that from that point it was going to be super tough.

Arteta rang the changes. Odegaard, Saka, Trossard and Havertz off; along with the unfortunate Mosquera, who had done an excellent job in the circumstances - but it was time for Timber. And the game became a little more even, with the directness of Martinelli and Madueke proving more effective than the ball skills of Trossard and Saka, and with Eze finding pockets of space that Odegaard had failed to find. Gyokeres, however, struggled against the elite Parisien centre-forwards - thus adding fuel to the 'flat track bully' fire. 

The biggest controversy, of course, was the non-penalty call on Madueke. He went down in a tangle of limbs with Nuno Mendes, and whilst all in my block were 120 yards away we - along with Arteta, Rice et al - were screaming PENALTY! Watching it back, I can see why it wasn't given. But for me it ought to have been. We've seen them given; that is for sure. And it wasn't given with the same haste as the PSG penalty was awarded - a split second!

After that, there was little to report as the game meandered towards penalties. For all his disappointing hold up play, however, it was Gyokeres who had the opportunity for immortality as he worked some space for himself on the edge of the penalty area in the very last minute of injury time; only for Nuno Mendes to block his goal-bound effort. Penalties...

And I sensed the worst before they even began. PSG won both tosses, so the kicks were at their end; plus they were going first. A recipe for disaster. With the other issue being that Saka, Havertz, Odegaard and Trossard were no longer on the field of play. For Arsenal, Gyokeres, Martinelli and Rice were emphatic, but Eze over-thought his kick and put it wide, and then Gabriel stepped up...

Surely you were thinking the same as I was. Gabriel? Really? Was there nobody else prepared to step up before him? Zubimendi? Timber? Madueke (despite his embarrassing miss at Portsmouth in the FA Cup)? Well done to Gabi for stepping up. And you can see what he was trying to do; to hammer the ball into the roof of the net. And such are the fine margins in football. The dream was over, and the Arsenal end was silent.

Kudos to his international centre-back partner, Marquinhos, for stopping on his way past to commiserate with Gabi. But it was the fans at the wrong end of the pitch who were celebrating. Most Arsenal fans hung around for a while, but I don't believe that many stayed for the trophy lift; my wife and I left as soon as the last Arsenal player had collected his medal.

The Arsenal fans filed away in almost complete silence. No anger. No violence. No anti-social behaviour. Which was all great to see. As we joined the throngs heading back to the centre of town, we felt pride and regret; and hope for the future. The best is yet to come from this group, and I believe that they will go again on the recruitment side over the summer. The football world is Arsenal's oyster - despite being up against the might of nation state-sponsored rivals. And remember, this Arsenal side were up against a PSG side who had played a dozen fewer matches than they had - and in a much less competitive league. We should have nothing but pride when we look back.

Maybe 4 hours sleep, and my wife and I were back on the road; due to a 7am return flight. The airport shuttles were due to be running until 6am, but had stopped by the time we got back to the Fan Park at 3.45, so we had to summon an Uber. It was a subdued and uneventful flight home, and whilst I had other arrangements for the afternoon my wife was back out and to the parade with two of our girls. 

And despite the disappointment of the previous evening, the number who turned out for the parade, and the atmosphere throughout, were magnificent from what I saw, and what she witnessed. What a club we are. What a global reach we have. There is literally one team in London; and it's called The Arsenal. A beast has been unleashed. 

Together, we can help take this club to the highest of heights. Stick with them, guys. The best is yet to come.

I'll be back with a short season review and a few awards and flowers in a few days. But for now the haters - full of envy as they are - can all f*ck off. COYG!!!

The Sun Always Shines On The Righteous

As my good friend, former Supporters Clubs Liaison Officer at Arsenal Jill Smith, reminded me last week, some of Arsenal’s most memorable days have been in the most beautiful weather. The 1971 FA Cup Final. Ditto 1979 and 1998. The last day of the 2003-04 season and victory over Leicester City to go unbeaten. Dennis Bergkamp Day. The final game at Highbury; May 7th 2006. And to add to that collection we now have the day of the 2026 Trophy Lift. My father always used to refer to beautiful sunny days as Arsenal Weather (I don’t half miss him at times like this), and he was so right. The sun always shines on the righteous.

You know, I was actually planning on writing a Crystal Palace review post. But then I realised that nobody really cares about the game itself, and that the Trophy Lift was all that mattered. So I’m going to cover the rest of Sunday afternoon’s sporting events in a few lines before going on to the only things that really matter. Which are:

1. The fabulous post-match scenes at Selhurst Park, and 

2. The small matter of the Champions League Final; which I shall preview below

So before we get on to the Trophy Lift, let’s look back at the salient points from the 10 matches themselves:

1. So Tottenham survived. A great pity, in its way. Seventeenth Again Ole Ole; they’ve certainly made that spot their own. The after-match scenes at The New Toilet Bowl made for fascinating viewing, and we got a sense of perspective as we witnessed the ‘celebrations’ and got a real sense of the current gulf between them and The Arsenal

2. This meant that West Ham went down. Their fans don’t deserve that, but their ownership probably do (as Tottenham’s would have done). They will have to sell their best players as a result - Mateus Fernandes, anyone? The Police will now be dreading their two matches against Millwall next season

3. Andoni Iraola signed off by taking Bournemouth into the Europa League. He is surely destined to be managing a big club next season

4. Chelsea remain a laughing stock; final day defeat leaving them in an embarrassing 10th spot. They and Liverpool have been the season’s great under-achievers (I’m not putting Tottenham in that bracket because, as SAF put it all those years ago: ‘Lads - it’s Tottenham’), and their supporters are leading the anti-Arsenal online saltiness in what are surely deflectionary tactics. Pitiful 

5. And Manchester City? Great to see them signing off with a home defeat, leaving them fully 7 points behind The Arsenal. That gap feels about right. 

So cheerio Pep - and good riddance to you! Also to your sleazy sidekick Bernardo Silva, whose sneaky on-field antics I certainly will not miss. 

I do need to pay some sort of tribute to Guardiola, I guess. Because he has certainly revolutionised football; perhaps in the way the great innovators of the past, Johann Cruyff and - yes - Herbert Chapman did. A tactical genius; of that there can be no doubt. And there is also no doubt that he built some great sides. But… he always had the money to do so (Barcelona, Bayern, City), and that helped him assemble the tools he needed. 

And then there’s the small matter of The Charges - and the feeling that there’s perhaps some momentum behind that matter coming to a close relatively soon now.

But on to the matter in hand: 

22 years of pain - not quite erased, but now on the back burner as all those associated with Arsenal FC bask in the glory of being back where we belong.

What a few days it has been. All the way back to last Tuesday. Have you - like me - been walking a little taller as you’ve gone about your life? Strutting, maybe? I’ve caught myself doing it, to be honest. And there are two aspects to this:

Firstly, it has been a long time coming, and as a fan base we’ve really earned it. And secondly, enjoying the salty tears of fans of other clubs who are finding reasons to knock Arsenal for their achievements, and look for reasons/excuses for their own teams’ inadequacies has been so enjoyable. You know the shtick:

• All those VAR decisions that apparently went Arsenal’s way…
• The fact that Arsenal gave away no penalties all season, and didn’t have a single man sent off, clearly indicate that Arsenal have PGMOL in their pockets…
• The Premier League have done everything they can to ensure that Arsenal finally won it…
• And - of course - Arsenal are boring! Set Piece FC and all that nonsense

All utter drivel, of course. This is all merely holding up a mirror to them all. Especially Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea fans, who have been particularly salty. Yes, Arsenal have had some good fortune and officiating decisions go their way along the way; but they’ve also had their fair share of bad fortune and criminally bad officiating decisions. And it’s not as if there hasn’t been a recent history of real miscarriages of justice over the previous few seasons. So people just need to get over it. You don’t get to finish top of the pile - and get into a Champions League Final - without earning it. 

The real beauty of it, of course, is that the ridiculous chant of Second Again Ole Ole can finally be consigned to the bin. And when you hear it chanted by supporters of clubs who can only dream of being consistent challengers over the years like Arsenal have been, then you know that you have Right on your side. 

The excitement going forward is that there is a real opportunity here. Winning the title could easily release the mental shackles from this group. The club itself is in a decent enough financial position to buy even better players. Whilst at the same other clubs are in a state of flux. 

City will not be the same next season without Pep, United are going to be in for a shock when they suddenly have two games a week to play, Liverpool have a serious rebuild on their hands, the likes of Villa, Bournemouth and Brighton have a chunky gap to bridge, Chelsea are on life support despite the arrival of their saviour Alonso - and Tottenham… well, they’re Tottenham… So there is a possibility that Arsenal could build a dynasty from this point. Let’s hope so.

And so to the scenes at Selhurst Park from around 6.45pm. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that I’ll ever tire of watching them. I loved the thought that the club had given to involving all the back room staff and the way that instead of getting a Legend like Wrighty to help with the presentation they involved a young man from Arsenal In The Community instead. 

I loved watching those Arsenal fans fortunate enough to be in the ground (with the notable exceptions of Piers Morgan and his son…) having so much fun - along with the club’s biggest cheerleader, Ian Wright. And I of course loved seeing Martin Odegaard lift the trophy high above his head, watching the trophy passed from player to player, witnessing Mikel Arteta going through so many emotions (and getting the bumps from his players), listening to the interviews and of course hearing the supporters serenade each player in turn. The players appear to be very closely knit together, and this is a reflection of the careful selection process that means that personality is as important as ability. 

It was a great sign to see Stan and Josh Kroenke in attendance, and to hear Josh say that the club was ready to go again. This could be the start of something big! The Kroenke’s sports empire, KSE, had been one of the USA’s great sporting underachievers for many years until they saw the light with the LA Rams a few years ago - seeing how spending money and backing a dynamic young coach might lead to dramatic success - and they have followed that Super Bowl up with a Stanley Cup, an NBA trophy, MLS success and now a Premier League. They now just need the World Series for the greatest set of Top Trump cards in sporting history!

Enough basking, however. There is one game to go in Arsenal’s season. And it’s the biggest club match of all; and against the most intimidating of opponents in last year’s Champions League winners Paris St Germain. So… what chance do Arsenal have?

There is little doubt that PSG are the most dynamic attacking force in club football. Their forward line - backed by an incredible midfield trio - are devastating at their best. But they do let in goals. And in Arsenal they are coming up against the best club side without the ball. A case of an irresistible force coming up against an immovable object, in fact. It could and should be absolutely fascinating.

Who will Arteta pick to start, and where will the match be won or lost? I’ve been agonising over this myself, so goodness knows what the manager is going through? The likely absence of Jurrien Timber is a massive blow, but for me the rest of the side almost picks itself.

Here’s where I am at the time of writing:

Raya

Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori

Rice, MLS, Odegaard

Saka, Havertz, Trossard

Although I’m mulling over the following:

1. Playing Saliba at right back in a positional swap with Mosquera to help nullify the massive threat of Khavaratskhelia

2. Hincapie for Califiori - should Arteta look to contain PSG early on before stepping things up

3. Zubi regaining his place at the expense of MLS (a similar call to the one above)

4. Eze for Odegaard?

5. The pros and cons of starting Havertz or Gyokeres

My word; this is difficult! But one thing is for sure - the full extent of the squad is going to be used! I remember writing several months ago that if Arteta had a fully fit squad to select from he’d be giving himself massive headaches - and we’re close to that at the moment (the right back position excepted). 

How might the game go? Well, your guess is as good as mine. But I do sense that, to start with at least, Arsenal may not see much of the ball. But that the longer that they can keep things tight, the more the pressure will build on PSG to deliver. 

From PSG’s perspective, they know that they are going to have a massive task on their hands in trying to break Arsenal down. Plus - if the rumours are true - the loss of Hakimi is not only bad news for them in itself, but will also have a knock-on effect on team selection. And if Dembele is also unfit… well, that could be critical. 

What’s my ideal scenario? It’s this: 94th minute. 0-0. Arsenal have a corner. Rice delivers, Gabriel heads the ball towards goal, and a PSG player turns it into his own net. How poetic would it be, after all the criticism, for Arsenal to win the Champions League with an own goal from a set piece?!?

What I do see happening, to be serious, is Arsenal keeping things tight, then slowly start to exert pressure of their own. With substitutions being key. We shall see. But a forecast of 26 degrees in Budapest for Saturday bodes well. 

Anyway… enjoy your weekend, guys. Try to enjoy the match. And enjoy the parade on Sunday. Up to a million pople are expected - how big are Arsenal?!?!?

I’ll be back with a Season Review (or two) next week. Come. On. You. Gunners!!!

Campeones! Campeones! Olé Olé Olé!

I started writing this week's piece on Tuesday morning, following the tense 1-0 win over Burnley. But then I thought to myself: 'Wait! Why bother with a forensic analysis of yet another agonising home performance when there could easily be much bigger matters to discuss in just 24 hours, with no need to even bother with discussing Burnley.' And - despite the pain the team put us through on Monday evening - that performance simply doesn't matter any longer. Because winning the title changes the narrative - and will surely now flick a switch for these players. 

So I'm going to gloss over Burnley with great haste; get it out of the way now. Bullet points only:

• I didn't like the line-up. Would have much preferred to see Gyokeres start. And we saw the impact he made when he came on; the guy has absolutely 'arrived' now

• I also hated the midfield selection. All very well on paper, but totally unbalanced and put far too much on even the ridiculously broad shoulders of Declan Rice. Even against Burnley...

• such a relief when the goal went in. And, as surely written in the stars, from a set piece. And Burnley never looked like scoring - just three shots at the Arsenal goal; one wide and two over the bar. But...

•  …at 1-0, you're always on edge. A corner. A speculative 30-yarder. A penalty. You just never know. I just wish that Arsenal would have properly gone after the second goal to put it to bed properly. But I guess that the crowd were probably more nervous about the match situation than the players were. Naturally, at 0-0 one is concerned; at 1-0 you remain on edge; and 2-0 - the supposed 'dangerous' scoreline... well, I think that we'd have certainly lived with that!

• the outpouring of relief at the end was palpable. A sense that it was pretty much done, with City having a really tricky fixture the following night and Palace due to play a Cup Final just three days after our game against them. 

• excellent words from Mikel Arteta during the incredibly rushed after-match formalities. As for Mikel himself... @MattKandela of The Arsenal Opinion fame, on a flying visit from NY and back in his seat next to mine, summed it up when he said to me at that moment that this was all down to him. A brilliant decision from the Kroenkes to bring him in, and then to back him as he set about transforming every single aspect of the club. He has dragged us all along by the collar, and here we are, back where we belong - CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND!

No need to say any more about Monday night, but I hope and sense that winning the title will release the straitjacket from around these players. I turned around to my mate Vic Wright, who sits two rows behind me, and sarcastically said something like: 'PSG will be quaking in their boots watching this', and he put me in my place. 'Bollocks', he said. 'You'll see a completely different Arsenal in Budapest. Win this title and everything will flip!' And on reflection I agree. You could sense it just watching them celebrating last night (and this morning). It's as if a heavy weight has been lifted from the players' shoulders, and I suspect that we'll see much freer performances on May 30th and going into next season. Not that there can be any suggestion whatsoever that PSG will be easy, and Arsenal are clearly underdogs, but there's a monkey off of these players' backs now.

I want to concentrate on two aspects of what winning the title means; one for us Arsenal supporters, but firstly for all those sad, bitter and twisted supporters of other clubs who will give Arsenal zero credit. But a few quick words on the results of Tuesday evening first:

Starting with a quick word on Tottenham, whose traditional defeat away to Chelsea means that their fight against relegation will go down to the final match of the season. I shall enjoy watching their suffering on Sunday; irrespective of whether they do fall. They’ve been a joy to watch for Arsenal fans this season.

As for Manchester City, the writing was on the wall as soon as Kroupi curled in that wonderful shot. And for all their huffing and puffing and Pep's personnel changes, they never looked like pulling it out of the fire (perhaps until the 95th minute of the 96). When Doku went off, I genuinely took that as the raising of the white flag. At the final whistle my joy was actually compounded by looking at the expressions on the faces of the likes of Harland and Rodri. Where are your humility and mentality now? 

So firstly Liverpool and now Arsenal have kept the title away from City for successive seasons. These are two clubs who have grown and spent their money (granted; a hell of a lot of it!) organically in order to achieve success, whilst the enemy - owned by a nation state and STILL with 115 disciplinary charges hanging over them - miss out for a second successive season despite still spending with impunity as the case against them drags on. And how mad is it that clubs like Leicester City. Everton, Nottingham Forest, Luton Town and others have been punished so swiftly in the case of single offences whilst Chelsea (who started all this financial doping nonsense) received a mere financial slap on the wrist, and City continue to push back again and again on judgment? In the case of Southampton, everything was wrapped up in a week!

City fans now have to face a new reality. Whilst they have a number of exciting young players, their squad is flawed. Bernardo Silva and John Stones are leaving, and the likes of Ruben Dias and Rodri are on the down slope. And, most importantly of all, this is Pep Guardiola's final season with them. And it's the loss of Pep that is surely going to affect them most, if history is anything to go by. Look what happened when SAF left Manchester United. How long did it take Arsenal to return to where they belong post-Wenger (and that's not even allowing for the difficult latter years of AW's tenure, which I shall discuss later). Spurs never replaced Sir Bill Nicholson adequately. Brian Clough couldn't hack it at Leeds United, and his Forest and Derby sides were soon relegated. And there's little evidence to suggest that Enzo Maresca is fit to lace Pep's boots. All this, and the 115 charges still hang over them. So perhaps it's Manchester City who are now going to need to 'Stay humble, eh'. 

Fans of other clubs seem to have a lot to say for themselves. To give some credit, supporters of Arsenal's rivals Liverpool and Manchester United are generally behaving themselves and congratulating the new Champions, but there's still plenty of 'saltiness' in their ranks; and especially in the ranks of Chelsea and Tottenham fans (as if the latter don't have enough to worry about!). Nonsense like: 'Worst PL winners ever'. 'Set Piece FC'. 'VARsenal' and other such crap. 

In response I'll say this: 

It's a 38-game season; if a team finishes top, it deserves it - especially bearing in mind how deep Arsenal went in all 4 competitions. And when bearing in mind that they're up against a financially-doped behemoth.

And if anybody wants to complain that it's a poor quality PL season, they clearly don't understand football. It has never been harder to win this league, with up-and-coming sides like Bournemouth and Brighton looking to break into the so-called Big 6 and even the poorest of sides capable of picking up results anywhere. There's hardly a single easy game any more (outside of Tottenham, that is).

And if Arsenal are so poor, how come they're in the Champions League final, having won 8 out of 8 in the group stage, beaten Bayern, Inter, and Atletico (twice) on the way, and conceded a grand total of 7 goals (including two in a completely dead final rubber) in 14 matches? How comes they get so much more respect from abroad than they do in England? Are you aware, by the way, that the last time Arsenal conceded an open play goal in a CL game when Saliba and Gabriel were both on the field was April 2024?!? 

Sure, this may not be the most exciting team you’ve ever watched. But it’s solid, reliable, functional, extremely difficult to break down, and in my opinion has a much higher ceiling than we’ve had the opportunity to see. As a comparison, look at George Graham’s 1991 title winners (if you’re old enough). Arteta has learned the lessons of previous campaigns and built a team to do the job in hand. Now that they’ve broken the glass ceiling, who knows where he may take them. Perhaps to creating a dynasty?

What we’re seeing from opposing supporters is, in fact, is pure jealousy and deflection. In sustaining title challenges for 4 successive seasons as he has, whilst having to rebuild from the dog days of having the likes of Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac and Guendouzzi in the side and transforming the team into a football killing machine, Arteta has held up a mirror to all those other clubs who have wandered off on other paths. Liverpool have been awful all season; all Jurgen Klopp’s work undone in a single season by his successor. Manchester United's progress this season can only been taken with a huge pinch of salt, as they've actually played fewer games than Arsenal have won. Villa aren't in Arsenal's league. Chelsea are a laughing stock. And as for Tottenham... 

There has only been Manchester City to worry about; a club that's spent in excess of half a billion pounds in the two years that it has had these charges hanging over them and are clearly acting with total contempt and impunity - sticking two fingers up at the League. Whilst Arsenal have gone quietly about the business of bridging the gap.

As for all the VAR nonsense... well, maybe Arsenal have been slightly fortunate on a few occasions this season - the challenge that Havertz got away with on Monday evening for example - but one can hardly suggest that City haven't also benefitted. Red herring. And look at some of the officiating that Arsenal have suffered from over the previous three years?

And now a message for Arsenal supporters:

Nobody can say that we haven't earned this. When you think about everything that the club have had to go through since the last Premier League title, in the Invincibles season of 2004 - and the path that they've taken to get here... well, it has been a long and difficult period. The list of setbacks is depressing:

• the arrival of Abramovich at virtually the same time as the club committed to a new stadium

• the financial constraints that meant that Arsenal not only could not afford to keep up with their rivals' spending, but they had to let their best players go too (the likes of Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie, for example - in a procession that started with the loss of Ashley Cole)

• the unfortunate circumstances of the defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League final of 2006; featuring the early sending-off of Jens Lehmann. And then getting into a real challenging position in the 2008 title race before Eduardo had his ankle snapped off

• the move to the new stadium, and the struggles to make it feel like home/a fortress

• other really disastrous (and completely avoidable) injuries to the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Abou Diaby. And Jack Wilshere's inability to stay fit

• massive, morale-sapping defeats like 8-2 at Old Trafford (without which - blessing in disguise - we wouldn't have the connection to Mikel Arteta) and 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in Arsene's 1000th game in charge

• the disaster that was Project Youth - remember players like Denilson?

• the steady demise when all the team had the ability to play for was the '4th Place Trophy'. Commendable in its way, but well below the standards to which we aspired. And meaning that we finished behind even Tottenham for so many successive years 

• the slightly uncomfortable departure of Arsene Wenger, and the frankly disastrous18-month tenure of Unai Emery

• the initial struggles of Mikel Arteta - in his very first managerial role; although having learned at the feet of Wenger and Guardiola - difficult to imagine better teachers - and despite one FA Cup to show for his early efforts the murmurings that he wasn't up to the job

• the fallout from the Super League fiasco, which was the nadir of the Kroenke's relationship with the supporters. And how things have changed since

• the decision to stick with Mikel Arteta and his 'process', despite the successive near misses

Quite the soap opera, but here we are. Was it worth it? Well, today it certainly feels ike it was!

So how do you feel, guys?  Personally, I'm ecstatic with joy! And so happy to bear witness to the outpourings of happiness from supporters not just at the stadium last night and this morning, but on social media, in the written and spoken media, and all over the world!  And one thing is perfectly clear - there is no bigger club in London than The Arsenal, and let there be no doubt about it now. I'd also perhaps go so far as to say that there may now be no bigger club in England when it comes to visible support; and we'll prove it at the parade on May 31st. 

Just two matches to go this campaign. One now a total irrelevance, and I’d expect massive rotation for it. It simply doesn’t matter at all.

As for Budapest; well, that’s a different matter. There’s no bigger test than PSG - although they may be arguing that there’s no bigger test than Arsenal! A clash of styles for sure, but if there’s a team who are capable of nullifying their attacking threat then surely it’s Arsenal. 

I’ll cover that in more depth early next week, but in the meantime make sure you enjoy yourselves at the expense of anybody who doesn’t have the good fortune to be an Arsenal fan. Rub their noses in it as much as you can; because, in much the same way as we had to cope with Tottenham fluking their way to Europa League glory last season - with all those feelings a of having a little piece of our souls torn away - so we can give it back to them and all the others in spades. Now that we’ve won something big, they’re all going to struggle to find anything to beat us up about. Good!

Meantime, here a few stills of Arsenal players celebrating their achivement. There was an all-nighter going on, for sure. And I'd like to wish Riccardo Calafiori a very happy birthday (shared with my son btw). One of these photographs is dedicated to him (btw did you see him popping up on the right wing on Monday evening?!?)

And for Ebereche Eze; well, it all worked out...

So… North London Forever. COYG!

How Are YOUR Nerves...

It has been quite an interesting and varied week for Arsenal fans in the whole, has it not? That comfortable victory over Fulham feels like a lifetime ago. Followed by the wonderful sight of Manchester City dropping points on Monday night. The euphoria of the Champions League semi-final. And all rounded off by the roller coaster at West Ham; 100+ minutes of mainly absolute torture, but with the right outcome in the end. Everything is back in these players' hands now, and Arsenal fans can get back to dreaming. Just three games left to achieve immortality.

Let's cover Monday night first. As, with the pressure on, City blinked first. Who are the bottlers now? At 0-1, I think we were expecting City to rack up the three points and maybe make inroads into the goal difference, but 13 minutes of madness - Guehi's horrendous misjudgement, 'Set Piece FC' and a bizarre third goal had Arsenal fans in rapture. Disappointing to see City peg it back to 3-3 late on, but we'd have taken that at kick-off, would we not? 

And here's an interesting thought. This season, Arsenal have lost Saka, Odegaard, Timber and Havertz for significant periods, yet still remain top of the pile. Yes, City have had Gvardiol and Dias out for a while now (causing them to chuck £60m at Guehi in January, the poor souls), but the loss of Rodri for just a few matches has rendered them vulnerable and semi-impotent; half the team they are with him. Although, to be fair to him, Jeremy Doku has really stepped up.

The significance of those dropped points stretches further than the obvious mathematics. With the final 1-2% of an elite professional sportsman's make-up being psychological, that result looks likely to be a killer blow for them. Plus it also elevates the confidence of the Arsenal players. It's as if they've reached the top of a mountain pass, and can suddenly see the green valleys stretching away in front of them. As a supporter - and whilst not getting carried away - this is where I am at the moment. 

And so to the second leg. Surprise from me that Arteta named an unchanged side, as I was convinced that Zubi would be back alongside Dec in central midfield. But the manager went with his gut, and MLS rewarded him with another excellent performance.

Prior to that, we saw some of the greatest fan engagement work even put together by the club - along with the admirable Red Action group. A large crowd greeted the coach as it arrived at the stadium, and the atmosphere built from fully half an hour before kick-off: all rounded off by that massive tifo (I could only see the back of it from where my seat is) and a stirring and raucous sing-song to round it off. Many more fans than usual were in their seats long before 8pm, and the place was as consistently loud as I have ever heard it! Our confidence was of course buoyed by the previous night’s result, but the hope and expectation were almost tangible.

In truth, from the moment that Starboy gave us the lead - the pre-assist coming from the excellent Gyokeres, Trossard jockeying for position to shoot and Saka pouncing on the loose ball - I don’t think that I was ever really worried. Sure, Atletico had the odd moment, as one might expect, but the Arsenal defence remained solid enough (of course, there was that one moment of panic when Calafiori's challenge would have led to a penalty if Gabriel had not already been fouled). 

And once Simeone blinked and took off both Griezmann and Alvarez - deciding bizarrely to go long ball to the one-dimensional Sorloth - I think that we all knew.

For all that the statistics don't tell the full story, I thought that this was Gyokeres best game for the club. He was running into the channels with the confidence of a man who knew that he was going to receive the ball, and he showed admirable strength to hold off Pubill and Le Normand. As many duels were lost as won, but he was continually putting Atletico on the back foot. It feels as if Arteta has finally worked out how to get the best out of him. It would have been lovely for him to put the icing on the cake with a goal, but Hincapie's cross bounced inconveniently in front of him and he lifted his shot over the bar.

Elsewhere, it was difficult to fault anybody, But I'll single out a few for extra plaudits. Ben White had his best game for a considerable while. Calafiori's movement and power kept the opposition guessing. MLS showed bravery both on and off the ball. Saka made his mark in the most important of ways. And Trossard looked back to his best (we have, of course, now found out why he's not been playing well over the past few weeks). 

By the end, both benches were trying to get onto the field to help, with bookings for both managers, and things got as fractious as one might expect when thinking about the characters of the two men. Extraordinary to see Simeone almost coming to blows with his old colleague, Andrea Berta. And when the final whistle went it was bedlam inside the ground.

An unusually large number of fans stayed to the end, despite the lateness of the hour, and they were rewarded by celebrations of the highest quality - both on the pitch itself and in the stands. The sight of the players running together towards the fans, holding hands, as the DJ blasted out 'Freed From Desire' was glorious. We are, indeed, on our way - although at ludicrous cost to those who do go. 

And it'll be PSG in the final. A chance for revenge after last season's semi final. But we can put that on the back burner for for a couple of weeks.

A quick detour to Saturday evening, and what looks on paper like a comfortable 3-0 win for Manchester City over Brentford. But if you've seen the highlights... City should have conceded at least one penalty, and had two men sent off; Nunes and Bernardo Silva (the latter twice!). 

I'm sure that they'll beat Crystal Palace, who have their minds on other things, on Wednesday, but following the FA Cup Final - a match in which I, for one, have zero interest as the two biggest cheats in English football clash - they have to go to Bournemouth. I wouldn't fancy that.

And following Arsenal's narrow win over West Ham yesterday the main prize feels even closer. It's all in Arsenal's hands. But boy; did we go through the wringer?!? And before I start, a quick mention to the West Ham fans who booed Declan Rice early on. Classy, as usual...

Arsenal, unchanged for the third game in a row, dominated the early exchanges and could easily have been three goals to the good - chances for Trossard and two for Calafiori - before Ben White received what looks like it may be a season-ending injury half way through the half. And Arteta made the most bizarre substitution at that point, choosing to bring on Martin Zubimendi and push Declan Rice to right back. As I said on a WhatsApp group or two at the time: 'What's he doing? That will upset the entire balance of the team. Just bring Mosquera on!' And the game swung immediately, as the loss of Dec in midfield meant that control was almost completely ceded to the home side. Having had 9 shots prior to the change, Arsenal had just a single further one before half time.

My concern at half time was that should it all go wrong at that point, then this strange choice might end up defining Arsenal's season - and perhaps, at a stretch, Arteta's entire career. It was a relief to see Mosquera stripped off for the second half, and of course it remains to be seen if - as Arteta said afterwards - Calafiori is really injured... Either way, Dec went back into midfield; but it barely stemmed the flow as Arsenal struggled to reimpose themselves. What looked like it would be a routine win during the first quarter of the match was suddenly anything but. Calafiori's marauding runs were certainly missed, with MLS reverting to his role of last season.

As you all know, the match hinged on 4 incidents. Firstly, David Raya's incredible save from Fenandes. It felt as if time stood still as he went through on goal via a clever 1-2, but our keeper stood up tall and forced him into a decision. His reactions to clear with his right leg from almost point blank range were astonishing; yet another brilliant intervention to add to the list.

Not long after, Trossard's goal. I'd been calling for Odegaard to come on from around 55 minutes, as I felt that Eze's low-touch game wasn't getting things done (for all his undoubted skill) and that we needed a busier player on the field. Odegaard occupies different spaces on the field too, of course, and this would also mean someone getting closer to help out the unusually quiet Saka. By the time the goal came, Starboy had been replaced by Madueke but it was Odegaard, driving into the space on the left of the West Ham defence having played a 1-2 with Rice, who cleverly lured defenders towards him before laying a perfect pass to Trossard. Who duly crashed the ball home; probably via a slight deflection, but who honestly cares? My celebrations were immediately followed by a lingering look at the clock on the top left-hand corner of the screen; and it seemed to be moving very slowly...

Special mention to our skipper here; he has had a really difficult season, and been questioned in many quarters, but he is absolutely crucial to this project and this felt like a small slice of redemption and point-proving to those who doubted him.

6 minutes over (as I'd predicted out loud to the otherwise empty room two seconds before it appeared on screen). And in the 4th of them a brilliant block from Gabriel prevented an equaliser. We've seen this countless times in the past, but this one felt huge! And the ball spun out for a corner. Last chance? Quite possibly.

Goalkeeper up. And in it swung. Something looked a bit off as perhaps more than the usual grappling commenced, and following some pinball Wilson smashed the ball over the line, despite Dec's best efforts. Utterly deflating, with prayers replacing hope.

But I'm sure that you, like me, would have been a lot more hopeful having seen just a single replay. There was definitely a foul on Raya (as it turns out, there were actually two!). The only question now was whether the VAR decision would go our way. And the fact that it took so long - and so many replays for what looked to me like a clear and obvious foul - was starting to worry me; with my pulse rate heading towards 140! But Darren England as VAR had spotted the issue, and whilst I guess that he 'chickened out' of making a decision himself and left it to the man on the field, referee Kavanagh eventually announced the good news, and all was well in the world once more.

There are, of course, numerous issues around all this. Especially noted in some of the salty reactions of fans of rival clubs. West Ham fans were rightly disappointed. And fans of teams like Spurs and Chelsea felt the need to express outrage. There were certainly other things going on in the penalty area that could easily be penalised (and there always are); although when there is more than one it's the one with the 'material impact' that takes precedence - in this case the foul on Raya. 

And the thing is this; this whole situation at corners has got completely out of hand. Regular readers of this page will know that I have been calling for Law changes almost all season, despite Arsenal having been the first to master the current Laws and to have taken the most advantage of them to rack up the goals. 

Goalkeepers are continually impeded. Players have their arms wrapped around each other prior to the kicks being taken, and long after too. Often, people aren't even looking at the ball! There are often half a dozen possible infringements at every single corner kick event. It's madness, and it can not and should not continue. Rival supporters are saying that Arsenal are the biggest beneficiaries of VAR calls at corners, and yet here we were moaning when a decision went against us. That Arteta - all compliments to the officials after the game - would have behaved entirely differently had the same thing occurred at the other end.

And the problem is really just as much the application of the Laws as the Laws themselves. Inconsistency from officials is what has made this all such a minefield. Bu the only really comparable one I can think of is when an Arsenal goal against Leicester two seasons ago was ruled out for the same reason as this; Ben White had his arm wrapped around their goalkeeper's, preventing him from jumping cleanly for the ball. The rest - the impeding and blocking off - is not currently against the Laws. Although it should be! 

I thought that former top Referee's Assistant Darren Cann got it spot on on MOTD2. 'The main situation - the foul on the goalkeeper - was picked up and ultimately we end with the correct decision.' Nail on head. I would imagine that as a consequence of the significance of this call (completely correct as it was), things will change for next season. As they should.

Now people call Arsenal fans paranoid. Because we supposedly think that everyone is out to get at the club. But there is definitely a different agenda when it comes to Arsenal in the written and spoken media, and especially on Social Media, than there is with literally any other English club. Perhaps it's because agendas will have to completely change once the players finally win a big title, and new targets will have to be found. I know that in a much smaller way Tottenham winning the Europa League last season tore out a little piece of my soul; suddenly I had one less thing with which I could take the p*ss out of them. 

And the thing about this paranoia in the Arsenal community is this; we don't think that they're out to get us - we KNOW that they are! So winning one or two trophies this season will feel great not just for the winning itself, but for getting these imbeciles off of our backs! Although, as Taylor Swift once so eloquently put it: 'Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate...' What we will be doing if and when the trophies come our way is shake it off.

Anyway, we move on. Everything is there for Arsenal now. Home to Burnley, and then away to Crystal Place three days before the Conference League Final. All in our hands, with no excuses. There's nothing Manchester City can do to stop us.

More injury worries, of course, and whilst we wait on Ben White it's probably worth mentioning that we ought to be able to cope with a makeshift right back for the final two league games. However, with PSG and in particular Khavaratskhelia heaving into view in three weeks' time, it would be really, really helpful if Jurrien Timber can regain fitness...

OK; relax. Deep breaths. As a mere afterthought, Spurs are still in deep do-do. 

COYG!