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!!!