As fans, this is the kind of day that we live for. The alarm shrills, sleepy fingers grope for the off switch and the first coherent thought to form through the fog of recently departed sleep is ‘Arsenal. It’s tonight’. This is the big one folks. Our nearest rivals have done all we could ask to ensure the pressure remains fully over in the red and Arsene has done all he can to prepare the players to work within that pressure. You can feel the expectation, tension and excitement vibrating in every Arsenal fan you meet, in every tweet and every status update the nervous thrill as our penultimate ‘cup final’ approaches.
I want you to put your hand on your heart and tell me: Did you truly believe we’d get through the first eight of these ten games and only draw two, losing none? When Arsene cranked up the tension with his ten cup final speech, how many of us thought ‘that’s a big ask’ after a sometimes infuriatingly inconsistent season? I knew we had the ability to do it, and in public I sounded resolute, but that little voice inside me kept chipping away. Long unbeaten runs in this version of the premiership where squads packed with first choice internationals can get easily relegated are so very difficult to establish. It is as George pointed out in a recent post a much, much tougher league than it used to be.
And yet here we are. Tantalisingly close. Like that bloke and his ginger girlfriend off Game Of Thrones trying to climb the impossibly tall ice wall, just a couple of last gasps from the parapet. One false step and they plummet to the eternal winter of the Europa league, two more herculean lunges and they are gazing down over the meadows and rich pastures of the UCL. So what then of tonight’s ice wall? What of Wigan? What, I wonder, will they bring to the table ? We have all been attempting to read the tea leaves after their heroics against the Oil Barons on Saturday. It’s as if everyone is reading the same thriller and trying to work out where the plot is leading them. Will Martinez have kept them away from the champers and go go girls? Will they be hung over or inspired by Wembley? Did Macmanamanamanam have the game of his life or is Kieran in for a roasting like that his predecessor endured?
Sorry to disappoint you but I’m not in the business of making predictions. Go to Blackpool and visit a fortune teller if that’s what you want. Who predicted Wigan to beat the oil men, Bradford to beat us, or us to utterly humiliate Bayern away from home? Who on earth thought the Spuds would, after their customary end of season capitulation, find the inner strength and belief to cling, no matter how tenuously to their top four ambitions? The point is none of us know. I’m sick of bloggers pretending they do. Remember when Theo had a temporary contract extension as his people and our people got round the table to thrash out a deal?
You all read as I did countless bloggers airily asserting that “Walcott is already gone, we all know that” and “Of course everyone knows we have lost Theo, we need to ask who if anyone will be brought in to replace him” that kind of pathetic, self serving egotistical drivel that passes for amateur journalism. I challenged one prominent blogger to make a full and public apology if and when Theo re-signed but I had just as well piss in the wind. As far as I can see these people have their negative agenda whether conscious and deliberate or innate and unacknowledged. They like the sound of their high pronouncements with the clear implication that they somehow know the future. Well they don’t. And nor do we. We haven’t a clue. The form book, the squads, the manager’s experience all point to us winning. But no matter how much I expect us to I don’t know and nor do you so lets leave predictions to Eileen Drewery and just try to enjoy the match.
My mate Wilb, when asked what result he wanted if watching a match as a neutral always answered without hesitation “Extra time and penalties”. He wanted as many minutes of football entertainment as the two teams could give him. I am enormously out of step with many of you I know because for all the edge of the seat nail chewing, for all the times the dog has slid from the room on her belly emitting toxic farts of terror as I scream at the screen and bite the furniture, I am actually thoroughly enjoying the fact that this season is going to the wire. Like Wilb I want as much as I can get out of this thing. Yes I hoped both Spuds and Chavs might lose at the weekend because like everyone else I’m conscious that it would buy us leeway should we have ‘one of those days’ either tonight or on Sunday. But they didn’t lose and so we get to go to the very end of the season still needing to win our games to be certain, still hoping the others slip up and help us. It is squeezing the season until the pips squeak and I’m loving every second of it. My hopes are that we stay unbeaten to the end and kick off 2013/14 with something already to defend. I pray we finally see a summer with none of the usual upheaval (please God no transfer activity to further disrupt us) so that the squad defending that nascent unbeaten run will be the ones who earned it.
Of course to realise my dreams we need to stay focussed and keep defending like we have been lately. We have at last a settled defensive partnership which breathes calm and stability and provides the perfect foundation for our more advanced players. We have a midfielder in Aaron Ramsay just coming of age and putting in the kind of dynamic never say die performances that are little short of inspirational. With the experience and guile of Tomas, Santi and Lukas and a proper captain at last I think the side looks as balanced as I can remember. When you factor in the youngsters like Wilshere and Oxelaide-Chamberlain who are hammering on the door wanting their place the future is very bright indeed.
So yes I think we can. Heck I know we can. Will we? Let’s just say I bloody well hope so.
Positively Arsenal 
Good morning STEWW
great laughs. You had me with toxic farts. I feel for your dog mate. What might she be thinking. Hopefully her old heart can handle your emotional rollarcoster these last two games. Can’t wait for the game tonight. I think the RED&WHITES will do it and to tell you the truth, I still got my eye on third which is still possible. C O Y G ……
bring it home..
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That’s the spirit GK!
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Nice one Stew; a long day ahead, must stay focused (on the game, obviously, not the small distraction of work!).
To answer your question – I honestly thought we stood a good chance of losing to Manure largely due to the ridiculous momentum they’ve been allowed to build, partly due to the ‘friendliness’ of the refereeing regime towards them and partly due to sod’s law. I also thought there’d be more draws. So a draw v Manure, though we were disappointed at the time, was not a bad result by any means and we won on numerous occasions that could have seen a slip up for a draw/defeat.
Not sure which way it’ll go tonight; Wigan will of course fight for their lives but how they will enter the fray will dictate the outcome. If it’s an open game I’d anticipate freshness being a greater friend to our boys than theirs. If it’s park-the-bus time then anything could happen.
We’ll see. Here’s hoping Liz has topped up on your surely already generous supplies of air-freshener?
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truly yes we can – 2 more cup finals to go
did anyone read that stuff over at arsenal truth blog – what a misnomer… such contrast with reality. o well i guess thats some people’s reality
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much as i feel bad to be causing martinez any form of grief, i guess it cant be helped.. wigan go down after a loss tonight… really wish it was stoke going down
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Amen….Steww.
Its been one hell of a ride.
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Well fuck me Stew.That was new heights mate.
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Is there a more refreshingly honest, positively Arsenal blogger than Steww? What a revelation? This is a haven from the conceit, egotism and two-facedness that pollutes the Arsenal blogsphere. Yes. We. Can.
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George – Did you and I have a eureka moment together?
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Funny stuff Steww
“none of us know. I’m sick of bloggers pretending they do.”
Amen to that. I like these kind of posts, there’s not enough wit and self-deprecation in the Arsenal blogsphere. Too many folks taking themselves far too seriously, I know f*ck all about what’s going on behind the scenes at Arsenal, and I happily admit that. I also know f*ck all about tactics really (basically then: I know f*ck-all), and stats etc usually bore me into a coma to be honest, so I can’t get involved in endless debates about formations and stuff. Zzzzzz. Fair play to those folks who do of course, but the downside to all this social media onslaught is that every Tom. Dick and, er, Harry, fancies themselves as a top Premier League coach. ‘Cos it’s obviously a piece of piss. Innit.
Anyway, I’m a bag of nerves about tonight. That’s why the good lord invented alcohol y’know.
I think we’ll do it though.
COYG
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Lovely again, steww.
You and me both, Harry Flowers. The toxic combination of ignorance and arrogance pollutes the Arsenal blogosphere.
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Thank you all for reading and commenting. As gratifying as it is to receive compliments from such esteemed people as yourselves never lose sight of the fact that without George this blog would never have existed in the first place, nor would it continue.
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I’m with Harry on the ‘know fuck all’ front.
And Stew in acknowledging George’s contribution to the sanity of many of us.
I’ll get all our coats.
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Excellent stuff again. One problem though that I need to share about the post. Much like having a tune that you just can’t get out of your head and frustratingly find yourself humming/whistling/singing that tune at moments throughout the day, I now have Denis Healy’s laugh in my bloody head. Either his laugh or the caricatured versions by the impressioninsts at the time. (probably Mike Yarwood?)
Anyway, off today and while I usually book the day off for Arsenal games I always regret it, as work would much more easily fill the void as I wait to set off… UTA!
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Actually the might have been Ted Heath’s laugh? Healy was the eyebrows?
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Anyway, I have that laugh in my head because of the post…! HEHEHEHE
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Oops all three above are me.
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Stew, you’ve done it again. Easing jangled nerves is a specialty of yours – ever think about setting up shop?
George, we don’t say it enough. Thanks for keeping this place open for business. This is my pub, you know.
The boys are ready. Arsene is ready. We’re ready. Lets do this thing.
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It’s just another game. An interesting one though. And I’m kind of interested more in seeing who amongst our lads has fitness and spirit to raise his game amidst the pressure cooker atmosphere, just for football reasons; Ramsey is known for this attribute, and I would also bet on Tomas, Santi, Arteta, Kos and also Theo in particular.
It will be hard but not impossible for Wigan to contain Arsenal this season round, away, at this stage and with the stakes so high, and should they go behind they will need to open up the game and press. I expect an all out football feast from the start. Tactically, Wigan need to bet on themselves going ahead in the first half and then forcing Arsenal errors, with luck and energy, they have a chance; they are not a parked bus team.
Either way, I still hope to see Arsenal finishing third this season, so let’s see.
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Cup final time, two must-win games at the death. OK. I bet the players are up for this. Chelsea will not have it easy at Everton, not at all.
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Great to see you ZP. Well, here we are, chest out straining for the tape
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An early goal would be good, otherwise directions to “Heart bypasses R us” might be in order.
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Wigan have no choice but to attack manfully without fear, a draw doesn’t help at all. This generally works in Arsenal’s favour; it’s usually the bus park and hopeful 45 yard punt, deflection, slip that upsets our style. A flurry of activity then in the first 35 minutes, and then tired limbs time. A little burst in the second half, and tired everything time after their weekend heroics. The wind will be with them, but only for a spell; beating a demotivated, spoilt-brat, off-center, lost at sea City is a little illusory. Ironically, an Arsenal win takes the pressure off Spuds, as Sunderland are safe; and we have to beat Newcastle assuming Spuds will win a dead game (dead for Sunderland); failing which, heaven forbid even if we were to lose, Sunderland are in deep shit and must at least draw with Spuds away to remain in top flight. It is not over, until it’s over. Oddly, the worst result for us is a draw, not a loss. Sunderland are still safe. We are not.
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Always reading Steww, and congrats to you all for keeping PosA rocket flying high. We can’t say it hasn’t been an interesting season. Wise old Wenger today saying what must be the inside talk of football town, of course SAF was resigning, we all knew, come on! Why else would he splurge 24m plus-plus on van Persie for a season or two. I just wonder, provocatively, whether Arsene colluded to a minute degree, playing the long game so to speak, knowing well that City must be contained or all hell breaks lose, and leveraging that sale to the max, since the alternative was worse (van Persie to City).
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Right that is work battered into submission for the day – on with the serious stuff – spot on with the comment about one eye twitched at dawn this morning, about 4.45, and the game flashed up on the eyeball.
As a “Theo’s gone” merchant from the Autumn I am clearly deeply wounded by the above. I nevertheless offer my unreserved apologies to all and sundry – other than Team Walcott
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The ‘shit Aaron Lennon’ (try not to laugh) is due another hat-trick I think.
Plans to meet friends? Check.
Mike Dean voodoo doll? Check.
A ‘Keeper not on painkillers for this home game against Wigan? Check!
Chances of there being more then the 500 Wigan fans who turned up last season? Very High.
Probability that the Wigan players will be very high on adrenaline (not in the East German/Dr.Feelgood style) which might fade as the game goes on? Hopefully very high.
–
Come on The Arsenal!
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We will win tonight, that is all.
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On my way to the ground in two minutes Block 22 tonight – right next to the Pie Eaters
I will be the one not sobbing at the end
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alabamagooner May 14, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Stew, you’ve done it again. Easing jangled nerves is a specialty of yours – ever think about setting up shop?
George, we don’t say it enough. Thanks for keeping this place open for business. This is my pub, you know
The boys are ready. Arsene is ready. We’re ready. Lets do this thing.
you’ve stole my thoughts here !
when I wake up and think its an ARSENAL day my nerves build as ko approaches, so its now vital and medicinal to read and indulge in Stews calming pep talks, its something I now need.
apart from last season our record against wigan at home is fantastic and we should concentrate on this a good win tonight sets up the final game of the season perfectly
COYG
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Mel – hyper minimalism, I like it.
anicoll5 – I wasn’t referring to you (unless you write for a certain well known Arsenal blog)
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good solid line up three attacking and three defensive options on the bench
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Martinez is playing to win and not park the bus. This is going to be a good game.
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Oooh exciting. I thought Santi had scored a minute ago.
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Goldi Poldi!!!!
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Koscielny just gave me a Franco Baresi flashback.
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Whats up PA Family?
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Wigan coming into the game a bit.
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Oh YES We Can!
COYG!!
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Santi’s ball winning abilities are incredible.
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Please let’s score another before half time, boys.
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Go on, you Gunners!
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I would like to see a few more goals just in case it comes down to goal difference.
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Do you see what Mike Dean is up to?
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Now the fuck is that a foul and Santi’s wasn’t?
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Damn damn damn damn
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I fucking knew it. What the fuck is Mike Dean doing?
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Dean is at it again. Doesn’t give us a clear as day free kick in the middle of the park and then gifts Wigan one for good defending. Oh what a c*nt he is.
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Fucking dean again
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This guy is up to no good.
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God this commenter is an idiot. Arsene can’t be pissed about the soft free kick given to Wigan because he threw his arms up for Santi’s foul.
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