Sorry but I’m struggling to get my head into football mode for you this morning. Don’t panic, I haven’t gone all Jose Mourinho, I don’t regard the final fixtures of a season as any less interesting or important than the first, it isn’t that. I’m just buried in another project and it’s demanding all of my time. I’ve missed watching the last three matches live and may well be working while watching this one so it’s becoming something of a habit as we hurtle towards a football free summer.
Luckily enough there is a website which allows me to watch the games without having to wait for the club to put them up and of course without knowing the result – something the official site seems to delight in sharing. I’ve had my suspicions after each game that we had won because one of the young men I support from time to time is an Arsenal fan and he can’t resist texting me a simple ‘Up the Arsenal’ message at around the time of the final whistle, something I suspect wouldn’t happen had we lost.
I shall at least be working from home this evening and so ought to be able to keep one eye on the action. It’ll be interesting to see if the game follows the pattern of our recent outings. Seems to me Arsène has bemused opponents by being less direct, less gung ho from the kick off playing a little deeper and gradually winding up the tempo as the game goes on. Teams who set out to park the bus must be confused to find their opponents content to slide the ball around among themselves as they peer from over the barricades wondering if the attack will ever come and if so, how it will transpire.
When your entire strategy is based upon tempting nine red and white shirts forward then instigating a long ball counter attack designed to drag the remaining central defender wide thus leaving a hole for others to romp through, it must be at least a little disconcerting to suddenly find three centre backs facing you and two wing backs pelting home to help them. It certainly seems to be working.
It needs to work twice more and we need City and Liverpool to screw up for our league ambitions to be realised. We all know the history, it’s happened before and who’s to say it won’t happen again? Of course it’s unlikely but if we don’t allow our dreams to draw us forward then our fears will surely drag us down. I would love another nail biting last day like last year, it rounds off a season rather wonderfully to confound one’s critics at the death. It would certainly provide the perfect aperitif to the cup final feast.
Standing in our way this evening is a Sunderland side who have had the kind of season they’d want to forget. It is in fact the kind of season that the small minority of so called fans, that gibbering, Wenger hating flock of self aggrandising, self important, attention seeking, septic sores on the beautiful face of our great club, seem to think Arsenal has endured. Having said that even if we were rooted at the foot of the table they’d still be over the top in their criticisms, so far from reality have they strayed.
Poor Sunderland are actually in the mire for real and not just in the imaginations of a few escaped lunatics. They cannot save themselves, their future is in the Championship but then so was that of Newcastle at a similar stage of last season and look how they performed against a certain Middlesex team who had it all still to play for. It’s a curious time of any campaign and weird results can and do happen. I just hope they don’t happen to us.
My real concern is the fitness of the players after a gruelling run of matches. There must be tiredness in some of the legs and with the cup final looming it would be such a shame for any of them to miss out. It would be especially galling for Alexis as he has just returned to form. Much like Aaron Ramsey the Chilean has that tenacious quality to keep trying to play his best possible football even when out of form and out of touch. Neither player likes to look for the simple option and both keep their heads up and keep plugging away until their natural game returns. Both have shown signs of getting back to their energetic, creative best and I will be keeping everything crossed that we see them at Wembley.
Sorry there I go again getting ahead of myself. It is difficult to maintain focus with an FA Cup final just around the corner. Even though Arsène keeps on getting us to Wembley I never tire of the occasion. However, Champion’s League qualification is, in some ways, as big a target and one we cannot give up until all hope is gone. Three points tonight keeps the flame alight and a favour from that most unlikely source – a certain Mr Pulis – will make the last day anything but boring.
If you’re at the match have a wonderful evening, if like me you’re watching online I hope the God of the dodgy internet stream smiles upon you and keeps you virus free. For the penultimate time in this league campaign I shall bid you farewell. Up the Arsenal!
Positively Arsenal 
why did bellerin take so long to go forward, he is as fast as fuck, and he looked afraid to go at them on that breakaway, also xhaka fouled but not given, its 11 v 12 once again
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It’s end to end stuff here Brian
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is it up for grabs now?
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cech saves from defoe, then giroud gets in and may have been fouled, but of course we aint getting a penalty tonight
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East is a clown
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Aw needs to get the Japanese Hornets out at HT?
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COYG!
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First half has raced past. I’m working when we lose possession and I haven’t got much done. Our quality has dropped off but the excitement is still palpable.
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Could do with a boost from the crowd?
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Bellerin not sharp enough there
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Ticked off the Xhaka long shot on my Arsenal bingo card, the not given penalty and the one rule for them one for us square. Oh and disallowed goal and great Cech save. Not many squares left.
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Citeh one up too.
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oh Ramsey oh so close there, a bit of tricky play between ozil and ramsey sees rambo shot saved by pickford, Holding fluffs a header chance from the corner.
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Magic from Aaron and Mesut
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Plenty of good football – not quite sharp enough around the box so far – Sunlun showing commendable spiwit
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HT: 0-0
AFC by far the better team, should have had at least one penalty, maybe as much as 3.
Alexis a bit off the pace so far, giroud started well, but once the sunderland defense realized that the ref was on their side they have got hold of ollie.
Bellerin getting in great positions, but so far has not made the most of it.
Ozil, ramsy and xhaka all going well.
man city 2-0 up already v wba, so a win for afc is needed big time.
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You’ve still got the “Cattermole yellow card” box free Stew
Not for very much longer – almost like he wants a card
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Hard going so far, typical of our games v Sunderland alas. The visitors will tire and we should end up scoring for fun as their attention turns to their holiday plans.
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AA, first goal is vital, we get in sunderland might throw in the towel, if they get it, they will try and hang on
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Back to work, shout when part two comes on
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How the f*ck did Giroud not get that penalty in the 1st 10 minutes?
Kone had his arms around him for ages. Fucking PGMO. Give me the video ref asap.
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Nice to see John Hawley this HT, I was thinking about him today, and there he was popping up-spooky!! Looks really different.Can still recall he debut v Notts Co?
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Hey Stew, its back on again!!!
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Monreal almost scored a bizzare own goal
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Thanks Millsey. Not the greatest start. Collective brain fart.
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xhaka heads over from the resulting freekick that was taken on the six yard line for cech handling the back pass
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Much ado about fuck all
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the wicked which? of the East hasnt a clue!!
Nice one Xhaka!
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COYG!!!!!!
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come on the 11 v the 12
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Ramsey almost put in by ozil
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far to slow in transition
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larsson dives and monreal is booked, and ozil booked too for dissent, one rule for our players and a whole different one for everyone else
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It’s Sunderland lads
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this performance from east might just get our fans to wake up and create some noisey support for the team
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Admittedly we could normally rely on the Black Cats to do something suicidal but tonight they have not obliged
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If only we could stop hitting Giroud with our shots!
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xhaka with a great ball in, gibbs and alexis get in others way, and its a corner, now a second corner
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Getting there – five minutes to our first goal
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Reading leading fulham 1-0 in the championship play off semi
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2 – 0 to City so no miracle there at the moment.
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Maybe Danny can change things a bit?
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How many fouls is Cattermole allowed?
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Hand ball? Seen ’em given…
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east should put on the sunderland kit
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Ive heard hes got a Sunlun tattoo.”Mackems for ever,like”
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ozil miscontrolls a long ball when clean through
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Cattersweat does what he likes.
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commentators wanted ozil second booked and sent off for hitting a freekick off as sunderland player that would not move out of the way. laughable
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Giroud close with a header
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