DB’s Season Diary Week 36 – Argue or Celebrate?
There wasn’t much time to bask in our over celebrations after reaching the FA Cup final, with a real chance of picking up our first trophy in nine thousand years, due to a must win game at home to West Ham on Tuesday.
There wasn’t a great deal of optimism around on the day either, it has to be said, and there were understandable concerns about how knackered the team would be after their exertions over 120 minutes and penalties at the weekend, as well as the over exertions in celebrating it.
Roy Keane. What a cunt. Always been a cunt. Still a cunt.
Scowling at Adrian Chiles doesn’t make him any less of a cunt, and anyone would look less of one next to that potato headed fuck nut anyway. If you want to take on board his comments then feel free, but if we win the FA Cup I will celebrate by painting Roy Keane’s dogs red and white and shitting in his garden.
I left part of my larynx at Wembley, spent half of the week sounding like Lily Savage and seem to have a large bruise slowly developing on my thigh from over celebrating the semi-final win, so it can only get worse should we go on and win it.
I personally would gladly leave Wembley wearing Dave Whelan’s wooden leg due to over celebrating winning the FA Cup.
Anyway, that can wait for now, we still have a battle on our hands to secure a fourth place, which we won’t be able to celebrate, before we can think of the FA Cup final…
Arsenal 3 West Ham 1
Well, the first half went generally as most had feared until Lukas Podolski equalised just before half time, and we came out and played some decent stuff in the second half. Olivier Giroud’s goal was absolute class it has to be said, and after a poor first half from him it looked like that sparked his confidence a bit, so fair play there. Two great finishes from Poldi too was good to see too.
On the whole it was nice to see us play some good football again after recent weeks, with Santi Cazorla especially standing out. I found this particularly pleasing, as every time I look at Santi I just want to ruffle his hair and pinch his little cheeks, bless him. Which isn’t as easy to justify if he’s playing a bit shit. I’ve even forgiven him for the bruise and husky voice he gave me after putting that winning penalty away.
That second half performance is one of those things about Arsenal, just when we are justifiably fearing the worst, we go and do the opposite to what we are expecting.
The win was made even more important after Crystal Palace beat Everton a day later, a result which led to Twitter timelines going mental and the uncomfortable sight of Arsenal fans praising Tony Pulis, some even suggesting he should be Manager of the Year.
My position on this is simple – I am pleased that Crystal Palace beat Everton, which leaves fourth place in our hands. And Tony Pulis is a fucking massive cunt. There you go, simple.
Discussion in the next day or two returned to the old “fourth place or the FA Cup” thing, which bugs me a bit as this “discussion” is often spun in more different ways than a one legged man in a break dancing contest.
Then there’s the “celebrating fourth place like it’s a trophy” nonsense, which also gets spun more ways than the last time I put my cat in the tumble drier.
Just my opinion, but this is how that conversation should go;
“So, would you rather take fourth place or the FA Cup?”
“Both”
“You can’t have both”
“Yes I can”
“No, you can’t, you have to choose one or the other”
“No I fucking don’t, I want both”
“But if you had to choose, would you want fourth place or the FA Cup?”
“Why would I have to choose one or the other?”
“You wouldn’t, but if you had to…”
“Fuck off”
Seriously, I have no problem answering that question hypothetically, as that is all it is, but it really shouldn’t be a cause for days of debate should it?
Maybe that’s just me.
As for the celebrating fourth place like it’s a trophy thing goes, if you stop for a minute to think why we have done that in the more recent past, you will see that this was clinched on the final day of the season, and clinched at the expense of that lot up the road.
If we clinch fourth place at the expense of someone else, a game or two before the end of the season, I doubt we’ll be celebrating with as much aplomb as we have the last couple of years. Having said that, if you fancy doing a streak up and down Holloway Road if we clinch it after beating West Brom, then by all means do.
Much as you’re free to go on a tirade if we don’t make the top four, regardless of whether you would frown on the naked streaker of Holloway Road if we do.
There’s logic for you.
The cat’s shitting herself….
While we’re on the Champions League subject, I have seen and been involved in discussions regarding the competition itself, and while I get, and agree with, the point that it’s as much of a money spinner as anything else these days, the fact of the matter is that if we want to sign top players, then it is made a lot easier if we have Champions League football to offer.
I can’t find my way to dismiss the importance of Champions League football, and then take the piss out of that lot for losing their best players due to not being in it.
Anyway, this is all just my opinion, I’m not here to force it onto anyone else.
Hull 0 Arsenal 3
As routine as it gets in the end, which is another welcome feeling this week.
Great to see Mesut Ozil back, and along with Aaron Ramsey’s return, and this can only bode well for the cup final.
Ramsey’s return in particular just makes you think “What if…?” especially given the way that Chelsea and Manchester City have naused up lately. It’s a very valid point, no doubt about that, but the very thought of the imminent year long media wankfest that will follow Liverpool winning the league has numbed me from such feelings for now.
There will be plenty of time for inquests once the season is over, and you can be sure there will be plenty of them.
Remember how much fun last summer was? Can’t wait for all that again, can you?
I will be taking a break from this next week, as I will be sipping a beer in the sun in Lanzarote.
I might just fucking stay there until August, actually….
Darren Berry
Islington born and bred, Arsenal through and through.
Published author.
Is Yours Gold? The Arsenal Invincibles Twentieth Anniversary – available now,
Over Land and Sea (and Lockdown), Arsenal 20/21 – The Corona Diaires – released 2021.
Clickbait: Life as a Modern Football Fan – released 2019
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