Soccer Fan Blog

Last night Tottenham beat Manchester City away from home to guarantee themselves a place in Champions League qualifying, and more importantly for us it means that should we produce another
terrible, limp performance like the one that saw us lose at Blackburn, like the one that saw us capitulate pathetically at Wigan, or indeed like the one that saw Spurs beat us in the league for
the first time in eleven years, should that happen and we lose to Fulham on the last day of the season then a Tottenham victory over relegated Burnley would see them usurp us in third place and
attain automatic Champions League qualification, and more importantly leave our club with its dignity in pieces on the floor.

It’s a concern that a fair number of fans have expressed over the last week or so, even before the Blackburn game. I have to say, I was and still am confident that no matter what else we may have
failed to accomplish this season, we will finish above Spurs. Fulham are a team with bigger fish to fry. Roy Hodgson’s focus is clearly on next Wednesday’s Europa League final against Atletico
Madrid, something attested to by Fulham’s denied request to have the game brought forward to Saturday so their squad might have an extra day to recuperate and
prepare for their historic appearance in a European final. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few of Fulham’s more familiar faces on the bench on Sunday. It’s a dead rubber for them, and they have
no reason to go hell for leather against us, and every reason not to.

Reason tells us the Fulham team that shows up on Sunday has no chance of beating us. But football is not played according to reason, the results are not the inevitable result of stats on a bit of
paper. The irrational fear in the back of a fan’s mind that whatever can go wrong will go wrong is now a lot more prominent in the mind of Gooners. And it’s that anxiety that causes us to look at
a team that has shown little desire or application in the last three or four league games and wonder if they care enough to do what needs to be done to preserve the club’s pride.

However unlikely it is that Spurs will end up in third, it doesn’t change that our club’s pride is exactly what is on the line on Sunday. Do the players understand this game is not a dead rubber?
Do they understand it’s significance? What failure would mean? I hope so. Because Arsenal fans might be willing to make excuses for a lot of things, but not letting Spurs finish above us after
all that’s happened this season. I look to Arsene Wenger, Pat Rice, Cesc Fabregas, Sol Campbell, Gael Clichy and the others at the club that you would think of as “Arsenal men” to drill into the
Abou Diabys, the Denilsons, the Arshavins, what is required of them this Sunday. It should be one of simpler tasks of the season, make sure it is lads. I consider myself one of the more positive
Arsenal fans about, but even I would find forgiveness in short supply if the unthinkable were to happen on Sunday.

If I come across angry here, it’s because I bloody well am. It shouldn’t have come to this. The last few performances in the league have been opportunities to stop this happening, and what we’ve
seen are lethargic, unprofessional performances. I can’t imagine what Arsene Wenger must think looking at this team when he’s seen the professionalism of players like Nigel Winterburn, Steve
Bould or Gilberto Silva. And would it
kill Theo Walcott to shut up about England for five minutes? The World Cup is weeks away, and there’s a rather big game to play first. Theo
would do well to reorganise his priorities and remember who pays his wages.

Lets just hope when Sunday comes, everyone does the job they’re supposed to, from the players right the way down to the lasagne chefs.

In the other news, Marouane Chamakh
basically confirmed he’ll be joining us next season. I’m looking forward to seeing what he and Van Persie can produce together next season, I wasn’t at all convinced last summer that he was
the player for us but as I’ve seen more and more of him in the Champions League and other clips I think Arsene Wenger has done very well indeed to get him on a free. There also talk of Dynamo
Kyiv centre-back Pape Malickou Diakhate. I seem to remember his name coming up last summer. If the boss thinks he’s good enough then that’s
good enough for me. This is of course just paper talk, so only time will tell if there’s any fire to go with the smoke.

Anyway, there’s not a great deal more going on so I’ll leave it there. It will be a dreaded evening blog again tomorrow as I continue to be up at sparrow’s fart for work in the mornings. Till
tomorrow.