Well that's more like it. It seems a very long time ago The Arsenal actually won a game they were supposed to win. I must admit being slightly nervous after the last few weeks so it was a nice surprise not having a surprise as far as the result went.
However, there was a surprise in goal as the keeper soap opera took another shocking turn. Rumours Jens buried Alunia up to his neck on Blackpool beach have not been confirmed. The tide is coming in or has it just turned. It didn't take him long to get his spot back and I'm happy to see him there. Apart from Torres has any player dropped in form more quickly than Almunia? His confidence is on it's arse. He is no longer a mistake waiting to happen. He is just a mistake. I feel for him. I really do. He seems like a very nice bloke but maybe too sensitive to take the flack. He looks permanently worried which doesn't help. His time is up and it might sound mad but I think we'd be mad not to stick with Mad Jens.
Blackpool started well but we weathered that and scored an embarrassingly easy goal as the orange back four played musical statues as Diaby strolled in to score. He may have been out in the party game but we were 1-0 up. Never been totally convinced by Diaby. Sometimes you want to shake him to wake up the obvious talent that sleeps through most games but today he looked alive. Without thrusting unfair comparisons upon him he looked, on occasion, Vieiraesque!
The second was a joy too. Eboue, Tinkerbell, Gunnersaurus, call him what you will, scored a cracker. He stormed into the box and unleashed one past Kingston. 2-0 and only 5 goals away from relaxing. Of course we would concede and we were lucky to as well. Had Blackpool not scored I fear RVP would've been facing a penalty. As it was Lee Mason made a good shout and allowed play to continue despite fouls by Jack and Jens. Blackpool scored, Jack was booked, Jens was let off and we all started to worry. Mason let us play on when Blackpool should've had a penalty and soon after that a superb (Yes! You heard right) tackle by Squillaci led to more Capt Pat impersonations by Diaby as Theo raced on to a long ball allowing RVP to win us the game. Lovely stuff and a reminder of The Arsenal we have all lamented over the last few weeks.
Half way through the first half I tweeted, 'A huge shadow looms over our defence' to which I had a mixed response. There was literally a huge shadow from the stadium covering our penalty area. I was trying to be ironic or sarcastic or something but my goodness you do get some precious responses to perceived criticism. Well done to all that got it. You win a biscuit of your choice.
Right, it's late and I'm on holiday so a bit out of it but I must mention the imminent take over of our wonderful club by Stan Kroenke. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. Maybe I should quote Colin Murray on MOTD2 and say, 'We're not sure what it means so we'll just move on!' I hope it means things won't change a great deal. Things are going OK. I know we all get frustrated by no trophies but we need some perspective. The club sees success as Champions League qualification. Any cups that come our way are a bonus. Fans see cups first but finishing top 4 is the only measure of success now. The domestic cups just are not 'worth' (in financial terms) winning. It's a crying shame but it's the truth. If we won the domestic cup double as we did in 1993 but finished 5th or worse then that would be a disaster. Finish empty handed and 4th and we are successful. Don't blame the club. Blame the Champions League. We need that money more than a trip to Wembley or even the title. By saying I want Kroenke to keep things as they are is not a negative statement. Of course I want to see Cesc lift a pot but we as fans need to change our ideas about success today. The Champions League moved the goal posts out of the stadium and across the road. It's become vital and teams like the spuds have already said they may have to sell if they don't get top 4. Arsene has delivered that every year and a new stadium too. I don't want massive money signings with dodgy money. I want Jacks to come through the ranks. I want Ramseys to be nurtured. I want things done the Arsenal way. Stan remember that (or you can forget about getting your hands on my 1/100th of a share!)
If you want trophies, go and watch clowns?
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