Dear readers,
Tuesday was one of those emotional rollercoasters. Not just the game, but the whole day. I spent the whole day convincing myself that Arsenal had no chance whatsoever to go through. I was confident. I had a bad feeling. Then something happened. The time crept closer to kick-off and I started thinking “What if we get an early goal?” “Milan has lost 4-0 many times before”. My love for Arsenal lured my into a false sense of belief but a belief nonetheless. When Koscielny scored the first goal, all I could think of what if we get another pretty soon. And we sure did, Rosicky popped up and took advantage of a horrible Silva clearance. Then it was 3-0 before the half and we looked like we would do the impossible. As Adidas puts it, impossible is nothing. Something Wenger must have told the boys before the match. Then the second half was so cringeworthy that at times I could not bare to watch. When RvP missed his chip, all I could think of was “Why would you chip it?” but I still had belief that we would score another and at least get extra time. That did not happen and the rest, as they say, is history.
There is no point in dwelling in the past, our atrocious night in Milan left us with a mountain to big to climb. However, I am very proud over the way we played and I am sure Chelsea and Tottenham are looking at us with great fear. If we can maintain this run of form against Newcastle, it could potentially be a blow-out. The only request I have for this game is for Oxlade-Chamberlain to be given 90 minutes. After we took him and Walcott off against Milan we lost that bit of edge that had been tormenting Milan’s fullbacks all game.
According to the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17295576) Podolski (He looks perfect in an Arsenal shirt, does he not?) has all but put the ink to the paper. There are no actual quotes from either Cologne or Arsenal to confirm the transfer but this excerpt from the article makes the deal look very promising. Podolski will have to pass a medical and agree personal terms before the move can be completed in the summer.” We all know not to trust anything until it is officially announced on www.arsenal.com but it is very difficult to not get excited about this signing. Podolski is a truly class player (43 goals in 91 games for Germany at the age of 26 is truly amazing.) and I think he would fit in perfectly with our style of play. His ability to play striker and winger will mean that we will not only gain that bit of extra cover for RvP that we are so terribly lacking but also gain some depth on the wings.
Now I hope Mertesacker texts Goetse next and everything will suddenly look very promising for next season. However, as stated in the previous post, that all depends on where we finish in the league and the top 4 spot is definitely ours to lose with Chelsea having to come to the Emirates, a game which will be a true 6-pointer if everything stands the way it is now. But for now, Newcastle on Monday. All good things must come to an end and that is also the story of Newcastle’s form. They haven’t slipped too far off yet but it is time for them to refocus on aiming for Europa League, rather than the Champion’s League. Nothing but a win for Arsenal is acceptable on Monday given the form we are in and I am positive that it will not be comfortable. Newcastle has been a tricky game for many teams this season. I am very happy that Joey Barton is not playing, as he always manages to play to his teeth against us. As I said, onwards and upwards is what we need now. Without any other commitments this season, I hope our players sees the opportunity (Also with many of them being 50/50 on being selected for their respective national team) to really turn our season around.
Sebastian
https://twitter.com/#!/BastiSteele
