november 27th
08.41 – Now that the dust has settled a bit, it’s easier to put that win into perspective. Quite simply the best European performance under Arsene Wenger. The late goals were the icing on the cake, but that was a game we were never going to lose, with or without them.
I love the story that emerged about Jens Lehmann calling for a moment of calm when the boys were celebrating in the dressing room afterwards. He made everyone quiet down and said “I have never seen a team play with such spirit. Thank you.”
I guess that goes for all of us too. Deservedly, Thierry Henry has been nominated for the World Player of the Year award. The three finalists are Zidane, Ronaldo and our man. I can’t see them giving it to goofy again, maybe Zidane might get the nod because of his age (Henry has other chances to win it), but if you’re going to give it to the player who has performed at the highest level form-wise for the longest time then it’s got to be Thierry. And it’s not just Arsenal fans that think he’s the best in the world, former Arsenal players have been quick to give him the praise he deserves, while Dennis Bergkamp said “He is a joy to watch — and this is great news for Arsenal.” The decision will be made on December 15th.
For his part, Thierry has ruled out ever going to back to Italy. With words that would warm the cockles of your heart, he said “I love The Gunners. I am an Arsenal player and I like playing with this team too much.”
Now that Leeds are facing administration (hahaha flat-caps), speculation grows over the future of Alan Smith. According to The Sun, Arsenal are amongst a number of clubs keeping tabs on him and could make a take it or leave it bid of £100 in January. Maybe. Once again though it highlights how sensible our board has been over the last little while. We could easily have taken out mortgages on players like Leeds, bartered with our Champions League money for seasons in the future, but we didn’t. And that’s good. And Leeds are going to get relegated, and that is also very, very good.
It’s a strange morning here, blue skies, sun shining, and 70mph winds which I have to go out in shortly. Gah.
