april 18th
Well, it’s the cup final that everybody wanted. The United in red outclassed the Geordie United and now we face a team that has beaten us three times already this season. Twice in the league and once in the Carling Cup so Arsenal fans will be more than a little eager for victory in this one.
Considering the goings-on between the two clubs this season, the pizza throwing, the diving, the dodgy penalties, the manager’s bitching and sniping, this is going to be the biggest grudge final I can remember. The hype will build relentlessly, we’ll get FA Cup fact after FA Cup fact, overblown promos on Sky about it being some kind of ‘epic battle’ and for once they’ll be right. This is a game we can’t lose. We can’t be bullied or kicked around by them. They can’t possibly want it more than us. It’s going to be nerve-wracking, nail biting, shit your pants stuff. Can’t wait.
One small note of caution though. I don’t know when they make the decision about who plays in what kit but if United are playing in red we have to ensure that we don’t go out on the pitch in Cardiff in that blue piece of shit they try and pass off as an Arsenal kit. Given the kit we were wearing in 1979 it just has to be the yellow away kit which we have worn this season in some games. Say no to blue.
And speaking of FA Cup finals to get you in the mood I’ve got a rather nice DVD collection to give you thanks to the people at ILC Sport. They’ve released a range of cup final DVDs and naturally Arsenal feature in that. I’ve got three packs to give away which include a copy of the finals from 1971, 1979, 1993 and 1998. All you have to do to win is answer the following question: Who scored Arsenal’s winning goal in the 1979 Cup final? Send your answer to [email protected], the competition will run all week and I’ll announce the winners on Friday.
Freddie talks about the cup final, Wednesday’s game with Chelsea and the Blackburn game.
Robin van Persie has spoken about Andy Todd’s challenge saying he’s unsure if it was deliberate or not. For those still undecided this picture scanned from yesterday’s Sunday Times might help you make your mind up. And as for Jimmy Hill who decided to use van Persie as a scapegoat for all the foreign divers in the game and said he was making a meal of it – it’s time to retire now you giant chinned twat. RvP has also spoken about how he’s learned a lot from Robert Pires and the way he plays, saying “After the Southampton game the manager sat me down and had a chat to me about being more calm and thinking more on the pitch about what I’m doing. After that, I started to watch Robert Pires in training. He is such a great player – someone who scores goals, links play and makes it easier for team-mates. He’s been a real inspiration for me.”
Meanwhile Ashley Cole says it’s ‘hard to say’ if he’ll be playing at Arsenal next season. It’s not that hard Ashley. If you want to stay just sign the contract. If you don’t want to stay make some kind of non-commital statement about your intentions and that’ll just clear everything up. Oh…
And that’s about it for now. How was your weekend then?
