Morning all. No hangover this morning, unlike many of my countrymen, I’m sure. To them I say ‘Take painkillers’.
The Champions League draw takes place tomorrow and with all the ties done and dusted we know who we can get. Anyone. Besides ourselves the other teams left in the draw are Barcelona, Man United, Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lyon, Bordeaux and Bayern Munich. There are those out there who would relish the idea of beating Mourinho in the next round, then taking semi-final revenge on United before making up for Paris 2006 with a last minute winner over Barcelona in the final.
I, however, am not one of those people. If we got CSKA Moscow, then Lyon then Bordeaux in the final I think I would be a happier man. Not that I’m saying those games would be easy, not at all, but if you told me there were two roads to a pot of gold (staying on the Irish theme for a moment), and one of them was a bit boggy and heavy with some puddles, and the other was made from septic donkey shite with puddles so deep laser-eyed water sheringhams could launch attacks at you while Phil Collins serenaded you with Amy Winhouse songs the whole way there, then I would pick the first road. As would most sensible people, I think.
The ceremony starts some time in the morning and after all the UEFA drivel we should know who we’re playing before midnight. Fingers crossed for the water sheringham free road.
Yesterday I was sent this picture which was rumoured to be our new kit for next season. Chances are it’s probably not, because of one simple fact – it’s too good to be true. It’s just so goddam nice. Simple, elegant, Arsenalish. Proper white sleeves, not the shoddy Charlton effort we have at the moment. However, if on the off chance anyone from Nike is reading this here’s a small taste of the reaction from people on Twitter who viewed the post:
“Please please please” –@twelfthcylon
“If that is next year’s kit, I’m gonna buy Nike stock. They’re gonna sell so many of those things” – @chindaw
“if that is the new kit then I will definitely be buying it !! Haven’t bought one for 5 years” – @clockendgooner
“More awesome than dinosaurs” – @feverpitch – via @SteffensArsenal
And there are countless more reactions to the sheer awesomeness of how that shirt looks. I know that there’s supposedly some kind of fan input to new shirts but it’s hard to believe at times. Either that or the focus groups are made up of Sp*rs plants.
The current home kit does not elicit the same favourable response, not by a long way, the blue away kit is horrible like a cheap suit, like all the blue kits we have, and ultimately fans want their team’s shirt to be a thing of beauty. I realise it can’t always be the case but even if this is fake it gives those who design the shirts a good dose of free feedback as to what would be a success and, importantly to them and the club, what would sell by the bucketload. Hopefully it’s at least similar to this.
Over to you, Mike. I mean, Nike.
Alex Song reveals his reaction to Nicklas Bendtner’s late goal against Hull:
I was like a crazy man. I jumped everywhere. I was watching it with my son and he did not know what was happening. But when Nicklas scored I just said ‘yeeeeeessssssss’.
I love that because he did what we all did. We jumped around our sitting rooms like crazy men saying ‘yeeeeesssssss’. I wonder did he follow that with ‘Hahaha, stick that up your orange cunt, Brown!’. Probably not, but that small connection, that thing in common, it’s good to know that the players celebrate the same way we do. He goes on to talk about the belief in the team which is behind the late goals. It’s certainly a great quality for a team to have. How many times over the years have we seen Man United, in particular, grab late goals to win games or even salvage an unlikely point? Let’s hope this team can continue in this vein, although as I said the other day I could do without having to score this kind of goal too often.
Not a great deal more happening at this early stage. From tomorrow we can start to preview the West Ham game which takes place in a weekend when the Mugsmashers are playing United and, hopefully, when John Terry will take out his frustration at yet another defeat by running over a flock of passing orphans.
More, and and Arsecast, tomorrow.
