Good morning from an extremely rainy Dublin.
I don’t know about you, but I find the Friday night games make the weekend feel a bit weird. I know our result probably played a part in that this time around, but it casts a cloud of irrelevance over everything else. Maybe it’s because there was FA Cup action which involved Man City.
They’re in the final, of course, where they’ll face Man United and frankly I hope they kick the ever-loving shit out of each other. Literally. I want the pristine Wembley turf to be covered with shiny little turds that have plopped out due to horrendous fouls. I feel for Brighton, I like them and the way they play. I had hoped that being in the final might be a bit of a distraction for them in Premier League terms, but that’s wishful thinking really. They’re a fantastic team, and we’re going to have to work very hard to get a result against them in a few weeks time.
Which brings me to Newcastle. I don’t like them in the same way, because there’s a lot to admire about how Brighton operate and nothing at all about the way Newcastle have sold their soul. However, they’re a much improved side under Eddie Howe, a man who should have had a much better playing career given his ability to look the other way. Scanning, I think they call it these days.
Anyway, we play them soon so there’s a big part of me that doesn’t want them to be in any kind of form, or instilled with any kind of confidence. That said, when they’re playing Sp*rs, there’s only one thing any of us want to happen and that’s for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Back in the day, Nostradamus wrote (this is true, you can look it up on Google or Bing or Ask Jeeves):
A flightless bird shall sit upon a bouncing sphere. / It will grow large with hubris, all for show. / The chicken shall travel up and down the Albion / And get battered everywhere it does go.
I haven’t yet had a chance to watch Match of the Day 2, but on a morning when it’s raining cats and dogs, my own dogs can wait until it stops until they go for their walks. I will make coffee, toast, and sit down and witness this marvel of hilariousness and Spursiness. James gave me an update on the Arsecast Extra which I found hard to believe at the time:
Still can’t stop laughing 😂 @arseblog @gunnerblog pic.twitter.com/7UErTstWTD
— Michael Greenberg (@Mike8Greenberg) April 23, 2023
I’m sorry, I don’t know what was wrong with me. Why wouldn’t I believe it? Lads, it’s Tottenham, and all that. I’m not even one for the YouTube reaction stuff, but the lad just plaintively repeating the words ‘It’s five …’ again and again in a high-pitched voice has to be one of the great wonders of the Internet.
So, let’s hope that Newcastle have used up all their goals in this battering, but obviously we have something bigger to worry about this week. More on that Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the Champions League, Arsenal Women came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in their first leg with Wolfsburg. Considering the injuries the team has suffered this season, including the latest one just days ago which has ended Leah Williamson’s season and Wold Cup hopes, that’s a fantastic result. Even more so when you consider the last time Wolfsburg went 2-0 and didn’t win was 172 games ago – as per this piece from Jonathan Liew.
It sets it up nicely for the second leg next week which takes place at home. So far, over 45,000 tickets have been sold, and they’re still on sale if you want to go and add your support to this incredible team. Ticket details here – it’s taking place on a bank holiday Monday, let’s try make this one a sell-out.
You can read Jonas Eidevall’s reaction here, and I just want to state again, on the record, I love Katie McCabe.
yes (valid) pic.twitter.com/EvKA8rUehh
— did Katie McCabe get a yellow card today? (@yellows4KM15) April 23, 2023
Finally for this morning, we have announced details of our end of season live event, taking place in Union Chapel, Islington on Saturday May 27th. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, exclusively to Patreon members, which is one of the benefits of signing up. If there are any left, we’ll put them on general sale on Wednesday.
As a reminder, if you sign up to our Patreon this month – patreon.com/arseblog – that subscription will be donated to the fundraiser we’re running with ArsenalVision, which over the weekend hit the extraordinary figure of £360,000+. It was boosted by a large, anonymous donation – so a big thank you to whoever was so generous – but the contributions from everyone, large and small, make such a difference to what we’re trying to do – which is to support the incredible work of the Arsenal Foundation.
Thank you all ❤️
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Right, that’s it. James and I recorded the Arsecast Extra for you yesterday, so if you haven’t had a chance to listen, all the links you need are below. Enjoy.