december 11th
09.16 – Champions League, you’re having a laugh.
If you’d asked most Arsenal fans if they fancied us to win three on the bounce in Europe after going so long without a win, not too many would have said yes. That’s not to say we’d have doubted the capability of the team to play the way they have and achieve these results, we just seemed to have some kind of block when it came to Europe. 2-0 last night unblocked the block once and for all.
With that in mind, the first thing I have to do is say congratulations to Arsene Wenger, his staff and all the players who showed the belief and spirit to finish top of the group they were propping up 3 games ago. Four goals in six games from Freddie Ljungberg now, and he got the clincher last night after Le Bob scored the opener. He said after the game “We had a bit of a problem at the beginning, but won a couple of games in a row and finished well tonight. I can’t explain it, why we didn’t play well at the beginning really – but we started to fight a bit more for each other in the second half of the group and got the results as well. “
After the game Arsene Wenger praised the mental strength of his players, saying “I am very proud of the way my boys have turned round a situation that no one expected them to turn round. I believe we have turned the corner with our remarkable mental strength.”
The boss got a nice chorus of ‘One Arsene Wenger’ last night too, prompting him to say “They obviously know I’m a good player . . . ”
Alan Smith on the match and Kolo Toure. They showed him on the telly tapping away on his laptop while watching the match. I could do that. If I had a laptop. And a press pass. Anyway, the draw for the next stage is on Friday (I think) and Arsenal will face one of the following teams: Porto, Bayern Munich, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Stuttgart, Sparta Prague, Celta Vigo. Obviously there are some easier games than others there, but none of those teams will be happy about facing us either.
One of the things that qualification should bring is a bit of money to Arsene Wenger’s empty transfer kitty. Despite the fact the announcement that stadim funding could be “..pushed into the new year“, the boss should have a few bob to spend when the transfer window opens again in January. Expect fevered speculation from all quarters over the next few weeks as we’re linked with every player in the world. Patrick Vieira talks about his injury hell, and it was good to see the Captain back last night. We’ve done really well without him, but eventually you’re going to miss a player like Vieira. Fingers crossed he’s all better now.
Right, no Spaniels to teach this morning, and only a few classes this evening, then the weekend begins for me. Hurrah.
