MY TWo CEnts PLus CHange: MATCH DAY: London Calls... Again

90 minutes of boredom plus added time. That’s all the Happy One needed to sit pretty secure at the helm of the richest premier league in the world last Saturday. To be honest, the only thing worth writing home about that match was that Oscar assist that yielded the goal and sent Manchester United on a wild goose chase for the remainder of the night. Maybe it’s because I was glued to our own labour at the Wembley.

I did keep my promise to the Devils (albeit until the 75^th minute. After that, I knew a draw would only spell doom and gloom for we Gooners). I found myself celebrating with them on the bonoko goal they thought they had scored early into the game~~. I myself~~ (oh bite me! This is not an English essay assignment)...I myself was surprised at how genuinely I wanted the Devils to take the three points. I foolishly believed that my beloved Arsenal had a chance at the big one if the Devils held the Blues progress but alas, who has ever trusted the devil and come out victorious anyway?

I had taken the foolishness a notch higher and thought that my beloved Arsenal would follow in the heels of the Man U win and also scoop three whole points from the blues come Sunday. To bring the blue carcass home, the little mongrels at mid and bottom table would also take points (or a point) here and there and deny Mourinho the Happiness he came looking for in the Queens land.

Well, I am well reminded and corrected that Mourinho is not your average SAF or Wenger or Pellegrini or Brendan Rogers. He does not simply whip his horse all the way to the home stretch and then let the second or third jockey cross the finish line first.

I am also well reminded, albeit incorrectly that the opium I was high on when writing the previous post SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE must have gotten to the wrong part of my brain. Blame the opium on my producer and fellow Gooner, baba T.

Well, I also blame it on love. You see, love makes you do foolish things. It clogs your judgement and prevents you from thinking straight. My love for Arsenal led me to all that error of judgement last week. It made me hop into bed with our enemy and yielded no results.

This post is a reality check. It will be devoid of influences from Love and Other Drugs.

Tyranny of Numbers

Numbers rarely lie. If I’m to invoke the little statistics knowledge between my ears, then the custodians of the trophy must already be in the market place looking for some blue ribbons and the engraver is already perfecting the curve on the C. They need 6 points from 6 remaining matches to be crowned. That means Mourinho can pick a point from each of the matches and still mount the top podium. He can close the chapter with two consecutive wins then sleep through the other four. Whichever way you want to look at it, the odds are greatly in his favour.

My goon loyalty is in no question but I’m not expecting much at the Emirates on Sunday. The prof. Is quite optimistic with his current victory run but hey, it is home bound Chelsea we are talking about. The Happy One will bulldoze through, no doubt about it.

I wish I was a magician but that’s not what I promised at the top on this post. I promised to be a realist. If I were to put any money anywhere, I would not put it where my mouth will be on Sunday, I would put it where Mourinho is...

The Pride Battle

Having waved the EPL trophy bye-bye, the pride battle now remains between us and the Devils. A battle for position two. There is no fundamental difference between finishing at position two or three but if you are a Gooner or a Devil, you know it means the world to finish on top of each other (stay out of the gutter please).

The gods of football were well aware of this and they ensured that this pride battle would be decided the second last match when the two rivals meet. They already have the first half from Emirates. We really need to whip them at Trafford...

History Beckons at the Wembley

It was not a walk in the park as had earlier predicted but thanks to our golden boy Sanchez, we shall be going for a place in history at the Wembley. It took 120 minutes to dismiss Reading but that’s now water under the bridge.

I’m sure baba George, the Duke of Cambridge, will be in the VIP stands to cheer his club to victory but it will require more than royalty to stop the Gunners from a successful FA defence. #ThisThingWeAreTaking. I would have preferred Liverpool as these smaller teams can be a real pain in the nether but hey, Aston Villa, bring it on...

ION

One of these fine days, there will be more cameras directed towards the dugout area than towards the pitch. There seems to be more drama from the big five managers when they meet than from their teams...