Sorry lads, no pre-match analysis this time around as we welcomed our first child into the world yesterday and are still at the hospital. Jackson (his name) will catch his first match tomorrow with this Gooner and I couldn’t be happier. Post match analysis to come; lots of stuff to catch up on.

As you probably have already figured out via here, our hopes at finishing 3rd or 4th atop the table are really quite dependent upon others dropping points in addition to Arsenal winning out. We must have 9 points. No more ties. No more shitty back passes. No more stupid fouls in the damn box. We have three incredibly winnable games and dropping a single point at this juncture in the season would all but doom us to miss out on a Champions League spot. This should not happen.

Now this is not to say that Arsenal can’t weather missing out on a CL spot. They can. They have plenty of money. A ridiculously large fan base. A beautiful stadium (goodness I can’t wait to step there one day). However, I am more interested in the bigger picture though; what does our trepidation say to the league? We know Man U and Man C are big spenders. They are going to buy high level talent year in and year out and that alone may be enough to secure a top 4 spot; no guarantee but talent tends to win games these days… SO, they are laying claim to the next decade of two of four CL spots. Two left to grab.

Chelsea. Bloody rich Chelsea. They are going to spend, spend, spend. They are the new rich neighbors that keep rolling shit in and you wonder when it is going to stop. The one thing that seems to quell some of their acquisitions is that drama can negate talent and they are certainly providing plenty of that as the year goes on. This is not to say they can’t be a fixture in the top four (I don’t fear Mo returning but I don’t like the excitement it could bring) but more that they will absolutely spend like they are a fixture in the top four and that can lead to us losing out on players we deem “too expensive”. In some respect, their spending ways are something that I think many Arsenal fans are going to become quite jealous of (not their shit history and shit stadium). Right now they seem to have what we so desire and that is a willingness to spend for talent at win at all costs model. Hard to deal with, a bit to be desired of.

Then there is Tatter Totts. They are always a pain in the ass but they should lose Bale (seriously, you are going to get gigantic wages and loyalty is thin in the league-dutch skunk anyone?) and that may be enough to send them down a few spots for some seasons to come (I wouldn’t hang my hat on Dempsey boys). Unless, what? They spend the money from Bale on top talent to bolster their squad (ha! I so funny). While they are our hated rivals I don’t see them as a consistent top four team; at least not in consistent club level management terms. They may have a few good years here or their (so bloody what) but that would be the result of an outrageous talent taking them on their back and pulling them into a position not befitting of their stature (which we all know is mid level table at best).

And then there is our beloved Arsenal. While we have not pulled in the silverware in almost a decade we have consistently stayed atop the table and reaped the financial benefits of CL play and a ginormous fan base. It is sad that some concern these days is not that we may lose silverware (can’t we at least pick one next year to go out and dominate the damn thing?) but that we may lost a top four finish. I don’t see it as us nosediving into mediocrity BUT we are not a team hewn in happiness with our 4th place “silverware”. We have seen decades of taking titles, multiple cups, winning the double, and declaring ourselves the Untouchables.

But I my friends am an optimist (albeit a realist). We have seen players leave and sold yet we still, for more than a decade, have kept our “beloved” CL spot. I believe that better days are too far ahead either. We have a young, talented core. We have picked up what I feel are some solid signings that actually produced quite well for their first season in the Premier League. And this year has shown us exactly what we need to not just potentially compete for silverware but also the title.

But for fuck sake if they dingleberry this shit up themselves I am going to be one pissed proper Arsehole.