ARSENALISM©

All in all its been a jolly satisfying week.  Beating Manchester United at Old Trafford to progress in the FA Cup and destroy their chances of silverware, Chelsea suffering an embarrassing night against PSG and dropping points to Southampton, Man City losing allowing us to narrow the gap between us to a solitary point have all made this a week of pleasure and no small amount of Schadenfreude, obviously it's always nice to see spurs lose but the three points United gained is not good, but as I say: spurs lost...oh and there was also the small matter of our victory against West Ham United and Sam Allardyce: three unanswered goals that help our Goal Difference and possibly give us a boost for Tuesday night. Yes its been a good week and often its easy to forget the good times and appreciate them. The worst of times are not the apocalypse and the best of times are not an epiphany with chocolate cake, Caviar and free flowing Champagne. This week has been, to put it simply, a lo...

The Premier League title is a pipe dream, The League Cup has gone on the oligarch’s mantelpiece and progress in The Champions League seems unlikely which leaves retention of The FA Cup as an opportunity for genuine glory. Let’s be clear: finishing in a league position that qualifies for Champion’s League Football is not glory, it’s commerce for a club that have no chance of winning the thing under the present manager. So Monday night is the biggest game of the season so far for The Arsenal. Victory not only takes us one step nearer to a fitting for those Wembley suits, but eliminates the threat of a United side that, although a shadow of former versions has a habit of beating us even when being outplayed. Of course Manchester United v Arsenal at Old Trafford once was a must see event full of drama and key to the destination of the title. That both teams have declined since those halcyon days should not distract from the meaning of this particular fixture. Van Gaal and We...