Newcastle United put in an excellent performance at St James' Park last night. They were thoroughly deserving of the win and should have received all the plaudits in the aftermath of Arsenal's defeat, however, the focus was on Arsenal staying in 5th place in the league. So eager are the great and the good to criticise the Arsenal that scant respect has been shown to Eddie Howe and his team.
The autopsies into Arsenal's performance are far more important for listening and viewing figures, and of course social media clicks.
While we are on the subject of respect, the glorification of Tottenham Hotspur is being thoroughly relished by pundits and the disrespect being shown toward Norwich City is not only vulgar but, frankly, a bit of a liberty. There's a difference in predicting a Tottenham victory on the final day at Norwich and the arrogant assumption that a win for the visitors is a foregone conclusion.
Bringing things back to the Arsenal, I would have thought that the target at the start of the season was to get back into europe while avoiding the Europa Conference; that mob up the road were in it last season and it really is a tournament that is more trouble than it's worth. Given the disastrous start to the season, is a Europa League spot underachievement or a target reached. Factor in the plethora of diabolical decisions that have gone against us from match officials and the Stockley Park Massive, the injuries to the league's youngest squad and the questionable January transfer window a fifth place finish is pretty, pretty, pretty good.
A summer of rest and recruitment lies ahead and being in four tournaments next season requires some canny acquisitions and the faith that the young players continue on an upward trajectory.
We know that the post Wenger era was going to be tough as it involved a culture change, not just a change of personnel and if you look at Manchester United, it's been 9 years since Alex Ferguson left and their situation has been muddled ever since despite a revolving door of managers. Let's not forget that we are finishing above them this season. Chelsea face an uncertain future and Tottenham? who knows if they will finally win something and say goodbye to the Spursey tag?
There is no such thing as a dead cert in football, and qualifying for Europe is a good thing in itself. No team has any divine right to anything, so taking the good with the bad is a reality, and hope is a wonderful yet fragile thing.
On Sunday the Arsenal entertain Everton and it's an opportunity to put on a performance for the supporters who, this season, have been magnificent. A win on the final day can provide good vibes for the summer break, and who knows, Delia may have cooked up a homemade lasagne for the visiting team at Carrow Road.
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so I said...