Tomorrow, Arsenal play their first match at Wembley Stadium for three years. The trophy drought highlighted throughout the build-up, along with yet another horror show at the weekend, means that the club is surrounded in negativity.
So much so, that I have had a little trouble getting excited for Saturday's showdown. Last week's defeat to Everton (leaving fourth out of our hands) has left me down in the dumps - probably twice as much as post-Chelsea and Swansea combined, when it was the league that had gone from our grasp.
It seems that my worst fears are all but confirmed - scroll down and take a peek, if you don't believe me - I almost foresaw this after the defeat to Stoke. All the work Arsene Wenger put in to get us Champions League football and effectively the squad we have managed to assemble on a budget will go to waste by finishing fifth, cup or no cup.
To finish fifth in a season where we were going for first only a few weeks ago would be tragic. And if that brings about the end of Wenger's reign? I cannot begin to imagine.
Of course, Arsene's departure will probably bring some positives as well as negatives, but I could not stand for someone like him to go out like that. I have also got this horrible sneaking feeling that he is using the FA Cup - our final game of the season (hopefully) to go out as a 'winner', regardless of our league finish - hence the ongoing uncertainty over his future.
Conspiracies aside though, I have spent the majority of the past week thinking about what really matters. I have always favoured a top-four finish over a trophy and looking at it from a club perspective - but what about a fan's perspective? The fans are, without a shadow of a doubt, the most integral part of any football club, so should we prolong our suffering so that we can feel good about our finances or the ever-growing 'quality' of our under-achieving side? Of course not!
I have come to the conclusion that this has gone on for longer than I can bear. I have been abiding by my personal principles for far too long. Enough is enough. I have realised, that, as players and managers will come and go, the fans will always be there. Once a Gooner, always a Gooner. And us Gooners have been through year after year of disappointment after disappointment, and we want a trophy.
Tomorrow is not about the players, or Arsene Wenger, or the club. Tomorrow is about the fans who have stuck by and supported the club through thick and thin, and want something back. Saturday evening presents our best chance for years to finally break the hoodoo and at last, give us some joy, give us some memories, give us some pride.
I cannot wait to be a part of it, and I hope my fellow Gooners agree.
Come On You Reds!
So much so, that I have had a little trouble getting excited for Saturday's showdown. Last week's defeat to Everton (leaving fourth out of our hands) has left me down in the dumps - probably twice as much as post-Chelsea and Swansea combined, when it was the league that had gone from our grasp.
It seems that my worst fears are all but confirmed - scroll down and take a peek, if you don't believe me - I almost foresaw this after the defeat to Stoke. All the work Arsene Wenger put in to get us Champions League football and effectively the squad we have managed to assemble on a budget will go to waste by finishing fifth, cup or no cup.
To finish fifth in a season where we were going for first only a few weeks ago would be tragic. And if that brings about the end of Wenger's reign? I cannot begin to imagine.
Of course, Arsene's departure will probably bring some positives as well as negatives, but I could not stand for someone like him to go out like that. I have also got this horrible sneaking feeling that he is using the FA Cup - our final game of the season (hopefully) to go out as a 'winner', regardless of our league finish - hence the ongoing uncertainty over his future.
Conspiracies aside though, I have spent the majority of the past week thinking about what really matters. I have always favoured a top-four finish over a trophy and looking at it from a club perspective - but what about a fan's perspective? The fans are, without a shadow of a doubt, the most integral part of any football club, so should we prolong our suffering so that we can feel good about our finances or the ever-growing 'quality' of our under-achieving side? Of course not!
I have come to the conclusion that this has gone on for longer than I can bear. I have been abiding by my personal principles for far too long. Enough is enough. I have realised, that, as players and managers will come and go, the fans will always be there. Once a Gooner, always a Gooner. And us Gooners have been through year after year of disappointment after disappointment, and we want a trophy.
Tomorrow is not about the players, or Arsene Wenger, or the club. Tomorrow is about the fans who have stuck by and supported the club through thick and thin, and want something back. Saturday evening presents our best chance for years to finally break the hoodoo and at last, give us some joy, give us some memories, give us some pride.
I cannot wait to be a part of it, and I hope my fellow Gooners agree.
Come On You Reds!
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