Monday Morning Football Rant

Top of the morning to yall

It was a very dull week for the Gooners faithful around the world. After swallowing the bitter pill of defeat in the hands of our biggest enemy in the most irritating of circumstances, not much in the way of good news emerged from the Emirates as another weekend approached. Add that to the fact that it’s an FA Cup weekend and we were not involved after being knocked out by a lower division team in another acrimonious circumstance. Relief will most likely not come from our next game either as we travel to Munich to take on Bayern in the Champions league on Wednesday with a 1-3 deficit.

So no Arsenal games last weekend which meant I really sat down and enjoyed the proceedings at my cousin’s wedding without thoughts of hurrying home to see the game. But looking on the flip side we have been in this position time and time again and it just irks that we never learn from our mistakes.

We all know the importance of finishing top in our champions’ league group and we had it in our hands and blew it in fantastic circumstances by losing the final group game in Greece to Olympiacos. As a consequence we went into the draw in the second pot and were drawn against perhaps the second most consistent team in Europe after Barcelona in recent years, lost the first game at home and the second leg seems just like a formality though a senile friend of mine still insists we would qualify. 

The FA cup which represented our only realistic chance of a trophy this season after blowing another glorious chance in the Capital One Cup was against treated like it was some reserve fixture meant for getting game time to some fringe players by the manager. If a top club like Arsenal hasn’t won anything for 8 years, prioritizing the Champions League over the FA cup looks very insensitive to the fans. But that being said, Arsene pointed out after the game that there were 9 internationals on the pitch and were more than capable of defeating a team like Blackburn in a Cup game. A fair assessment in my opinion but that they couldn’t achieve that objective says more of the squad that we have at our disposal than the ability of Blackburn doesn't it?

As it stands, the only thing we are left to fight for is our annual holy grail – fourth place finish – and it doesn't look rosy either. 5^th with 5 points behind Chelsea and 7 behind Spuds and just 10 games to go till the end of the season, it’s going to be one hell of a run in. They say we have a much kinder run in than Spuds but haven’t we been found wanting when it comes to dispatching the smaller teams?

We would be very lucky if we make the top four this year, and if we do it will not be because we were that fantastic in the final 10 games, it will be because our rivals faltered and for a team like Arsenal, that's a bitter pill to swallow. Who would have thought that 9 years ago, a club that took the world by storm and set history by going through a league season without being beaten will not win another one in almost a decade or even hinge its qualification for the Champions League on the troubles of others. How much we have declined.

News of a certain Arabian consortium planning a £1.5Billion takeover seemed to have mellowed over the past few days and for good reason too. The Chairman of the board has come out to deny such reports and logically, if there was going to be any sort of takeover of that magnitude, newspaper pages will be the least possible venue for such to happen. If I had that kind of money and was interested in buying the Arsenal, I would not call The Sun and tell them of my intentions; instead I will call Kroenke up, table my offer and shove the money down his throat. That's all he seems to be interested in doesn't it?

Why do we need new owners anyway? We got Kroenke, and Usmanov both men who are the largest shareholders but don’t see eye to eye. And both men not willing to give up their stakes at the club. Who profits from this power tussle I wonder sometimes, and who loses. Most people don’t seem to realise how much the standoff between our 2 owners is hurting the club. One thing is sure, Arsenal FC will be the proverbial grass that will suffer when 2 elephants fight and I don’t mean the lush green grass of the Emirates.

God bless the Arsenal. you can follow on twitter @nigeriangunners and I will be glad to follow back