A Day To Remember….

Morning all.

Mikel Arteta rotated his team heavily for yesterday’s final league game of the season. No surprise really with such a big match less than a week away. Max Dowman became the youngest player to ever start a Premier League fixture. Kepa started in goal and made one top notch save whereas Gabriel Jesus started up front, squandering three glorious opportunities to score before finally making it 1-0 to The Arsenal after firing home the most difficult chance. That’s Jesus for you. Noni Madueke scored our second with a shot which somehow missed every defender before hitting the back of the net. Gabriel Martinelli and then later in the game, Ebe Eze saw really going chances go begging. Mateta halved the deficit late in the game and then for a moment, it looked like Palace had snatched a point but the linesman flag went up and Arsenal held tight for the win.

I’d like to say I watched the game in great detail but honestly, I didn’t. I was enjoying the occasion rather than the game because like every Arsenal fan, I knew what was coming. 

Mikel Merino made his return during the second half and it was great to see him back on the pitch. He nearly scored but snatched at his chance. One he’d have probably buried pre injury. Ebe Eze made an appearance from the bench and was greeted by a supportive home crowd, his winning goal in last seasons FA Cup will never be forgotten. He really should have scored though.

For once though, I doubt any Arsenal fan really cared about the missed opportunities, because the domestic aim for the season had been achieved. Even Mikel Arteta appeared as cool as a cucumber on the sidelines.

By the end though, we finished the season seven points ahead of City so it wasn’t really that close at all.

With the game over, the players celebrated with their fans, waiting for the big moment to arrive and when it came, it didn’t disappoint. Stan and Josh Kroenke carried the weighty Premier League Trophy onto the pitch and the players stepped up one by one to receive their winners medal. That was until it came to Martin Odegaard’s turn. The trophy was in his hands, he lofted it high into the air and the celebrations truly began.

Mikel Arteta was thrown into the air by his players, William Saliba shouted into the camera “I love this club” but the very special moment came when players and all the staff sang North London Forever together. That was emotional.

I particularly enjoyed watching players individually and collectively engage with the Arsenal fans, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka were funny. Seeing Mikel Arteta with his wife and children was special, there’s clearly a lot of love within that family. I loved the players and Arteta’s honesty when they spoke to the Sky Sports team which included Ian Wright. No arrogance, no smugness, just joy. They spoke about tough times, tough meetings and big characters, Christian Norgaard one player both Bukayo and Declan mentioned. It showed that it doesn’t matter if a player was first through the door or last, whether he plays every week or every once in a while, each player respects each other and values his input.

This season has been magical. Not always easy on the eye perhaps but when the end result produces a Premier League trophy and winners medals, perhaps searching for perfection doesn’t always reap the reward.

Did you know that Arsenal have had the most shots on goal, 112 up until last Tuesday according to Sky Sports, against teams who had NINE players defending in their own box. We scored 12 goals which is more than Liverpool and Man City managed. Next season, I reckon we’ll see far more find the back of the net.

For now though, I don’t care, just as I don’t care what people write or say about Arsenal Football Club because it’s us, The Arsenal, who are Premier League Champions and no one can ever take that away from us.

Now let’s go and conquer Europe!