arsenal win...

...although they really didn't deserve it. manchester united outplayed arsenal from about the 25 minute on, with only a couple of arsenal players really putting in the work to keep man utd off the score sheet.


joy, confusion and indifference 

the response of these fans --milos, kalei, and bron-- is easy to understand if you saw arsenal play today.

winning in penalty kicks, a first in f.a. cup final action, was an amazing feat against a man utd team that dominated most of the game, but it was fitting that the hero in penalty kicks should be david hasslehoff...i mean, jens lehmann.

jens might have been bumped earlier this year for his downward spiral after arsenal fell to man utd 4-2 at old trafford, but he has clearly worked his way back to the form that helped arsenal go 49 undefeated -- and he was todays man of the match (even if wayne rooney officially scooped it from him at cardiff). jens made great save after great save, and like all great keepers he had a bit of luck on his side when he couldn't get to a shot.

one bit of luck was the post. wayne rooney took a cheeky little shot from a tough angle, fooled old jens -- not an easy thing to do today -- and banked it off the post. the other bit of luck was freddie ljundberg. freddie was guarding the far post on a corner when ruud van nistelrooy fired a header from point blank range, and freddie had just enough time to react and head the ball up. it hit the crossbar, though, and gave us all a scare before shooting out for a clearance.

but in the end it was lehmann's brilliant save of scholes penalty kick that gave arsenal the one goal difference and allowed patty v. to put it away for the gunners.

so we got our silverware this year, and our second place finish. it wasn't pretty, but it rarely is when henry is on the bench.

still, this season's matt v. brad bet was lost by the gunners. man utd won the season series 3 games to 2. so matt gets dinner and drinks at a restaurant of his choice. and then the hole slate clears and we go again this season.

i don't know how you feel about it matt, but i'd rather have the cup than the dinner, so this is one year i am happy to pay.

kick arse boys

today is the last game of the season. the fa cup final between the gunners and the red devils.


go gunners 

i could talk smack, but why bother? we all know who the best team is here -- even with henry hurt.

david and jens / jens and david 

arsenal wrap-up

most valuable player --
without a doubt this has to be theirry henry. how can anyone who scored 30 goals on the year, 25 of them in the premiereship, not be considered the best player of the year. to put it in perspective, wayne rooney only scored eleven. and we all know he's great. but the best part of henry's game this year was his leadership. patrick viera was missing action for most of the season and henry stepped in like a champ. i'm so glad he's on our team.

best surprise --
cesc fabregas. seventeen years old and he's better than rooney. plus, he started twenty games for arsenal this year, showing himself to be more than competent to step in there with the big boys. great things to come from him.

best substitute --
robin van persie. the young dutchman barely started a game. but he came off the bench like a nuclear bomb, dropping ten goals in what amounted to about 240 minutes of football. if scoring rate were measured in minutes he'd be off the chart. ten goals?! here is another proof that arsenal are built to last, and built for depth.

best old geezer --
dennis bergkamp. van persie is being called the next bergkamp, and if it's true arsenal are truly blessed. bergkamp is the heart and soul of the gunners. another leader, this man leads by example. bergkamp is thirty-six, but he ended this season to chants of "one more year." let's hope it happens.

biggest disappointment --
jose antonio reyes. i love the guy despite what amounts to a season of crapness. maybe it's the weather, maybe it's playing out of position, maybe he just doesn't care, but reyes could have been so good. he still can be. i hope next season he lives up to his potential.

biggest jackass --
edu. he of the bruised toe can go. we don't need your whiny shit edu. go play on a crappy team in spain and take your shitty attitude with you.


the unsung hero --
robert pires. i think he is secretly kiki's favourite arsenal player, and for good reason: his always good. even when he's not scoring goals, which he does prodigiously (enough to put him in the top ten for the season), he is a major force in the midfield. there is talk that he's leaving at the end of this season to make room for cesc. i sure hope that doesn't happen. i'll miss pires bigtime.

next year --
second place, but deep in the euros. chelsea have the pieces to keep the league next year, and i can't see them faltering, but arsenal will give them a run for their money, and i think a better run than they gave this year. i think our real glory will be in europe. we're going to the finals.