So, we travel down the day before as London captures some more of our hard earned Northern money for a semi final?! Me, I had the Mrs in tow, as did Jim but his goes to the game, mine I was packing on the midday train at Euston the next day on my way to Wembley!
The capital which in my mind is good to visit but now horrendous to live in (unless you are either in the majority of 'elitist money hungry pricks', with the lucky soulful minority dwindling by the day!). An opinion drawn by 6 months living down there for work 4 years previous! Anyway with the enemy by my side the 4 of us spent the Saturday at the theatre keeping her sweet! As we watched a play with Damien Lewis in, who at present is my favourite actor, what with Billions. The play was called 'The goat or who is Sylvia', a bemusing title for a bemusing play which I actually really enjoyed! The premise of it being about a successful American architect, played by Lewis, ruining his alleged perfect life and marriage by falling in love with a goat called Sylvia and yes if you were wondering fucking her!!! Much to the surprise of Jim (Not your regular theatre goer!) and a load of middle England old dears (a few even got up and left!). It didn't stop there though as Lewis' gay son confessed his undying love for his farther jumping on him and snogging him, with Lewis then admitting he once got a boner bouncing him on his knee as a child! Proper random hey! The rest of the day was spent at an over hyped Spanish tapas place, that the next day Jim said made him ill, and one of those apartment hotels just off Hyde park, which the Mrs got for a steel on one of those Internet deals.
The next day I get rid off the extra baggage as I pack the enemy back of to the promised land and head to Wembley under London like a mole! Once in the vicinity of the ground we found a nearby restaurant to soak it up in relative comfort! That was until a blocked pie underneath the restaurant floor burst and sewage started seeping out into the restaurant! Lovely hey! We obviously chose this moment to leave and make are way to the ground as I yearned for the civility and cleanliness of the North! On the way to the ground, sober may I add (something I have been for 10 months as the fried nerves in my head from the shingles, that nearly took the site in my left eye permanently, still 10 months on makes me feel almost permanently hungover anyway!) I notice, from my sober observant state how many fans have been on it all weekend as the Capital saps millions of those hard fought for Northern ponds! (What happened to Villa park and a quick up and down?!!).
Once in the ground the atmosphere from us was solid, on this beautiful spring day. I looked around to see these alleged thousands of empty seats our United biased media had decided to announce about us?!! Seeing a few but barely in the hundreds if that, then you look over to the opposition! An opposition may I add that is from around the corner and there was way more empty seats on their side that were conveniently disguised by their colour being red, yet there was no sign of that in our horrific bunch of cunts, (orchestrated witch hunt) media! You can all go get bent!
So the game starts with the team sheet mistakes that Jim and I could pick out this time being: Well obviously as always the inclusion of Bravo, and also not playing Zaba in such a game. The rest made sense though. Anyway they come out of the blocks with the clear intention of targeting our key players at any cost! Something that worried myself and Jim before the game, with both of us agreeing we would rather lose this game and have everyone fit if it meant we beat united in the more important game on Thursday night, with the one player we singled out as the most important to get through it being Silva, swiftly followed by Kompany. So then, as is fated to happen, some gunner prick goes right through Silva leaving him lame to be soon after subbed, and guess what not even a yellow card! This is when you know it is one of those games where the full might of the establishment is against us. As we already take the first wave of the inevitable media onslaught followed now swiftly by once again the officials on the day! As that prick of a referee joined forces with the media for the umpteenth time this season! I repeat it is an establishment witch hunt on every front!
To say this ref was appalling was an understatement, the game was far to big for this bent inept fool to take charge of, for he never got hold of it (not even for a minute) as Arsenal got away with clattering after clattering with no punishment rather a green light to continue. So as alluded to earlier Silva was soon to limp off and here I think the next tactical mistake was made as I would have now bought Zaba on and pushed Navas forward something I mentioned at the time yet Sterling entered the fray, much to my disappointment!
So the usual for this season occurred as we held most of the possession played some reasonable football but just didn't take our chances and when we finally did the awful referring took it of us (I am truly getting sick of this!).
Half time came and everybody in the ground new we should have been ahead and it already felt like one of those days as I waited in a massive cue for the most ridiculous toilet set up?! For it was the first time in 7 trips here that I had been on the bottom tier and this time treated to the delight of a male bog with no urinals?! What a fucking joke as we stood 15 deep to each one and that's with most people doubling up each time! Just don't cross the streams!!! However one guy I went in with could barely hit the bog he was that pissed as I stood further back concentrating on his aim more than my own! Indeed by the end we left it looking like a toilet on a sinking ship for the two guys waiting behind!! You then had to fight through the dense cigarette smoke past the guys who couldn't wait who were pissing up against the bog walls and onto the toilet floor that now resembled more of a paddling pool!! Don't you just love the sophistication of the Capital!! What I would have given for my beautiful Etihad urinals!! You could almost eat your dinner off them!
Anyway I eventually return to my seat for the second half where we begin to rally a bit and finally we get the breakthrough with Sergio, which was the very least we deserved. However within 10 minutes they were back level with Monreal with a well worked counter attacking goal in the end after Sane gave the ball away to cheaply (I will get to him in a minute!).
To be fair to Arsenal they dug and showed some backbone in there panic defending which is unlike them these days. Then now and again looked slightly dangerous on the counter attack. However the game was ours and in the remaining minutes of the 90 we just couldn't quite stand up and grasp it as Yaya hit the post, Fernadhiniho the bar and Prince Kev who has looked a little out of sorts passed when if he had shown just a split seconds more patience he should have just simply passed it into the net as it opened up for him. Indeed there was no master stroke from Wenger as the radio fools after the game would have you believe, we just once again left goal after goal on the pitch and ultimately the win.
Extra time arrived and you could just feel the writing was on the wall and it was of little surprise when against the run of things Sanchez scored. Then you could again just sense we couldn't quite lift ourselves and the substitutions for me did little to help as he took Sergio off for Delph? Next I think was a like for like due to injury and then eventually the useless sub Sterling was subbed himself which says everything for me you could have almost have brought Silva off and not replaced him with anyone the fat lot of good Sterling was. For me my first sub after it wasn't made in the first half would have been Zaba for Sterling and push Navas up, then for god sake get Sane off the pitch for Delph or Ihenacho not Sergio! Now my Sane rant! What the hell was that Lazy temperamental sod playing at, unless he was playing on an injury he has no excuse, as he was so disappointing! The player only a few weeks ago I thought was as valuable as Jesus seemed not to give a shit as he refused to run and hid all game with a permanent sulk plastered to his face and body! Yet he was not removed?! Does he know one of Pep's intimate secrets so pep has to keep him sweet?! As for the life of me I don't understand how, on this day, that complete waste of space stayed on the pitch. It was as if him and Sterling were in competition as to who could do the least! Just what we needed when so many of us had made the effort. It reminded me that all a fan really wants no matter what the score is is for his players to go out and try really fucking hard! That's why we all really love Zaba and I think that is why we are hopefully going to love the new Jesus!
Anyway it ended inevitably in the wrong score line as we yet again failed to convert opportunity, that should be the title of this season. So we head back up North and before I turned it off had to listen to the lies and bullshit from the Media. Spouting of about Wenger's alleged master stroke and how he has still got it in him, which was utter rubbish for we simply, like a waiter and the Frenchman's favourite restaurant, handed it to him on a plate he had to do barely anything but hang in there and whether the storm, nay persistent mild breeze! Then giving little or no mention of our first half goal that should have been, but that's simply par for the course in this witch hunt!
Finally players of note on our side and who actually tried were Yaya, Kompany and Otamendi, who is looking so much more assured under Kompany's wing.
The End
Wembley, first tier behind the goal.
