Summing up quite how I felt on Saturday after the result is quite hard. Just a truly gutting feeling. After being informed that we were leading 3-2 I said we'll concede an equaliser now and funny how things work, we did. I'm sure along with many Arsenal fans I was almost sure we'd completely blown our chances of 3rd. At that moment it seemed like everything that could go wrong would. We'd finish 5th, Van Persie would leave, Arsenal would crumble like Liverpool, Sanga had broken his leg and would never play again. Of course I calmed down from this dejected state but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling.
I sat down to watch the Soccer Special not expecting much, to be honest I wasn't really paying attention. Until of course Ciaran Clarke fired Aston Villa into a lead. I expected Sp*rs to hit back and they did through Adebayor at which point I had accepted that they would win. I turned to Newcastle to see them lose to Man City, almost certainly securing the title for them but hey, you can't have it all. At that point we had a hope if securing top 4 knowing a point would do it. The 6 minutes of added time at Villa Park were absolute hell but eventually the full time whistle went.
I couldn't quite believe we had a second chance, one we probably didn't deserve but we'd all take it. It means that once again, we need to win at West Brom to secure 3rd and guarantee Champions League football next year. Although at this current moment I'm not overly confident I'd rather be where we are now. We have been gifted a second chance, if we don't take it then we probably don't deserve to finish 3rd.
We need to hold our nerve and play the game not the occasion. If we keep our shape and Song covers when Vermaelen goes surging forward then we'll have a chance. We also need to keep it simple, rather than trying to over elaborate things. Song was particularly guilty of this after for their last goal at the weekend. He tried a loopy ball over the top instead of playing the simple ball that would have been far more effective.
So a lot to do in this final week of the season but we have launched our kit for the new season. I'm not exactly a fan at the moment but I'm sure I'll learn to accept it over the season. Check our our 2012/13 home kit.
Check back later this week for all the build up to our huge game at the Hawthorns.
