Well done to the Arsenal for getting through to the Champions League final (and it was good to see they actually had an English player on the pitch this time) but what a rotten game it was, except for the excitement of the last five minutes with the penalty save followed closely by the great chance at the other end.
I’m not one of those people who think that a game has to have goals to be exciting – the Arsenal/Madrid second leg was a fantastic game even though it was a 0-0 – but it should have at least a few of the following: brilliant cross-field passes, fingertip saves, perfectly-timed tackles, dribbles around half a dozen defenders and preferably all the time. This game was just one long series of failed passes, with Villareal constantly losing the ball and Arsenal constantly giving it away. There was just no rhythm to it.
I’m rooting for them in the final, just so I can wind up the rest of the family when it prevents Spurs from getting into the Champions League so they join the Hammers in the UEFA cup next season instead.
As someone who attended a truly awful European Cup Semi-Final in 1982 (in the days when only champions were allowed in) I can assure you there is no such thing as a boring nil-nil which takes you through to the Final. My only complaint is, why can’t Thierry Henry play like a camel with two left feet when he plays against us?
Made a change to see a bunch of happy people wearing claret & blue at Villa Park on Sunday though didn’t it? 🙂