Arsenal 1-1 PSV – 07/03/07 – (Champions League) 8 March, 2007

So that’s it, the European dream is over for another season, and so is any other chance of silverware. Most players gave their all last night but it wasn’t enough and we went out 2-1 on aggregate. All day I had been confident and really up for it but when there was about an hour left until kick off I got really nervous again. It was announced that Henry was on the bench and it was obvious that he’s nowhere near fit. Gilbertosilver made a good point that he should’ve started and then subbed off if he was having problems. When he did come on he went down after a few minutes punching the floor. I don’t know whether that was picked up during the game or he carried it into it but he was certainly not in a good way.

We started with Toure at right back and Gilberto at centre back. Denilson partnered Cesc in the middle while the other Brazilian, Baptista was up front with Adebayor. It wasn’t a bad looking team but it was nowhere near our best. We would’ve battered PSV with a fit Henry, RVP and Rosicky. Toure was incredible down that right hand side, he’s one of the few that really cares about this team. If it was up to me I’d make him captain, or vice at least. Not saying that Gilberto is a bad captain, but I am saying Henry is, I’ve always thought that. Kolo is my new Arsenal favourite but it’s not as if he’s just begun playing with this passion.

Another player last night who seemed to give a damn was Gallas. He’s only just joined from the scum but whatever shirt he sticks on he’ll play his heart out for the team. I really admire his commitment and if he’d been here longer, he’d have a shout for the armband too.

The players were at it from the word go last night and were putting pressure on PSV. We needed a first half goal and the boys were really pushing for it. The whole first half we were by far the dominant team. I was surprised we weren’t one up at half time with the possession we had but we never really created enough clear-cut chances. There were no subs at half time and at this point I was sure Henry wasn’t fit.

A few minutes into the 2nd half, Henry was warming up on the sidelines as the need for a goal grew. However, it was while Arsenal’s top goalscorer was being readied we scored. Denilson’s corner cleared Gomez and went in off Alex. The Emirates erupted in jubilation and relief, we were back in the Champions League and it was fucking amazing! The PSV fans who’d been singing all game just shut up and watched. We had a handful of chances just after the goal to take the lead on aggregate but n=we couldn’t seem to find the back of the net. We needed that final quality and Wenger thought that would be provided in Thierry Henry…

He came on in the 66th minute for Baptista but you could see immediately he was nowhere near fit. Soon after that Henry was down on the floor, clearly in pain. We were still pushing for a second when we gave away a sloppy free kick with 7 minutes to go. The ball was whipped in and Alex made up for his own goal by heading past the stranded Lehmann. Game over, we needed 2 more which was never going to happen. Gomez was running around like a lunatic in front of me and injured himself doing so. What a twat.

The stadium started to empty, I was pissed off at those who left but I could understand them completely. I just slumped on the seat in front facing the inevitability. In one way I didn’t want us to score so we didn’t have that pressure of only needing one more. The Arsenal chants when the game was clearly over were beautiful, a similar thing happened in Paris. There weren’t many joining in but those who were sang their hearts out. I love Arsenal.

So that’s it for this season. 2nd place? Unlikely but it can be our target. Thanks for reading.