Victory

The Good: 3 points closer to qualification, 2 goals for Wilshere, 1 goal conceded in 6 games for Szczesny, 67% possession and 112 passes for Ramsey.
The Bad: Overplayed the ball, poor finishing, lackadaisical play, that penakty miss,
The ugly: What was Marseille manager Élie Baup’s all sky blue track suit about?

Permutations

Forget about the complicated permutations, win or draw and we’re through top, lose by 3+ goals and Dortmund win and we are out. That is all you need to know

#SleeveGate

For as long as I remember, and probably over twice as long as that, The Arsenal captain has picked the sleeve length, and the rest of the players have followed. It is part of the class and tradition of Arsenal Football Club. Mathieu Flamini, however, feels he is above this. As against Manchester United, he cut his sleeves. His justification is he has been a professional footballer for 10 years, and is more comfortable wearing short sleeves. Is a players comfort above the traditions of a club? Long serving Vic Akers is not happy, Arsene Wenger is reportedly not happy, but can you fine a player for wanting to wear the sleeve length he wants?

Stewards

Once again, there are reports of over-zealous stewarding. Three stories seem to be appearing from tonight. The first is of an OAP being escorted out after standing up and shouting ‘ARSENAL, ARSENAL’ at a corner. The 2nd is of a father being threatened to be thrown out after holding his daughter in the air celebrating a goal. The 3rd is a steward being reportedly over heard saying “I am going to kick someone out tonight.” I think stewards need to remember they are their to steward the crowd, not police it. After recent performances by our stewards, the club needs to review the matter before more fans are alienated.

Empty Seats

6,000 empty seats at the Emirates tonight. The club do not allow the ticket exchange to be open for Champions League games. This is the main reasoning as fans who travel from Birmingham or Devon (where the chap infront of me travels from weekly) can not make mid week. They then struggle to sell their ticket. This leads to empty seats. Yes, there were problems in South East London, yes it was a bit of a nothing game, yes it was cold, but 6,000 is a lot. I feel it also has a lot to do with people getting bored of the Champions League. A final note is that Marseille had the smallest allocation possible. The club sold all of these extra tickets in the lower tier, so it is missing season ticket holders which is the problem.

Bendtner

Lots or criticism coming Bendtner’s way after his arrest for criminal damage. Silly? Yes. Immature? Yes. But it is certainly not the worst thing as Arsenal player has done whilst still at the club. Were it someone other than Bendtner, we would defend him. Bendtner is stupid, but it’s a nothing story, and we should perhaps remember our ‘naughty history’.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC