By Boris Mellor
April 26 2006

“We’re Shit but we qualified”, sung again and again to the tune of 1 nil to the Arsenal is one of my favourite Gunner’s songs. There is something wonderful about forbidden fruit, and so there is in winning a game in which we had two chances, and barely strung two passes together.

Yes it was agony to watch, but great prizes never come without some suffering. Those hoping for a Roy of The Rovers magic ending, with the hero scoring a hat trick never got it. But wasn’t Lehmann’s saving of an unjust penalty just as dramatic an ending?

 

I am so glad the referee gave those yellow clad cheatiest of cheats the pen. They said they deserved one and they got it. Good – and watching Lehmann save it made the match memorable. Would we really remember the match for the Forlorn Diego’s missing of an open goal? He might score in Spain, but he never could score against premiership teams. No I never expected him to score, so they missed two free headers, so what!  I watch Arsenal miss half a dozen every home game, doesn’t make us the European Champions does it? (Well it might now. Ed).

 

Not conceding a goal at home was the key to winning this match, it was all done at Highbury. Whatever Wenger told the team before this match had not sunk in, he wanted the team to attack, but they believed that what they have they hold. All season we have been told, in factI said it as well, that Arsenal could never win the CL because they can’t keep a clean sheet in Europe. Liverpool won it because they can defend and Arsenal can’t, but now this team has kept ten clean sheets in a row, an all time European record!

 

Some, and definitely not the Arsenal Times Editorial team, argued that Wenger needed to step down because he had no plan B for Europe. Now that he does have a plan B we look forward to their apologies. Even stingy of the stingiest, the most miserly of all misers (by the way his desk is up for auction, should be worth a lot) George Graham never managed 10 clean sheets in Europe. And we kept a clean sheet in the 10^th game with yet another disruption to the defence, Senderos injured before the game, and Flamini injured after 9 minutes. Yet Clichy out since November just fitted in as if he had never been away.

 

Only a few months ago we were southern cissies who couldn’t win ugly, but now we have drawn ugly, and it was the most important draw of our whole history.

Yes the tactics were confused, going so deep at times that the midfield could not find anywhere to pass to. That Lehmann’s goal kicks went into an opposition half devoid of Arsenal players. But to paraphrase an old kerb crawler, Wenger must be heartened to see that his team could defend so well, even when they are not putting any pressure on the opposition.

 

The first London team ever in the European Cup Final. Whatever the result in the Stade de France we have seen history made. But this is our year, whoever the opponents are,  we are not going to Paris just to make up the numbers.

 

Pelligrini complained that Villarreal didn’t deserve to go out, what has deserve got to do with it? All together now “We’re Shit but we qualified”. And for old times sake one for Paddy, “you should have stayed with a big club”.  Boys you put us through hell, but Arsenal we love you.