On the Road Again!

Another chance to go to Wembley Stadium to watch Arsenal. Once again against Chelsea. Arsenal were in this traditional fixture as Cup Winners and Chelsea as League Champions. Back in May Arsenal had beaten Chelsea in the FA Cup Final also at Wembley Stadium. This stopped them wining the "Double" of League and Cup in one season. Another warm sunny day when we were glad to be in the upper tier and under cover rather than being burned to a crisp in the sun. The view is pretty good from all around the stadium. Before the game there was the usual tedious build up but this was relieved by the Choir for Grenfell coming to sing after the minutes silence for those that died in the terrible tower block fire some weeks ago. The Choir and celebs have made a charity record to raise money for the families that lost everything. I took a short video of it. The game was pretty even although statistics will show that the Arsenal had more possession, 54% to 46%, more ...

And the adventure goes on.   After a disastrous run of games of late that have seen the assault on the league fade and fade with a record, under Wenger, of four consecutive away defeats, Arsenal were definitely underdogs on Sunday in this semi-final.  In the League trailing their opponents by a considerable margin, the one-off match to reach the final was a different ball game, to coin a phrase. After a dreadful mistake allowed  Manchester Oil Barons to go ahead in the first half. The Arsenal players managed to rally themselves and equalise through Monreal. The game went into 30 minutes extra time before Sanchez scored to win the game. The final beckons on May 27th.

So Arsenal have made it to record 19th FA Cup Final and of the previous 18, 11 have been won. A record currently shared with Manchester United. As last year we were drawn against a club from the lower division and it proved to to be slightly different as we won in extra time rather than penalties like last year. Although I won a ticket in the ballot, I had to sell it to Alex as I am only two weeks on from the heart attack and simply not fit enough to go. So I watched on TV instead. Nerve wracking? Yes!    Today, Sunday, was the second semi-final and that went against the odds with Aston Villa beating Liverpool 2-1.

Cheapest Seats April will be a good football month for me or at least the middle weeks will be. Firstly, we'll be off to Wembley to see Arsenal play in the FA Cup Semi-Final against the Cup Holders, Wigan Athletic. A game that even Wenger and the players can't throw away. My trips to the new Wembley haven't so far been that successful, losing on both occasions. Firstly to Chelsea in 2009 after being a goal up early on and then letting it slip near the end and even worse, the 2011 League Cup Final when a cock up between defenders and keeper left us conceding against lower opposition in the form of (to be) relegated Birmingham City. So another Wembley occasion against a lower league side can't be allowed to go the same way. If we don't get to the Final in May, then I think Wenger needs to pack his bags! 2009 FA Cup Semi-Final - http://www.arsenal.com/match-menu/171363/first-team/chelsea-v-arsenal 2011 League Cup Final - http://en.wikipedia.or...

Last saw Santana at the O2 back in 2008. June. Went up on the bike. This time most likely on the train and then stay overnight at one of the hotels that have sprung up like daisies around the stadium and arena. The date is July 19th.

Everything has to be sponsored now. You can hardly turn the TV on without advertising as programmes are sponsored by some product or company. Mostly nothing to do with the program or the product? Maybe it's cheaper than simply paying for an advert slot? And so it is with football.  Long after shirt sponsorship became the norm the stadiums themselves started getting new names. My Arsenal are currently playing at "The Emirates Stadium" in Islington, North London. Sponsored by the airline of the same name.  I suspect the trend came from the US, and has taken over all across Europe. Schalke, where we go next week in the UEFA Champion's League, have the Veltin's Arena. Many German clubs have modern stadia built for the 2006 World Cup, where sponsorship was the business plan. The Football League Cup has been sponsored for years, by the betting company Littlewoods, by the Milk Board, by Coca-Cola and now by a bank - The Capital One Cup. The bigger clubs that hav...

I've not been to a Cup Final since 2003 when Arsenal beat Southampton 1-0 in Cardiff. So the chance to go to Wembley for another Final was too much to ignore!

In the end the makeshift team scored first, through Theo Walcott, but eventually lost to the better team. On the day, Chelsea were at full strength and are always going to be a mountain to climb, even with three first choice defenders and one of the replacements crocked as well. On top of that some of the Arsenal players didn't have good games and Adebayor knows he was lacklustre and a waste.

Inside the stadium with 15 mins to go to kick off and it is starting to get exciting.

The first sight of the new stadium for our first visit.

Just got back from Hythe. Got my Cup Semi-Final ticket. The envelope is a self-seal and it looked as though it has been opened and then stuck down again. The postman then got all shitty when I opened it before leaving and checked the ticket was there. I said that it was no reflection on him but the envelope, as he could see, looked as though it has been tampered with and I wasn't stepping outside until I verified the contents. Miserable clown. Just think what would have happened had I gone outside and found no ticket?

Things are building up for a first trip to Wembley, where 80000 plus will make their way to the new stadium, many for the first time. Use public transport we are told. "Cut the carbon footprint". So why then does TfL make it difficult by having a part suspension of the Jubilee Line? As usual the arse and the elbow have no idea. Integrated transport policy for London. Rubbish.