Soccer is Stranger than Fiction

Arsenal 1 Tottenham 1
Villareal 0 Arsenal 0.

In the space of 4 days there were 2 matches.
In the space of 2 matches there were 2 draws.

The latter favoured us, the former did not.

But hey! We're going to Paris! Woo-hoo!

I am ecstatic that the Gunners have gotten to the finals while stretching their incredible run of clean sheets to an incredible 10 games. 10 games against the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, and Riquelme's Villareal! Lehman should get every bit of the credit as Henry.

At the same time I am sorely disappointed at yet another lacklustre domestic performance.
I think Wenger has paid the price for having too little Englishmen in his team. Only English players are used to the English game of heavy running and high balls and headed goals. All the Frenchmen and Spanish youngsters at Highbury are obviously not comfortable enough with the pace of the English game. Arsenal's fluid style of play should be maintained but without sacrificing English players who are used to aerial contests and close man-marking and tough full- blooded tackles. Perhaps Alan Pardew was right after all.