Phew! What a night.

I have to admit to being surprisingly chipper despite last nights defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League final.

Arsenal did what I have come to expect from them over the years and put in a performance of dogged determination and spirit. That's why we support them you know? Becuase they seem to put their bodies on the line and give their all when it matters.

I have tried to retain a balanced view ever since the hammer blow of conceding two goals in five minutes last night.

There is absolutely no disgrace in losing to a side like Barca. There is even less disgrace if you lose with only 10 men for most of the match (the absent player being your first choice goalkeeper). The referee, whilst not protecting the Arsenal players in tackles and having failed to book their players for the equivalent offences that we committed, did get the sending off right.

But he could have given the goal and still sent Lehmann off, so we were lucky. As an aside, someone at work asked me today if Guily should have been flagged offside and that is why the ref pulled it back for the freekick and dismissed Jens. That would make sense. But an associate of the referee has just been on the radio saying he should have given the goal so who knows!!

Anyway, the point is that he was right to send Jens off and he could well have sent Eboue off for diving where he chose to give us a freekick which we scored from.

Some comments from Arsenal fans I have heard seem to say it was the officials fault we lost, and I dont agree.

He didnt fail to step up and played E'to onside, he didnt foul E'to, he didnt score two goals either.

Sometimes you have to be adult and objective (yes! even about football) and admit it wasnt meant to be.

Henrik Larsson was superb and proved to be the difference between the sides. We defended heroically thoughout the match but they kept going and eventually got a breakthough.

So I will echo Arsene Wengers comments today. Well played Arsenal, you couldnt have given much more effort, and well done to Barcelona.



Cue people saying I am not a 'proper' Arsenal fan because I am saying it was no-ones fault we lost. It was just the way the match panned out!

JimmytheCuckoo

With the immortal words “the sight is in end”, David Pleat fluffed his way back into my heart. Only N17’s sexiest man 2003 ™ could have spouted such a thing seconds before Samuel Eto’o strolled the ball past Manuel Almunia.

Is it wrong to revel in others’ demise? Was it a disturbing insight into human nature when as the Goon’s substitute keeper deflected Belletti’s shot into his own net I leapt off my sofa and did a bizarre little celebratory dance that resembled a funky chicken being decapitated? My wife joined me in my cheers and texts flooded my mobile as the house phone began ringing.

Perhaps it was wrong and it’s all tit for tat, but my god it feels great. Kudos to karma. All day I’d had to listen to radio pundits telling me that the whole country should be behind this ‘English’ club and they didn’t understand why Spurs fans, and even Celtic fans, wanted them to lose.

When will the ‘experts’ get it into their G14 tattooed head that football is a tribal affair? For the past 10 days, my email account has been bursting at the seams with members of the French Foreign Legion queuing up to laugh at the disappointment of our final day sickness and tragedy. How can any true Arse fan say that if the positions were reversed they’d be waving their white and navy flag while screaming “Come on Jermain!”?

To be honest, a Spurs fan could have scripted the final. Who would you have chosen to be sent off after little over a quarter of an hour? I’d plump for Jens Lehmann every time. The German housewife has scowled, grimaced, cheated and dived through the entire season. He’s pushed and barged opposition players yet when one treads on tufts of grass near him, he’s sunk in Platoon style to his knees, holding his face with one hand while smearing tomato ketchup ‘wounds’ over his body.

How fitting that he decided to cheat on the biggest stage of them all and it all fell down around him like the Berlin Wall. I often have s

Fair enough "themightywhite". What really distrubs me about football nowadays is that rival fans are happier about gloating, rather than focusing on their own team. Of course a bit of banter can be fun, but often it gets down to petty abuse and insults.

I am proud of how the team played yesterday.

I hope we can look back at the game and this season with pide and hopefully the team will want to prive something next season.

the referee actually admitted today that if he saw the advantage he would have played on and given a yellow card so actually lehmann would still be on the pitch. owuld have much prefered that. But yeah im very proud of the players and happy for Sol with a very solid performance keeping ronaldinho quiet. Will Henry stay or go that is the question now....

hehe. I liked the letter in the football365 mailbox that said normal service is resumed becuase the highlight of their season is to see Arsenal lose, but still finish above them. The idiot, mightywhite, only goes to prove the huge amount of class that arsenal have on them.It is sad that they resort to this. PLUS, they will still be watching eastenders on tuesday and wednesdays as the poor mans euro trophy plays on thursdays due to its insignificance nowadays. WELL PLAYED GUNNERS, ignore that idiotic spurs fan, he is an embarrassment to a half decent club.

Gary, brighton fan

Of course if the Ref HAD let the goal stand then he could have just booked Lehmann because the rule states that a player can be sent off for DENYING a goal scoring opportunity. If the goal has been scored then it is just a yellow card for the foul.
Very proud of the lads, a great achievement considering the injuries we've had all season.

hey guys we may have lost but i tell u theres a lot to take from this match we are definitly more experienced than before and i'll bet that the boys will come back hungrier than before now that they've had their first taste of the finals.We played extremely well i felt we had some chances that on a better day we would hav buried but hey can't cry now, that milk already spilt.i just want the boys to learn and grow from this.First the finals, then the finals and the cup we just need to remain focused and still have that desire burning in us.We can AND WILL WIN THIS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.Sooner than later so cheer up lads coz the seasons ahead look bright;):)

Sorry, but it is half hearted and dishonest not to reflect on whether the actions of the referee affected the game. We all happily pick players and managers to shreds and if the game is to remain within the reach of the fans, then we should also ensure that officialdom doesn't become sanctified.

Most people accept that the couple of glaring decisions the referee had to make regading Lehmann and Eto'o weren't far off (in the first instance, I would have given the goal AS WELL). BUT, in the end the biggest issue he couldn't (wouldn't) confront was the frequent niggling challenges, particularly on Henry, that time after time went unpunished and which ultimately had a greater affect of the outcome of the game.

We lost, it hurts, but Arsenal will pick up the pieces and come back stronger for it, just as the club has always done in the past.

I'm proud to wear the shirt of Arsenal and it is one thing I will agree with MightyWhite - football is a tribal affair - and even in defeat it feels bloody good to be part of it.

Who cares about Sp*rs? This is a day to reflect on the heroic performance of OUR lads. I was devastated last night, and if we had gone out as against Bolton away last season, I would have been truly gutted. But throughout, they showed showed fight and intelligence. I've never been prouder to be a gooner.

ETOO-OFF SIDE GOAL IN THE FINAL, watch it here. You can see it frame by frame

http://tinyurl.com/m67r8