I do not get the opportunity to take Emerson to The Emirates very often, so when my good mate Rob offered me two tickets to the final home game of the season against Norwich it was too good to turn down.
With a 12.45 kick off it meant an early start, so we set off from Darlington at 08.00. With the cheapest return train fare costing £156 I decided to drive to Peterborough and get the train from there.
The trip down the A1 was hassle-free and we arrived in Peterborough at 10.15, plenty of time to catch the 10.46 train to Finsbury Park. There were a mixture of Gooners, Norwich and Chelsea fans on the train, which made for a colourful and interesting journey. A group of Chelsea lads were making a day of it, going to the Arsenal match before then heading over to Covent Garden and on to Wembley. They seemed a decent enough bunch and were hoping to see an Arsenal win as they didn't want to see Spurs in the Champions League. Same here lads, same here.
We arrived at Finsbury Park at 11.54 and decided to pop into the Gunners Shop just outside the station as Emerson wanted a red and white scarf. A bargain, too, at £10.
We then set off up St. Thomas' Road before stopping at Piebury Corner for a quick bite to eat, enjoying the reggae music blasting out from the stand on the corner. I then bought a match programme and the latest copy of The Gooner fanzine before walking to the ground.
As Emerson had not seen the new statues, we had a quick stop off so he could acquaint himself with Tony Adams, Herbert Chapman and Thierry Henry before making our way inside the Home of Football.
Our seats were in the East Stand Lower Tier, halfway between the penalty area at the North Bank end and the halfway line, and the view was amazing. Emerson had never been in the lower tier before and was relieved that the seat in front of him was empty so he had a perfect view of the action.
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| Emerson in his seat with his new scarf |
His pre-match prediction was a tense 2-1 win while I went for a rather more optimistic 6-1. Norwich have looked on their holidays in the last few weeks and I thought we would be up for this after the midweek results meant we simply had to win.
Things could not have started any better either, as we went ahead inside the first minute, just as we had on Emerson's last visit against Sunderland in October. Yossi Benayoun, on what could be his last appearance for us at the Emirates, cut in from the left before curling a marvellous shot into the top right hand corner of the net.
But that was about as good as it got until half time. We seemed to think the game was won and switched off, allowing Norwich back into it. They were level ten minutes in with a shot from Hoolihan which Sczcesney should have kept out, before taking the lead with a deflected effort from Grant Holt.
Ah, Grant Holt. Three years ago on this very weekend I saw him score for Shrewsbury against the Daggers in League Two and I am amazed he is now playing in the Premier League. What is even more amazing is that this was his 16th goal of the season. 16th! If he can score that many at this level then there is hope for us all.
More bad news followed as Bacary Sagna went down with a serious-looking injury which led to him being carried off on a stretcher, and we later learned he had broken his leg for the second time this season. Terrible news for the lad, who had been the best right back in the league this season.
Half time was spent reflecting on what had been an awful 45 minutes for us, made even worse by the woman next to me chatting incessantly on her phone about her dog, which was apparently barking in the garden and scaring her children! Perhaps she should have stayed at home to deal with that instead of being here then? Just a thought.
I was still confident we would turn it around as every time Emerson has been to the Emirates, Robin van Persie has scored twice, so I could see us winning this 3-2.
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| Robin, isolated up front. |
After a shaky start to the second half, which almost saw Norwich go 3-1 ahead, we finally came to life. Gervinho, who had been getting a fair amount of stick up until then, suddenly began to get in behind the Canaries defence and looked the player we all hoped he would be.
Chamakh, who has been having a terrible time of it, came on for the once-again disappointing Ramsey, but he immediately made a difference, giving Robin the support he had been lacking up front. Hopefully this is the way it will next season, with Podolski playing this role, as Robin is desperate for more help up there.
But we were more excited by the arrival of The Ox, who replaced Benayoun, as Wenger really went for it. It was looking only a matter of time before we equalised as RvP missed two very good chances with unusually weak finishes, as we had the line of yellow defenders stretched time and again.
The equaliser eventually arrived fifteen minutes from time when Chamakh had an effort blocked and Song sent over a lovely ball for RvP to finish first time from ten yards. It is a combination that has worked so well this season and brought much relief to what was fast becoming a very restless crowd.
There was only going to one winner now and it looked as though it had arrived five minutes later. The ball fell to RvP in the area again, following a goalmouth scramble, and his shot went under Ruddy and into the roof of the net - his 30th league goal of the season. Queue delirium in our section, especially in the seat next to me as Emerson was going mental, manically waving his new scarf around his head! Once again he had seen his idol score twice. If only he came to every home match we would be Champions!
But we made the mistake of thinking the game was won, sat back, invited Norwich to come onto us, and paid the price when sub Morrison beat Szczesney from a tight angle six minutes from time. Very similar to the goal we conceded at Swansea in January soon after we had got ourselves level. Lessons again not learned. Frustration all around, apart from in the away section to our left, which was going as mad as we had a few minutes earlier.
We threw everything at them in the closing stages and how we didn't get the winner I will never know. Ruddy denied RvP and the Ox, while we should have had a penalty when Robin was clearly pushed in the back as he was about to tap into an empty net following a lovely cross from Ox. Quite how the referee and his assistant, the lovely Sian Massey, missed it was beyond us, but I guess we shouldn't have been too surprised as we have failed to be awarded a single penalty at home in the Premier League all season. Astonishing for a team who attacks as much as we do.
So, despite what had been a really exciting second half we had only drawn and apparently blown 3rd place. Surely Spurs will beat Villa tomorrow? I mean everyone else has beaten them lately.
It did lead to a rather subdued 'lap of appreciation' from the players at the end as most of the crowd had long since gone home. In fact many were streaming out with five minutes left with the score at 3-3. Honestly, what is the point in coming if you are not going to stay until the end? I can almost understand it at midweek games where you might need to catch a last train, but a Saturday lunchtime kick off? No excuses I'm afraid. And most were not even football tourists either, they were regular fans who have probably been coming to matches for years.
These are the same fans who will moan about the players showing a lack of commitment to the club yet they leave early and do not get behind the lads while they are there. If RvP leaves this summer perhaps all the fans who buggered off early and left the players to walk around a 3/4 empty stadium will be the reason. After the way the lads have reacted to adversity this season they deserved better. Damn it, Robin has been voted double footballer of the year, he deserved better.
But Emerson and I stayed to gave Robin a special clap as he walked past us with his children in tow. There is no doubt the guy loves this club but I couldn't help feeling this was his last goodbye. I really hope I am wrong but I fear this could have been his last match at The Emirates.
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| The last goodbye?? |
We arrived back in Peterborough at 16.52 and I was really not looking forward to the two hour drive home now, but it was livened up by hearing Liverpool lose the FA Cup final on the radio. I could picture the Chelsea fans we saw on the train celebrating and I almost felt happy for them, even though it was only the lesser of two evils really. Emerson was slightly more philosophical, saying he was pleased Liverpool lost as they had already won the Carling Cup and it was good for someone else to win something! One day, I promised him, it would be us celebrating. Next year perhaps??
We finally got back to Darlington at 19.30, disappointed with the result but happy with what had been a good day out. I have not seen many more exciting 45 minutes of football than the second half, and if we had held on to win 3-2 it would have been perfect.
However, as it turned out Spurs only drew with Villa and Newcastle lost to Man. City so third place is still in our hands. Win at WBA this Sunday and we will do it. Sounds easy eh?
I am now on the look out for two tickets so Emerson and I can be there to witness all the drama. Not quite a title decider maybe, but with the prize on offer a guaranteed Champions League place, it is about as big as it gets for us.
Plus, of course, it would also be St. Totteringham's Day. Now that really would be something to celebrate...
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