Pang, draw and quarters

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In one competition they’ve had shockers, in the other they’ve been faultless – it’s been a tale of two cups for the English big four. It makes the FA Cup exciting to not have them in and it makes the European Cup exciting to have them in – for a neutral.

The reality of having all four English sides still in the Champions League is that we now have a 43% chance of meeting one of them in Friday’s quarter-final draw.

I don’t know about you, but ever since our defeat of Milan I’ve had a feeling somewhere in the southerly regions of my guts (not wind, you’ll be pleased to hear) that we are going to draw Man Utd. I suspect it is my dark side playing games on me but there we have it – I just wish my dark side would play different games. Like Operation or Risk or something.

I’m not good with numbers (me counting down from 301 in darts is a particularly amusing spectacle, nearly as amusing as me actually throwing the darts), but it feels almost inevitable that if not in the quarters, we’d have to take on an English club in the semis or in the final. Of the European sides remaining, only Barcelona have picked the trophy up before.

What else? Well Gunnerblog has some pics that may or may not be of next season’s kits. I have to say, I am loving that away shirt. It’s the nearest thing to the legendary ’89 away shirt we have ever launched so I hope there’s some truth in this. Keep it nice and plain and I’m happy. Over elaborate and make it too shiny or naff and I will grumble. Add in JVC and remove Fly Emirates and I will be delighted.

That’s all I can muster this morning. There’s a hurricane blowing outside and I’m pretty sure I just saw someone flying past the window like Mary Poppins. No word of a lie, I tell you.

Jim

Arsenal since about 1979. Thick, thin and all that.