Yesterday saw RvP complete the personal honours set by being named Football Writer’s Player of the Year.  I know many people think that in a team game individual honours mean nothing but in a season where we won’t be winning anything it’s nice to see his tremendous year rewarded somehow.  Of course, the same people who voted for him as the best player in the premier league couldn’t wait to link him, almost immediately, with a move to Juventus.  Sometimes it seems as if they are very eager to drive the best players from this league.  It makes no sense to me.  Anyway, I still maintain, as I have all season, that Robin will sign a new deal with Arsenal.

Denilson, who has been on loan all season with Sao Paulo, confirmed yesterday that he will be returning to Arsenal at the end of June.  He said “I will stay at Sao Paulo until June 30, then I will return to Arsenal. This season, I had more assists, I secured a place in the starting team and I had good matches. I also had a good run of matches and I have not been sent off. I would like to stay more six more months, but this decision was made by Arsenal, with whom I have a contract. I will not be unhappy in London, because I am returning to one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

I’m not really sure what to make of this.  I’d been patient with Denilson but that had begun to run out and I wasn’t overly fussed when he left on loan.  With only one year left on his contract when he returns and with a wealth of midfielders already at the club I’m not sure what Arsenal have in mind.

Theo has been given the all clear to play in the Euro’s after it was revealed that his hamstring injury will only keep him out for three weeks.  It would be a shame if he didn’t go after missing out on the last world cup, and despite struggling for consistency at times, he has had a good season, scoring nine and creating nine assists.  When you compare that to Lennon who has three goals and four assists, who I suppose would be his replacement should Theo not go, then you see the depth of the delusion Sp*rs fans have when they sing at Theo “you’re just a shit Aaron Lennon.”

Vermaelen has been speaking about Diaby’s return, saying “It is good for him that he is now back and has put a difficult period behind him. He can be really valuable for us I think. Mikel is injured now but Abou brings some physical presence in midfield as well. He is a good player for us so I am happy he is back. Mikel, as you have seen, has been important for us over the whole season. He is a leader on the pitch and outside the pitch and has a lot of experience. It is a big loss that he is not on the pitch anymore.”

I really rate Diaby, I’ve mentioned that more than once on this blog.  I really hope this is him back now but I guess only time will tell.

I hadn’t really wanted to talk about last night’s match to be honest so I’m not going to.  There is a bitterness in my heart when I see Chelsea lauded for the same thing we were ridiculed for doing last year, the only difference being Messi missed his penalty against them while he netted against us, but the fact is that now Chelsea are in the final it makes getting third place even more important.  *Should* they do the unimaginable and actually win the Champions League, and, let’s face it, the amount of luck they’ve had in getting this far would seem to suggest that they’ve struck a deal with the devil, fourth place in the league would be relegated to the Europa League.  Contrary to some panic merchants on Twitter last night, third place will not have to qualify should Chelsea qualify as winners of the competition.  All four English sides would proceed straight to group.

18% possession. They won with 18% possession. And 64% pass accuracy.

Bitter. So. Fucking. Bitter.

Meh. I need coffee.

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