Well Arsenal could hardly have started the game any quicker with Hector Bellerin pouncing on a loose ball in the Everton box after Welbeck made a hash of Ozil’s cross, and the Gunners go 1-0 up with Arsenal’s first attack on the Toffees goal.
But just ten minutes later we find ourselves down to ten men as Laurent Koscielny is given a straight red for a vicious too high two-footed tackle on Valencia flying down the wing. I think we could be rueing the Frenchman’s quick recovery from his injury as we are no going to have a very nervous last 75 minutes, not to mention no chance of him playing in the FA Cup Final either. A very rash challenge that he is going to regret once he gets to the dressing room…
Goals are flying in all over the Premier League on this last match-day, but the good news is that none of them have come in the Liverpool game as yet….
Or maybe not! Just ten minutes later Alexis Sanchez takes a speculative shot from outside the box that only hits Danny Welbeck, who carried on ta take the ball away from the keeper. While the Toffees are all shouting for an offside whistle, Welbeck cooly passes the ball back to Alexis who couldn’t miss from there! 2-0 to the Gunners! And Liverpool still not scored….
Everton then decide it’s time to start playing and Lukaku and Barkley both fluff their chances as Petr Cech carries on his great form. Arsenal limp towards half-time, but just at the death we hear the news that Liverpool have taken the lead against Boro. Is that the end of our Top Four hopes? Probably….
Arsenal started well in the second half although Lukaku had another half-chance but was offside anyway. The Everton keeper Robles saves well from Welbeck but then we lose yet another defender. Gabriel tries to do a Koscielny but only ends up getting booked and also getting himself seriously injured in the process. He has to be stretchered off and it looks like we have lost another defender for the Cup Final….
Mertesacker comes on to make his FIRST appearance of the season, and it is now nearly certain to play in the Final. Ashley Williams looked like he was going to get a second yellow for tripping Welbeck, but then the ball goes down to our end and a cross gets taken down by Monreal’s arm. This gives Cech another chance to not save a penalty and as usual he doesn’t. Arsenal now only 2-1 up but Liverpool have grabbed a second goal and they quickly get a third, and we are well and truly in 5th place for the first time in Wenger’s reign. Europa League here we come…
On the hour mark, Rob Holding gets himself booked as well for a rash challenge. Doesn’t any of our defenders want to play against Chelsea next week?
With the result now irrelevant, Wenger changes Coquelin for Xhaka, and then takes Alexis off as well. He was clutching his leg just before his substitution so we hope it’s nothing serious. Everton get the ball in the back of the net again but the ref had blown his whistle quickly to ascertain another disallowed effort….
Tottenham are racking up another cricket score, Man City are 5-0 up and Liverpool 3-0 in front, while we are struggling to hold on to a 2-1 lead at home. Maybe those three teams really deserve the Champions League more than us? One record Arsenal will not want take is the ffact that a win will give us 75 points, and no team in the Premier League has ever failed to get into the Champions League with that total….
WE have one final flourish as Aaron Ramsey scores his first League goal of the season. Like Arsenal, it’s just too little, too late, but it was a perfect finish…..
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