The wife says I’m not always impartial on these matters, but sometimes I really do believe the collective world of football (note, the game played by kicking the ball with the feet, not throwing it with the hands while dressed in layers of body armour) have it in for Arsenal. Take Saturday’s game against the South East’s favourite team, Manchester United – ManUre committed 21 fouls but had just 3 players booked. Arsenal committed 15 fouls but had 6 players booked. ManUre were awarded a penalty, while Arsenal’s penalty claim (just as clear-cut) was waved away. And the perpetrator of the foul got away with that one and two other bookable offences, so should have been off the field.

Yes, Arsenal did concede a penalty and an own goal, and therefore lost fair and square, but many were in agreement that Arsenal were the better side. An injury-time goal was disallowed for offside, and yes it was the correct decision… but don’t you wonder what would have happened if the situation was reversed, if ManUre were 2-1 down and scored a dodgy last-minute goal at home?

Now consider the fate of Eduardo. In February 2008 he suffered a broken leg during a match against Birmingham, an injury so horrific that a surgeon’s first reaction was that amputation was a possibility. Of course that didn’t happen and he was playing again within 14 months. Last week Eduardo ‘dived’ during a game against Celtic, winning a penalty in the process. Whether he did dive intentionally to win a penalty, or whether he was making an evasive move to get his legs well out of the goalie’s way, only he will know. The question is, why would UEFA choose this incident to start a witch-hunt against the art of diving? I’ve seen far more blatant examples of diving and play-acting that have received nothing more than a booking. If UEFA have condemned Eduardo to a 2-match ban, are they going to go back over all of the other alleged diving incidents over the past few years? If so, a certain Mr C Ronaldo had better get his defence case ready… perhaps the ManUre fans, when they shouted “cheat” at Eduardo, had forgotten that that the greasy winger often went down like a sniper victim if someone coughed within 3 yards of him.

Actually, not a good week. Arsenal were very poor against ManYoo, suffering a 4-0 defeat in the F A Cup. It was a busy night on the M6 as a few thousand dejected Arsenal fans headed back South, and tens of thousands of happy ManUre fans headed back South (or headed to Manchester airport to catch flights to Belfast, Dublin, Oslo, etc). Bacary Sagna missed the game after the sudden death of his 28 year old brother Omar.

The mid-week 0-0 draw against AC Milan wasn’t a disaster but certainly makes the away tie difficult. Mind you, a 1-1 draw would be enough to go through.

So, today it was back to the league, with Arsenal hoping to at least maintain a five point lead. Things couldn’t have started in worse fashion with Eduardo suffering a horrific broken leg in the second minute. The injury was so bad that Sky declined to show a replay – but later Match of the Day did (after issuing a warning), and now I wished I’d looked away. No wonder the Arsenal players looked so distraught. That’s Eduardo out for a year. I am glad that Arsene Wenger retracted and apologised for his earlier comments about Martin Taylor, the unfortunate perpetrator of the tackle – I was planning a post to say that I thought Wenger was wrong to make the comments, and ‘excessive’ was exactly the word I would have used.

However…

Wenger has a right to feel aggrieved about other incidents in the game. Birmingham scored from a free kick which was dubious in it’s award to say the least. Later, 2-1 up, Arsenal had a clear penalty claim ignored when Adebayor was held back. But worst of all was Birmingham’s awarded penalty – Gael Clichy was judged to have brought down Stuart Parnaby. But replays clearly showed that Clichy reached the ball first, thus making it a legal tackle. Well done the ref… a closet ManYoo fan perhaps?

Still there was always the hope that Newcastle could get a draw or even a win against ManUre, and surely Newcastle couldn’t suffer a defeat as bad as the last time they met the South East’s favourites (6-0). It certainly wasn’t as bad… but 5-1 was bad enough. What happened to that team who stuffed ManYoo 5-0 in October 1996? David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, Alan Shearer, Philippe Albert… even Darren Peacock… come back, your former club needs you.

I hope Arsenal take the Premier League title, but much more so I hope Eduardo makes a full recovery and is playing again as soon as possible. To me it’s only a game, but to that unfortunate 24 year-old it’s a career and a way of life.

Hampshire’s favourite football manager is spouting crap again. On occasionally-serious footy web site Football365.com Mr Ferguson (pictured here with Ruud van Nistelrooy) delivers these pearls of wisdom…

“Arsenal are playing well, but it’s a long season and they know that, too. They will drop points, there’s no doubt about that.”

This is an incredible revelation – I had just assumed that Arsenal would win every single game from now on. This comes as a big blow to me, and I’m sure Arsene Wenger will spend a few sleepless nights coming to terms with this news.

Dame Alice goes onto to discuss their recent defeat at the hands of Bolton…

“If we hadn’t lost to Bolton then we would have been in a great position.”

Right, but you did lose to Bolton, so get over it. Naughty Bolton for denying ManYoo of their God-given right to win every game. And naughty Bolton again for not trying very hard against Liverpool and letting them win 4-0.

I wasn’t going to write anything about this match, but I can’t let this go. Following today’s 2-2 draw, Moan Utd’s whining old scrote of a manager Dame Alice Ferguson accused referee Howard Webb of favouring Arsenal. Hang on, was he watching the same match as me? In the match I watched, ManUre got a free kick almost every time Arsenal made a tackle on a Utd player. In the same match, Utd’s Anderson committed three bookable offences yet only got booked once (and hence he avoided being sent off). Also, during this match, Utd were awarded a free kick when the odious grease-monkey Ronaldo fell over with no contact whatsoever from Gael Clichy. And finally, the referee wouldn’t have given the second Arsenal goal had the assistant referee not spotted that the ball had clearly gone over the line. So if that’s favouring Arsenal, I hate to think what would have happened if he’d got it in for them.

Let me start by saying that as an Arsenal fan I’m a disgrace. Yes I admit it. A few years back I was going to most home games, but (bearing in mind it’s been the home of the Gunners for over a year) this was my first visit to the Emirates Stadium. Having said that, that’s still one more time than most ManUre fans have been to Old Trafford. To make matters worse, I didn’t even pay for the ticket – it was courtesy of one of the best things about being in a sales role… corporate hospitality. Food, entertainment, more food, some free goodies, a bit more food, and then see the match. Lovely.

The itinerary told us to be at Highbury House for 17:30 and make our way to the Board Room. The actual Board Room where the Arsenal directors meet? Yep, apparently so. The itinerary also stated “Champagne reception with Arsenal legend” – and they weren’t kidding. We walked through the door and were met by none other than Charlie George.

During drinks Charlie (see, we’re on first-name terms) talked about his playing days, and after some excellent food Charlie talked to the party about the success of the club (both financially and on the field) under Arsene Wenger. He then posed for photos, autographed programmes (I have one, and no you can’t buy it from me), and presided over a prize draw for an Arsenal pennant signed by the first team (which I didn’t win – one of our customers did, which was probably a good result).

Soon it was time to go see the match, so we said our farewells to Charlie and made our way to our seats in the Emirates Stadium (see the Wallpaper page for some photos). It’s an incredible place, and of course more spacious than the cramped Highbury in every respect. To cap off an excellent evening, Arsenal battered poor old Slavia Prague 7-0 (with two goals for Theo Walcott, even though it was past his bed-time).

Football players, like the rest of us, get older. So there comes a time when the club doesn’t want them anymore, they’re too old to keep pace, or when the club’s ambition outstrips the player’s ability. For that reason, we have to face the fact that eventually our favourite players won’t be at the club. Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright… all have departed.

With this in mind, I knew that Thierry Henry wouldn’t be at Arsenal for ever. I also know that contracts mean very little these days, other than the fact that players can’t transfer for free. Anyone who believes it will ensure they stay at a club is a bit dopey. So with a heavy heart I have to face the fact that Thierry’s ambition seems to have outstripped the club’s ambition. £16 million seems a bit cheap, even if he is nearly 30… we’re talking about the best player in the world. He’s worth five Wayne Rooneys.

What really concerns me is not just the gap he’ll leave, but whether it might prompt some of the other players to head for the door – in particular rising star Cesc Fabregas who is said to be discontented. Man Yoo have already started their Summer spendathon, Chelsea will open their fat cheque book soon, and Liverpool have new backers. Arsenal had better spend that £16 million wisely, otherwise 4th place will be an even harder-fought position in this coming season. Failing to get into the Champions’ League could have real bad repercussions.

Thierry, thanks for all you did. Your contribution during the glory years was too great to create any bitterness now. The Premiership is poorer for your departure.