Champions League Loss May Be Greatest Defeat Of Wenger's Career

So here's a question, who is going to win the Premier League? Chelsea? Manchester City? What if I throw Arsenal and Manchester United in the mix? Suddenly, this season becomes a hell of a lot more interesting than what it was at the beginning.

When the season started, Chelsea ran away with it. There was even speculation that they would achieve the impossible and emulate the Arsenal team of 2004 and go through the entire season unbeaten. With Diego Costa up front and Cesc Fabregas pulling the midfield strings, they looked impressive. But their facade has faded of late and that has allowed teams to exploit their vulnerabilities. Which means they are dropping points. Their position as champions elect is becoming increasingly tenuous.

Their closest rivals, and reigning champions, Manchester City also don't look like they did last year. For some reason they have been very disappointing this season and yet find themselves in second place, six points off the top spot. Anyone else think that's a little unfair? Well, not when you consider how poorly the rest of their rivals are playing, it's not that surprising. Their run in isn't difficult but they will drop points in the form they're in.

This is where it gets interesting, right now Arsenal are only one point behind City. They play Manchester United and Chelsea in the last ten games so if they can pick up points against them, they might just be in the running. They've won the last eight games on the bounce at home, which puts them as the in form team for this run in. Getting knocked out of the Champion's League might just be the best thing to happen to Arsenal.

Without the minimum of two extra games to play, Arsenal can now concentrate on their domestic season. A strong showing against United in the FA Cup last week proves that they still have the ability to beat tough opposition. Although United's season has been little more than mediocre. The fact they're parked in fourth is proof of how wildly average the rest of the Premier League has been.

Arsenal have the opportunity now to seize on the increasing mistakes of their rivals and take the Crown for the first time in eleven years. We also might be able to make that double happen again, you never know.

Through the years, Tottenham fans have come to discover one thing: never write off the Arsenal.

A World Cup Post-Mortem

I do love watching cricket. There's something about sitting at Lord's with a cold pint in your hand and watching a Test match that just has the word perfection wrapped around it. I feel almost the same for One Day matches and Twenty20, which is why I was extremely disappointed (but not at all surprised) when England were knocked out of the World Cup this year after several withering displays.

Their only win of this wretched campaign came against Scotland. Says it all really. Six years ago at the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, England were beaten by The Netherlands. A year before that, my uncle took his pub cricket team on a tour of the Netherlands to play against their national team in three matches. Facing them were eight of the eleven players who would go on to beat England the following year. My uncle won two out of the three matches.

Whilst my love for the long format of the game has no equal, I can't help but feel it's being championed at the expense of the shorter versions. Have we ever really excelled at any major international tournament? No. Why? Because we always have one eye on the next tour, whether it be at home or away. The problem is that if we forsake the short game for Test cricket, we risk dragging the form we have in the ODIs and World Cups into our long game.

Take this year, for example. We have four (yes, four!) Test cricket tours in 2015. Well, the first test of the last tour starts on Boxing Day and stretches into next year, but I'm still counting it. First, we're off to the West Indies for three tests, less than five weeks after our disheartening World Cup showing. Then, roughly two and a half weeks after the final ball is played in Bridgetown, we're in North West London, at the home of cricket, to play against New Zealand. At the beginning of July, we're in the Welsh capital to kick off this little-known cricketing phenomenon called The Ashes!

I know what you're going to say at this point, that teams for the shorter formats are picked with different criteria to Test cricket, and you're right. However, the coaching staff is broadly similar and if there's no confidence in them then there's no confidence within the team, no matter which players you pick. Alastair Cook should stay on as Test captain, I think he's done brilliantly personally, and I still believe that he's the right man to lead this team. He's still one of the best batsmen we have to offer on the world stage. His omission from the World Cup squad may come as a blessing in disguise as he won't be tainted with the abject failure of his peers.

So where did it all go wrong for England? Well, it didn't help that we started against the co-hosts who had beaten us twice in ODIs in January. Our problem was that we didn't learn from those defeats. We never thought, 'Hey, we're doing something wrong here, how can we stop doing it wrong and do it right instead?'

We followed that up with one of the lowest ODI run totals of all time. It was so low that New Zealand might as well have brought some fans on to play instead. They needed less than thirteen overs to crush a deplorable England. Then we beat Scotland and everyone shit themselves thinking we had a chance to win the World Cup. Turns out, this is very English as we do it every time there's a major tournament in any sport.

Who should take the blame for our loss against Sri Lanka? The bowlers. Without a doubt the most pathetic display ever. Six bowlers with just one maiden (Broad) and only one wicket (Moeen) to show for their 284 balls bowled. This need to be sorted out. Quickly.

I'm looking forward to the Tests this summer, not least because I hope to get to Lord's at some point. But if England manage to recreate their short game form into their Test form, I might not even bother, because it would be an utter waste of time.

Louis van Gaal And The Amazing Excuse Machine

First of all, let's get one thing straight. I am an Arsenal Season Ticket Holder. I try and make it to as many home games as I can. I could have had a ticket to watch the biggest FA Cup fixture ever last night but I had to go to my job this morning so decided against it. Arsenal played brilliantly and, I thought, thoroughly deserved to be the team to go through to the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley. This isn't about that. This isn't even about Danny Welbeck and his match-winning goal on his return to Old Trafford.

No, what this is about is the loathing I have in my bones for people who cheat at professional sports. I have no love for Lance Armstrong, Dwain Chambers and Tyson Gay. None whatsoever. They should be ashamed of what they have done and the damage they have done to their respective sports. You want my opinion on them? Lifetime bans. You want to cheat? You should pay the ultimate price. That should be the punishment. No grey areas.

This is pretty much the same attitude I have for football players who dive. Now, there are those who will point to the 2006 Champions League Final when Emmanuel Eboue went down a little too heavily to win the free kick which ultimately gave Arsenal the lead. To them I say, yeah, that annoyed me, but we were always going to score first so leave it out. Last night, I witnessed two horrific actions by Man Utd players trying to con the ref into giving away either a penalty or a free kick.

We are also not talking about kids in their first season in the top flight. Adnan Januzaj was the player touted as being Moyes' saviour last season as he strung together several impressive performances that almost single-handedly kept the Scot in a job. Whilst not a seasoned professional, he should know by now the limits of what he can get away with - and why he should never test them. It was a pathetic attempt by a player who should not have been out of his depth to con the referee. However, whilst Januzaj's dive was blatant and the referee (not often I say this) absolutely correct in his decision to book him, I cannot describe the blood-boiling hatred I now have for Angel Di Maria.

Throughout the years, Arsenal and Man U have had some epic encounters. Pizzagate springs to mind, the 1999 FA Cup Semi as well. So do the many tussles between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. Two incredible and iconic captains who remain loved in nearly every section of Old Trafford and the Emirates. I have a lot of respect for Manchester United and the majority of their fans, in the same way I know they have respect for Arsenal. The teams and players have respect for each other. Di Maria showed none of this in his actions last night.

In the 77th minute of an otherwise firm, but calm, match, Di Maria dived, clearly and obviously, in full view of the referee. In accordance with the laws of the game, he was shown a yellow card by Michael Oliver. As Oliver was walking away, the £59.7m Champions League Winning summer signing from Real Madrid inexplicably pulled on the back of his shirt in an attempt to protest his innocence.

Such a show of disrespect to the referee, to his fellow players, to the fans and to the occasion was swiftly met with his second yellow card in 30 seconds and followed by a red card. As the commentator put it, "Michael Oliver took him to one side, composed himself and sent him on his way."

What was going through his head when he grabbed the back of a referee's shirt we may never know, but it was the lack of respect shown that has me spitting mad. Louis van Gaal didn't exactly ingratiate himself to me afterwards either. I get why such a huge signing can't just be benched as a result of one foolish action, but seeing as how poorly he has played this season compared to last, it probably wouldn't hurt the team to have the British record signing staying away for a few games. Me? I'd have sacked him on the spot. He can find another team. If any Arsenal players behaved in that way, I wouldn't care if they came back to score the winner in the Champions League final, I'd never love them.

I hate cheats, they are a cancer for sport. I fully advocate a straight red card for anyone caught diving. Angel Di Maria deserves everything he gets for what he did last night. Him and Januzaj ruined an otherwise epic encounter between two of football's most famous rivals. I say this to LVG, get your house in order. Turns out a £16m invesment in one of England's finest strikers is better than anything you can do. So stop whining, honeymoon is over. Be a man and realise that the whole team needs an overhaul. I'd start with that questionable Argentinian.