Arsenal vs Middlesbrough - Emirates Stadium, London - Sunday 26th April 2009

A game near the end of the season - in the sunshine, with nothing much to play for, can often be a bit of a lazy kickabout. This was one of those for sure, slightly surprising in that Middlesbrough at least did have a hell of a lot to play for. For Arsenal, this is probably the least important game between now and the end of the season, so the pedestrian nature of the play was understandable. But for Boro, needing points to avoid relegation, they didn't seem to show up - which really makes you think that they will be playing Championship football next season.

Arsenal rested some players with the Manchester United game in mind, so Adebayor, Song and Djourou all started on the bench. Still, there seemed to be plenty of creativity in the team, with Arshavin, Fabregas, Nasri, Denilson and Walcott making up an attack minded midfield. From the word go, they had the better of the possession, and seemed to making all the running without really even breaking sweat. Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring by finishing off a wonderful attacking move with Andrei Arshavin, with just under half an hour gone. Other than that, in the first half, I recall Almunia having one minor save to make, but that was about all that Middlesbrough offered. There was the constant possibility that Jeremie Aliadiere would do what he constantly failed to do when he played for Arsenal (i.e. score a goal), but any real threat along those lines never really materialised.

So the second half became a procession in the sunshine, it reminded me of a testimonial or preseason friendly game at times - and I think the tally of zero yellow cards showed just how much commitment there was around. Arsenal did not want to take any risks with a Champions League semi final coming up; and Boro will obviously think that there are easier chances to get the points they need to stay up - so may have been eyeing those up instead. Cesc Fabregas added the second goal that had looked inevitable for a while, with around 25 minutes to go - by rounding the keeper and finishing excellently. It was his last kick of the game, he was subbed before play could restart.

So, an easier 2-0 win at the top level, you would be hard pressed to see. Towards the end, Arshavin had a couple of wayward shots, to much amusement from the crowd. The introduction of Adebayor and Diaby obviously saw the workrate plummet, passes start to go astray, and clumisness creep into Arsenal's play. But, to be honest, it was too late for Middlesbrough to come back, even if they looked like they were trying to do so. An easy win in retrospect, taking Arsenal to 20 unbeaten in the league (although with Chelsea and Man U to come in our last 4 games). There are more important games to come, so this was a good one to get out of the way with the minimum of fuss. Unless Middlesbrough improve significantly and fast, we won't be playing them next season.

Arsenal vs Chelsea, FA Cup Semi Final - Wembley Stadium, London - Saturday 18th April 2009

Arsenal's first visit to the new Wembley, and the only thing to dampen the excitement before the game was sharing the journey there with 30,000 Chelsea fans. A bunch of more idiotic people, you could not wish to meet. You could spot them a mile off, generally looking very pleased with themselves from the word go, and of course exhibiting more than a little mouth as usual.

I never used to like going to Wembley when the old version was still there, and that hatred hasn't changed much for the new version. Although it is in London, it contrives to be a total pain to get to, it is in the middle of a horrible concrete wasteland, is horrendously overpriced at every turn, and I always thought it was just very overrated as a stadium and an experience. The pitch there is a case in point - the venue for Cup Finals and the like, and the pitch cuts up something stupid. You'd think that would be an obvious thing to sort out, in between working out how to fleece fans for £5 for a hotdog.

I was sat in the lower tier corner, and the stadium does look fairly impressive when you are in your seat. The middle 3 blocks of the lower tier are corporate central, which I think makes the stadium look stupid when the cameras are on a half empty area at kick off. Still, whatever they need to do to make money, eh?

The game itself was quite forgettable. Obviously, given that Arsenal lost, I also want to forget about it as quickly as possible too. Arsenal had a strange team selection, with no Arshavin (despite him not being available in the Champions League), and no Nasri. Looking back on the game, we didn't create much, probably didn't deserve to win as a result, and with either of those 2 playing, it could have been different. We ultimately lost through what Arsene Wenger called 2 cheap goals - both caused by a combination of defensive cock-up, plus an exceptionally bad day at the office for Lukasz Fabianski. I hope it doesn't affect him too badly.

So, a day that will be remembered as Arsenal's first visit to Wembley. The sun was shining, and it could have been memorable for good reasons besides that - but ended up being a day to forget, as quickly as possible. Having got to the Champions League semi final as well, we all hope that doesn't end up the same way. Getting revenge on Chelsea in Rome would be ideal.

The Enemy - Brixton Academy, London - Saturday 11th April 2009

So, after a recent false alarm, where I got to find out what a down to earth and decent band The Enemy are, I finally got to see them play some of their songs. Their cancelled gig in Tunbridge Wells proved that they care about their fans, and seem to really be aware of where they have come from. This gig, though, was one of the biggest on their pre second album tour - one where they could revel in the acclaim that being in a big rock band brings.

The band started the day appearing on Soccer AM, where again they underlined their "nice, humble, normal bloke" credentials. They seemed really in touch with reality, and very much sticking up for their home town. They said how honoured they were that Oasis were playing Coventry, when they didn't really need to; Tom talked about how he bought a Coventry built Jaguar that his grandad worked on building; and about how they sponsor local football and rugby league teams. Lastly, they talked about how they actually have some respect for people on TV talent shows, because at least they get young people listening to music. All in all, a very grounded band, in touch with the normal people in their fanbase.

Anyway, on to the gig. Brixton Academy was a sellout for 2 nights, although judging by the ticket prices from touts outside, and the amount of space available inside, it was one of those Brixton sellouts that wasn't quite as busy as it could have been. Busy enough for the bar queues to take a while, of course - but there also seemed to be quite a few couples there. I got inside just in time to catch the end of the support band - Twisted Wheel, who seem to be popping up all over the place lately, and are no less mediocre for it. The song I heard was pretty dull, and generally they are one of those poor bands that survive for a while under the patronage of Oasis - but I really don't get why anybody would like them.

The same cannot be said of The Enemy, who played what I thought was a fantastic set. They only played for 45 minutes - an hour with the encore - but every minute was really enjoyable, they definitely left the audience wanting much more. Their guitars sounded fantastically grinding, and the songs rocked out that much more live. The band and especially singer Tom seemed to be really up for the gig, which always helps of course. Highlights for me were a really rocky, anthemic version of Happy Birthday Jane during the encore, and This Song, which had everybody singing every word.

The fact that, for a lot of their better known songs, people seem to know and sing every word, really reminds me of Oasis 15 years ago. Tonight's set was drawn mainly from their debut album, with a few tracks from the new album. These new songs seem to comprise a lot of anthems - songs you can imagine people singing as they fall out of pubs. That, along with their common touch and the way they connect with their fans, make me think that they could become absolutely huge in the next 18 months. That would need luck, of course, as all bands do - but the support slots for Oasis, the quality of the new songs they played tonight, and the fact that they seem to have captured the mood of large sections of the population, mean that they could well be the next "band of the people". On tonight's showing, with their excellent songs, and their great live show, they look like they would deserve it - it couldn't happen to a nicer band.

Arsenal vs Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 4th April 2009

This was the first Arsenal game in what seemed like ages, after another of those boring international breaks. The worst thing about them is definitely that you only get 2 rounds of matches in a fortnight - so no games on the first midweek of the break, no games on the Sunday, anywhere in the world. So annoying, and when your players all come back injured, especially when their international managers have risked playing them, you really start to hate international football.

Still, this game had a distinct feelgood factor about it - maybe you need the boredom so you can get the elation when its all over. The sun was out, Arsenal had a chance to carry on their excellent form from March, and Cesc Fabregas was back in the side. For most, the first chance to see him link up with Arshavin was the thing they were most looking forward to in this game. Of course, when you play Man City, you can never be sure what kind of team will show up, so we were all hoping for their usual "away from home" team - the crap one!

The game itself was a fairly simple 2-0 victory in the end, and was even one of the duller 2-0 wins you are likely to see. A goal inside the first 10 minutes set the win up, a habit that I really wish Arsenal would get into more often. Then, less than five minutes into the second half, came the second - to kill off any sense that Man City may have regrouped at half time. Both were from Adebayor, on his return from injury, and both set up by Fabregas, on his return from injury. What a fantastic time to have them both back, with so many important games coming up.

There were a few City chances, especially in the first half. Shaun Wright Phillips made a decent chance for Fernandes to miss in front of goal, and Micah Richards had a decent shot that tested the keeper. In the second half, they quietened down significantly though, to the extent that the last 35 minutes were pretty much like an Arsenal training session. It wasn't the cut and thrust that the English game can be known for, and that some fans pay to see - but we got the 3 points with minimum fuss, and saved energy for Villarreal away on Tuesday, which was most definitely what I wanted to see.