This season is crazier than Will Ferrell, hepped up on goofballs, riding a unicycle the wrong way down a one-way street. Everything is weird and no more so can it be signified than the game I watched yesterday in which the current Champions lumbered their way around the pitch against a team who were relegation fodder this time last season. It’s utter madness. Yet, despite the fact that Leicester knocked us off top spot once again yesterday evening, I couldn’t help but give a wry smile to myself. Mainly because I’ve spent the whole season shrugging my shoulders at the prospect of Arsenal and City duking it out with The Foxes for the title. It can’t happen, can it? The bubble will surely burst soon, won’t it?

Ahh well, we can still have a chuckle at Chelski’s plight, more importantly at the Johnny-cum-lately’s who will be seriously wondering whether or not they need to look to the sky blue of City with which to switch their allegiance. Those people are out there in their droves.

But they are of no concern to us at the moment. What is of concern, albeit in the slightly longer term, is next years Champions League knockout game against Barcelona. It’s a game in which we’ve seen played out a few times already and if you’re anything like me, you will have seen/heard the draw and immediately have thought “it figures”. Aside from Bayern Munich, this is pretty much the hardest tie we could have got, but more than that, it’s familiarity has most certainly bred content from this Gooner.

I don’t really want to see another team who we seem to get every year without fail. I’m bored of it. I wanted something different. I wanted something new. Heck, even Atletico Madrid would have been something different, rather than he Catalan’s.

I’ve seen one or two people say that we can beat them, that it’s 11 v 11 and we’d have to play Barcelona some time, which inevitably is true if they go all the way to the final and we had avoided them. But I would rather play Barcelona in the final, where everything is decided on one game, rather than over two legs. Over two legs, I’m not sure whether we’ll have enough. I hope we do, but there’s a reason why the FA Cup is so beloved, because it is an ‘anything can happen’ competition with the ability for any team to have ‘their day’. The Champions League isn’t set up for that. It’s set up for the footballing elite and for teams who can cherry pick the best players in their country and maintain the status quo, whilst being able to rest players before big European nights, to ensure that the best teams can keep progressing. 

Still, I’ll be there when the day comes against Barcelona, I’ll be there singing my heart out because that’s what we do and that’s why we want to be in the position we’re in.

Right now, we’re in a position where the league takes precedent and the talk amongst the players is one of great confidence, with both Ramsey and Theo both sounding very buoyant in the aftermath of the Villa game. We may still have one or two (or six) key players missing, but what the team can influence ahead of the game against City, is the confidence levels. They sound very hype h at the moment and that has to be a good thing going in to what is a massive game on Momday night. 

Boy, am I glad it’s on Monday night. Mainly because it means the players will get a little more time to recharge their batteries ahead of the busy Christmas schedule, as well as Alexis potentially having an extra day or two longer with which to rest up and have a chance of making it. Even an Alexis from the bench would be a boost for the whole team.

So whilst it’ll feel somewhat interlully until next Monday, I’m kind of ok with it, because we can still bask in the fact we’re up their and challebging for the league, still in the Champions League and could be but a few days away from a title-deciding style game.

Catch y’all tomorrow.