Morning. I have a stinking cold which has kept me up half the night and really has been quite vexing. But despite that, logging in to my social media profiles and looking back over the failure of a Totts team to beat a West Ham side who were on the beach, looked like they were going nowhere for the rest of the season and yet still managed to inflict defeat on a Spurs side who had won nine in a row, well that really can cheer up any Gooner. 

Yes they’ve recently beaten us. Yes they’ll be playing Champions League next season whilst we wallow in the Europa. Yes they are a better side than us and yes, laughing at their slip up last night seems a little ironic given that we’ve been playing slapstick football for much of this season. But do you know what? If – IF – we manage to somehow beat Chelski in the FA Cup at the end of May, even in our darkest hours of a season, there’s an argument to be had to say it’s been better than theirs. That, my friends, would be delicious.

There will be many that will scoff at this suggestion by me. There will certainly be an army to Tiny Totts fans who will call me deluded, but I watch football for the trophies, not the bank balance or second place. I have a ticket to the FA Cup final in a few weeks and having been there for the previous two, let me assure you this: I remember that experience ever so much more vividly than the fact we finished second last year. 

So this morning I find myself wit renewed amusement at the possibility of a season with a trophy, whilst that lot down the road try to convince themselves that once again, they haven’t gone all Spursy and Spurs’d their season right up.

Of course the probability of us beating a Chelski team who have been by far and away the best all season is unlikely, but this morning I’m just focused on the schadenfreude that has been deliciously served to us through Lanzini’s finish and West Ham’s win in their freebie stadium that half their fans don’t want to be in anyway.

In other news, it appears as though the move for Bosnian full back Sead Kolasinac has hit a potential snag, with City suddenly sniffing around him. flight is out of contract in the summer and I suspect they’ll bin him off, so there’ll certainly be room for the player, and there’s no doubt that as a free transfer City could take whatever we offer and stick an extra £20 -£30k on top of it. So if that interest does materialise, especially with Champions League football likely to be on the cards, I’d expect him to opt for Manchester, rather than London. If that happens it will hit home just how important Champions League football is. The lure of London has helped us in the past, but that’s been based on the near certainty that Arsenal would be in the Champions League, so for us to miss out – if it happens – hardly bodes well for a good summer in the market.

We have already heard every excuse under the sun in the last couple of summers as to why we haven’t been able to capture all of our targets early, so this non-Champions League football will surely be another one used by Arsène if we fail with the miracle attempt of getting fourth. And I’m saying Arsène because at this point I’m convinced his signing a new deal. Sadly. 

Right I think that’s it from me for the day. I need to dose myself up and prepare for a day of sniffing, sneezing and general aching. 

Whoop.

Catch y’all tomorrow.