Nothing drives home how average football is without fans quite like the Champions League stadiums being empty. It’s so sad. The pinnacle of European football should have a backdrop of electrified lunatics.
Still, can’t say I didn’t enjoy watching Barcelona getting absolutely crushed by PSG. What a joke of a club they’ve become. All the chickens are coming home to roost at one of the most odious operations in European football. Messi is declining fast, their debt is racking up, and they thought they’d refresh the coaching vision with Ronald Koeman. They truly are getting what they deserve at the moment.
The real feast will be on Thursday night though, you all know that, it’s where the proper ball is played my friends.
There’s an interesting piece on SkySports about fan abuse. The story says that a data science company has been tracking abuse of players like Xhaka and Bellerin. The Swiss international was targetted with racist abuse online by self-identified season ticket holders. Apparently, their tool is able to match online profiles to actual season tickets. Creepy… but, not as creepy as racially abusing Arsenal players with a hidden identity.
I really, really, hope Arsenal find them and take their season tickets. I hope the fans in question complain online so we all see who they are. You just know it’ll be the sanctimonious types that’ll look for support off the back of a woke agenda.
It’s about time there were some real-world consequences for people that take grim digital actions that have real-world consequences for the people they are abusing.
Hopefully, Twitter will move to a subscription model in the near future which will bin a huge tranche of scumbags. No one is signing up for a fake account to pay $5 a month. I’m not sure what Mark Zuckerberg is going to do, the guy let’s genocide, covid conspiracies and Q pass through his platform, not sure he’s too fussed about rich footballers and a bit of racism, but we’ll see. It feels like there’s a reckoning coming across the board and it is long, long overdue.
Some good news from Mark Irwin, he reckons the cost-cutting will pick up pace again in the summer. LT and Guendouzi will be moved on, and likely, David Luiz. When a paper as unreliable as the Independent has a story, always remember, it might be an agent planting the story for nefarious reasons.
The same writer also claims we’ll do a deal for Ceballos this summer, a move I’m not sure about. £25m is a lot for a player who can barely string three good games together. He’s young, sure, but I’d like to see a bit more from him before we start splashing money on someone that looks unsuited to the league at the moment.
There’s a story doing the rounds about Auba having a tattoo in breach of covid rules. I couldn’t be less interested if I’m honest. Players are having haircuts every other day, I’m sure it’s absolutely fine.
KT is back in training. There’s a video of him doing great things. I’d love him to play on Thursday, but I’d prefer we do all we can to have him fresh for the Prem games. We have quite a few young players on big minutes, it might be wise to keep them in good shape, but we’ll see.
I kid you not, I cut myself again with a knife so have to stop this short. My gf literally buying me knife gloves because of the frequency of injuries. What. A. Doughnut. Special gloves? That’s like being given armbands at 30.
See you tomorrow my darlings x
Top
2nd. Maybe?
Whoohoo.. No one except me
HELLO
I’ll stop this monologue now
Snowflake Pete
Was wonderful to see Barca being thrashed. Those scumbags deserve these kind of beatings in the very competition they have the most dubious wins in
We need a goal scoring midfielder Ceballos is not that. An ok squad player and thats that.
Psg is bankrolled by petro dollars. Not a nice optics when a proper club like barca gets rolled over by p$g
Barca were gonna get smashed.
Think half of Football Twitter called it. They are all over the shop.
Pedro, nice to see that not everyone is a member of the Barca fan club. Can’t stand PSG but compared to cheating, diving, referee darlings Barca over the years they’re a minor irritant. Some payback for the diabolical performance of the officials in that ‘comeback’ CL game against PSG a few years back. Ceballos? I doubt it. Doesn’t fill any desperate need and with limited funds wasting it on secondary priorities or extending the likes of Luiz would be stupid. Martin O could get another 12 month loan but again I can’t see us buying him at this point. Integrating… Read more »
Pedro, Doh! When you’re chopping stuff, make sure you don’t show the fleshy bits of your digits to any blades. Hold whatever you’re chopping with fingers pointing front and vertically downwards so the worst will only result in the knife running parallel with your finger nails. And slow the fuck down and concentrate! There’s enough twatty TV chefs to show you the way, but maybe avoid the late perma-pissed Keith Floyd. From chopping cebollas to Dani Ceballos (!) he’s worth keeping if those greedy football people on our side and theirs can agree a fee in the region of 15… Read more »
Ohhh really who did he vote for..SNP..?
Lucky 13th
Arsenal’s finishing position in the league?
Google it hitman. DC said Catalans and Basques should leave Spain and that their protests would never have happened in Franco’s time. Pretty chilling if you know what happened there in the 30s. That’s in sharp contrast to the lighthearted football related criticism on here about Barca the football team. I sense you don’t like the SNP. Why? They’re simply looking to deliver what Scots want, ie an historical correction that frees the country from Tory bullshit. I live in Wales and it’s equally pleasing to see interest in independence rising here. It’s mostly Daily Mail readers that fear the… Read more »
I think that there are more than nine players currently on our books who will be available in the summer transfer market. 1. Runarsson will probably be loaned out if not sold and replaced by one of our academy goalkeepers. 2. Kolasinac will be sold or released from contract. 3. Chambers will leave. There is no role for him at club. 4. Elneny could be replaced by Azeez who is rated highly in Academy. 5. Ceballos contract ends in summer. I am not sure that Arsenal will wish to renew it. 6. Torreira will be sold 7. Guendouzi will be… Read more »
If you paid me £100,000 per week you could call me what you wanted it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest
ES
I would be happy if every one of your points comes to fruition.
I would suspect most of the arsenal fan base would be inclined to agree, so hopefully the powers that be also think the same and act accordingly.
$ 5 per month will keep Don away from this place
Im telling you for free!
Arsenal will have a limited transfer budget next summer even if we conclude some decent sales. last Summer Arsenal attempted to buy two midfield players. These were Partey and Aouar. The fact that we failed to buy Aouar was a consequence of our failure to sell Guendouzi and Torreira or conclude a swap deal. I think that Arsenal will want still to buy an additional central midfielder this summer. However, I doubt that it will be Ceballos. First Ceballos will cost at least £20-25 million. He will not come cheap and second I don’t believe that Arsenal will be willing… Read more »
“Shkodran Mustafi wins Bundesliga player of the week”
I have a feeling: if Xhaka went back to the Bundesliga, he could also win player of the week.
Emirates,
I’m with you on that entire list.
Huge amount of work to be done which is why I have maintained it will take until Aug 22 to sort out most of the mess.
Ceballos, not for me, surprised if we renew his loan let alone buy him.
Emiratesstroller Yes Arteta and Edu will have a list of targets they believe will improve the team and suit the style and interchange play that we have seen start to develop. The key here is to offload those that aren’t part of the plan, some of which went last transfer window and of course, Partey has joined the, um, Party, sorry couldn’t resist! Player sales will impact the quality/number we can bring in. Of course, a number of things will affect our attractiveness but we are still a huge draw because we are such a respected club. The pandemic will… Read more »
Keep laca
Sell auba
Sorry one swallow a summer does not make
Pedro, agree 100% on subscription-based service. There are so many issues with the anonymity on these platforms because unfortunately, we have some pretty sad individuals in society. There is also the child protection issue too; I have no idea how people with young kids can be comfortable knowing their young ones are on social media being subjected to the abuse, language and potential grooming that goes on.
“Something the English forgot all about when we couldn’t win a raffle after 1966”
LOL, Maybe you were too young to notice that after the ’66 WC win English teams won a total of eight out of a possible nineteen European Cups before being banned following Heysel (plus Celtic if you include Scotland). That includes six in a row from ’77 to ’82 (Liverpool ‘77,78 &’81, Forest in ’79&’80, and Villa in ’82).
Better than any raffle I’ve come across.
I would not sell Aubamayang he is top, top quality. You need players who can score individual as well as team goals, which he can do. he has had his bump in the road, no doubt linked to his personal issues. Imagine if we could get Pepe to do the same coming in from the right-hand side.
Andy
I was talking about us at International level. England have been an abject embarrassment in tournaments apart from the home one with Gazza a toe away from probably winning that. Take your point, Liverpool and Forest certainly lead the way.
I’m probably older than you mate, I remember the first Arsenal double side!
AFC He pads his stats against the smaller teams when the pressure is off. He goes missing when we really need him. Let’s see. I could be wrong. But I’ll bet he will disappear when the going gets tough. Out £300k pw £55m striker needs to be winning games like the upcoming Benfica city and Leicester games. If he does come to life playing off our rejuvenated supporting cast then I’ll hold my hands up and admit I was wrong. I’ll bet he won’t though. He will likely do what he usually does and slip into anonymity while the young… Read more »
Lol, Mark Zuckerberg is the other guy at Facebook. Jack Dorset is who you were going for.
Dorsey FFS
Winthorpe
I can’t agree with you mate because his record speaks for itself:
Aubamayang since 2013 reads:
Dortmund: 144 games / 98 goals
Arsenal: 105 games / 62 goals
Providing he maintains that level then he’s worth every penny. If he drops off, then that’s a different story.
£20m is a fair price for Dani Onions given his age and profile, but if money’s tight this summer i’d personally buy Sander Berg or for £5m extra Bissouma.
Saying that, if we manage to get close to £50m For Torrieia and Guendouzi i’d get two out of the afomentioned three
“……then I’ll hold my hands up and admit I was wrong.”
Has that ever happened before, Luis Winthorpe lll , Un, Don?
I mean holding your hand up and admitting you were wrong that is?
Do you still believe Arsenal have a top four squad and achieving anything less than that would be a massive failure on Arteta’s part in his first full season?
AFCF as you were talking about Pep and Arsene’s teams which are obviously club sides I seemed that you were referring to that. Incidentally I made my first trip to Highbury in the winter of 1970 so following our first double I had plenty of experience at club level of poor football first hand.
Winthorpe, three points is three points regardless of the opposition. It’s hardly as if Auba scores meaningless goals when we’re already well ahead, he scores goals that win games.
AFC
If you’ve got a good supporting cast of Saka Pepe Odegaard ESR Tierney and Partey then we have enough ball players, potentially, to mitigate his awful habit of ruining our attacks before they reach the opposition’s penalty box. However so far that’s exactly what he’s done. Yes he’s got his goal but at the expense of our all round attacking play. He stunts us
Sunday was the first time I’ve seen him offer an exceptional performance as striker so maybe that’s what he needed all along. I hope so.
Tom
Are you still sending death threats to various public figures and then trying to pass it off as humour?
As a matter of fact I am , It’s my favorite past time.
I’m shocked Pedro hasn’t banned me yet considering how many I have sent his way.
Now your turn.
How you’re not doing stand up I’ll never know
Pedro
Has your girlfriend resorted to putting corks on your forks, ala Ruprecht from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels yet??
£25m for Dani, an absolute no from me. He is another who just doesn’t influence a game consistently enough.
Genius move from Pedro foreshadowing a Le-Grove migration to a subscription model. The answer is yes-I would pay but maybe $29.99 a year. That’s what the Washington Post annual subscription costs and they have more overhead than you.
Matt-congrats on the well-timed Ruprecht reference.
Vintage-25m for Bissouma might be a bit optimistic?
Andy “Incidentally I made my first trip to Highbury in the winter of 1970 so following our first double I had plenty of experience at club level of poor football first hand”. We are probably a similar age. I used to walk to home games through Highbury Fields, with the rain falling off the tress as I carried my flask of hot Bovril or Coffee my dad had made. It was definitely colder back then on those freezing cold, concrete terraces and ice-cold metal safety bars. As you say football at times was absolutely dire, dreadful I was reading an… Read more »
All right, since Pedro has mentioned the topic in his post allow me to clarify my position on on line abuse, or any other kind really, since many apparently have taken my off color remarks on death threats as an admission of such behavior. I have never threatened anyone on line or in real life, which I thought would’ve been self evident for most on here if they had paid any attention to my posting history devoid of any demands of players sale/acquisition, managerial changes, or league table placement to justify my future support of the club. Further more, I’m… Read more »
“How you’re not doing stand up I’ll never know“
Who said I wasn’t?
Are you gonna answer my question or keep on deflecting ?
Of course that Pedro’s gf is angry with him. One of the risks of dating your right hand I guess. Gotta try to keep her safe or else he can always start dating his “other girlfriend” if ya’ know what I mean.
Having a longer ring finger compared to index finger reflects greater exposure to male hormones during a girls time in their mother’s womb
AFCF – Yeah, it’s a totaly different game now. Ploughed pitches and stands like cattle sheds (Filbert Street comes to mind). I travelled to matches on the train and tube from around 12 y.o. which was far less scary than when we’d go up in my mates dad’s Ford Capri (drove like a lunatic, I recall seeing the speedo at 100mph when approaching a roundabout on the North Circular Road, give me the West Ham ICF on the tube any day!). Remember the North Bank Peanut guy? Always wondered if he was an official Arsenal merchandise seller or just a… Read more »
I remember him well. He had an aura about him and a voice that got everyone out of his way when he was doing his rounds.
The Peanut guy was probably giving the Hill-Wood family a hefty % (or face an old Etonian knee-capping). Not sure if he was a Gooner though – he did alternate Saturdays at Shite Hart Lane.
A shame he never wore Spats and a monocle – he could’ve been THE Mister Peanut.
I gather he opened a shell company when he retired….
Andy, funny the things you remember. Wasn’t he the guy with the tray hanging around his neck and those little bags of nuts?
The peanut man had a certain pizzazz, no doubt about it.
Just visualising Pedro running around shouting “Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma” whilst banging his pots if we beat City at the weekend.
I might even join him !
Andy and AFC – I was also attending Highbury (only when my uncle or older cousin would take me!!) around 1970. First match 1969 v Leeds although went to League Cup Final, also Leeds, in 1968. So no doubt we probably all met!!
AFC Forever and Kroenkephobe,
Ah, but do the two of you remember
1. Alex Morgan singing?
2. The number board by which you could decipher the half time scores?
3. The day we beat Sheffield Utd 1-0 so as not to drop into the bottom 3?
4. When Brady really was the king of Highbury?
First game: Man City, 1967.
Bergkamp
If he’s banging those pots, I bet his other half will insist on the gloves in case he nicks one if his fingers…
Pedro
This is how I cut thin pieces of meat or Cheese:
– sharpen the knife
– use one hand (the fingers) and press the object against the cutting board
– bend slightly the fingers with the finger tip towards you and the knuckles outwards.
– The position of the knuckles will guide the blade of the knife and will determine the thickness of the piece
NJ Gooner,
I was at Highbury (Northbank) in Dec 78 when we beat Spurs 5-0, Liam Brady curling one into the top corner from the edge of the area !
Happy Days !
KroenkephobeFebruary 17, 2021 14:10:18
BergkampIf he’s banging those pots, I bet his other half will insist on the gloves in case he nicks one if his fingers…
I wonder if she insists he wears them in the bedroom also !
Just found that Liam Brady goal !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u–2vzQP6KQ
Bergkamp,
We’re you at Wembley when Alan Sunderland scored the last minute winner in the cup final against Manure?
That, and the double winning goal against Spurs in ‘71 were probably my two most ecstatic Arsenal moments.
Kroenkephobe, I read that he also did the rounds at The Valley, the same bloke apparently. As Northbanker said we probably all passed each other over the years without knowing it. Another little detail I recall was collecting the coupons in the programme in case we got to the cup final and also all the programme sellers outside and looking for issues we may have missed.
Bergkamp,
Well done! What a fabulous moment.
Brady? Sixty yard passes? No problem. Imagine what he could do in today’s market.
NJ Gooner,
Yep, I was there that day against Man Utd in the 79 Cup final, went from cloud nine to gutter and back again all in about 2 mins.
I was only 16 then, just as well, I doubt my nerves would take it again !
Kroenkephobe, I read that he also did the rounds at The Valley, the same bloke apparently. As Northbanker said we probably all passed each other over the years without knowing it. Another little detail I recall was collecting the coupons in the programme in case we got to the cup final and also all the programme sellers outside and looking for issues we may have missed. I remember the 5-0 at the Lane (Dec ’78) really enjoyed that one, an early Christmas present. On the downside another one that sticks in the memory is being right behing the goal in… Read more »
I think that Brady-inspired defeat of Sp#rs was at the Lane. Made it all the more sweet. My first game was away at Filbert Street. We lost 4 1 which was an horrific experience. Really edgy atmosphere pre and post game which kind of went over my head at the time. But I remember pressurising my absentee dad to take me to more games on the way home. He was a Hammers fan and hated it! I’ve had a real fascination and preference for away games ever since. They just shade it for me although I’ll always love Highbury. NJ… Read more »
“Vintage-25m for Bissouma might be a bit optimistic?”
I meant 10m on top as i rate bissouma at around £30m and Sander Berg around £20m. So if we did manage to raise £50m for Torrieia and Guendouzi then i’d reinvest the money on them two.
Party Bissouma, with Xhaka and Berg is a solid four CM’s fighting for two places.
Andy
Ah, the Valley Floyd Road. A ground and club saved by fans from oblivion. Good stadium now but impossible to imagine those huge crowds they had in the post war period. My family are from N Kent and there were always heated discussions about the Addicks and the Gills.
If We can get Balogun to sign, i’d have Auba. Martinelli and Balogun as our three Cf options next season.
Sell lacca and Eddie and try and keep Odegarrd.
Yeah it was at the lane, we used to sing “we won 5-0, we won 5-0, we won 5-0, at the lane”
Memory not what it used to be.
Vintage – Agree about Bissouma. He has a forcefield around him and opposing players really struggle to get the ball off him. Not as convinced about Berge who I think is less good at linking with forwards and is less mobile. The optimist in me still thinks its worth trying to rehabilitate gunnerdoozi and/or Torreira if our stubborn management can be convinced to reset their relationships with the club. I remember that Brighton game when Maupay jumped into Bernie to try and injure him. I remember ranting at the telly pleading for one of our players to front up and… Read more »
Kroenkephobe, as you get older the old memory goes. I’ve been to The Valley for sure but the Charlton game I remember most was actually played at Selhurst Park on Boxing Day 1988. Dragged the GF there to an open concrete terrace sparsely populated with weeds growing through it. Won 3-2 despite them making a bit of a come back in the second half.
Rumor of signing Ceballos for 20-25m?
Not a good sign.
I was also at the WHL when we won the League for the first part of the 1970/71 double. My uncle was a Spurs fan and he took my dad and I to the Spurs end with my cousins (Spuds). Absolutely heaving and a bit like that Anfield night a tough challenge. If memory serves, we couldn’t afford to concede as a goalless draw would win us the title a score draw wouldn’t (?) Leeds would win it. When Kennedy scored that header it was pretty quiet around us!
My first game was 1970, a 2-0 win against Liverpool, but the overwhelming memory is of the fear. There was no question about wearing your colours, football violence wasn’t a possibility, it was fucking compulsory. There was no segregation, every game was dangerous.
I remember going to Stamford Bridge and it was pissing down and we were standing under that ramshackle falling down half building at the away end. I think it was held up with matches.
Remember being in the Northbank one evening game against Spurs back in the late 70’s which we won, the reason I remember it so well, it was the last time I stood behind one of those stupid metal barriers, I wondered why there was nobody just behind it when the place was so packed.
That is until we scored !
In case you guys aren’t aware of Arsenal’s official Twitch channel, here’s a link – https://www.twitch.tv/arsenalofficial
Frimpong is often there, there are interviews, compilations, preview and review of our games. It’s good stuff.
Right now it’s showing our training before the game vs Benfica.
Bergkamp63 and NJ
Liam (Chippy) Brady was an incredible player. My two favourites from the 70’s were Brady & Armstrong, 11 & 7).
I miss the old number system where the players wore shirts representing the positions they were playing. Not sure I miss the 1 substitute though.
IHGB,
Yeah, that night I was just talking about, just to the right of the Northbank, someone hurled a pool ball in a stocking over, luckily it missed us narrowly !
I used to like Alan Sunderland (can’t imagine why !) and Frank Stapleton too.
Brady was the mast though !
Just seen a 4m clip of his goals, incredible talent.
*master
People are in dreamland with these predictions of £25million transfer fees being thrown around If you think the market was slow last year Then add a further 12 months of football revenue being decimated No sign of when fans will return Clubs continuing to haemorrhage money Banks reluctant to lend out anymore money to businesses who are in the red, and losing millions every month Outside of Bayern Munich and clubs with very wealthy backers, there’s no money It will be a market of mainly loans and free transfers With clubs with wealthy owners pillaging + plundering talent, off clubs… Read more »
Andy I havent been to Selhurst for years. It was a Monday night game vs CP. Merson scored the winner, and I think it was the bruised banana kit so early 90s. That wonderful time when you could travel across London to a game with no ticket but be assured of squeezing in. Not one of my favourite London grounds. I think it’s now an annex to Sainsburys… I remember the detachable cassette player (any youngsters reading this, this was a slightly less flexible music medium than Spotify) being ripped out of my mark I Golf, and S London police… Read more »
Charlie George was the original king of Highbury….
SuperMac (Malcom MacDonald) was another favourite of mine, Charlie George was great but just a little too early for me to remember him well.
I dont think there will be any major transfer business next year due to the ongoing restrictions.
I wouldnt blow all of our budget on Ceballos, he is decent at passing ,but as slow as Granit when players are cutting through our midfield.
I would rather a more athletic player with good recovery pace.
Good to read all of the chaps memories of Highbury, as I would also have been around in those halcyon days-the peanut guy , the freezing terraces and the safety barriers and getting crushed against them when David Rocastle was driving forward.
Olis,
Yeah, we have suffered with the best of them !
I remember in 1981, last game of the season, we beat Aston Villa 2-0 (I think they won the title that year), there was 58K + in the ground, we finished 3rd that year, packed to the gunnels !
B63 – Brady was obviously ‘the man’ but i did like the Sunderland/Stapleton combo up front (funnily enough Luiz’s hair always reminds me of Sunderland, but without the nasty 70’s ‘tache). Big Pat was also a favourite.
Arsenal confession? I actually liked the Emerald Green and Blue away kit and used it to play 5-a-side football in the early 80’s.
Andy1886,
You mean this one !
https://www.jdsports.co.uk/product/green-score-draw-arsenal-fc-82-away-shirt/16078959/?cm_mmc=googleshop-_-google-_-shopping-_-pla&istCompanyId=9c5cf6f7-3142-4f9f-be57-2fce9c67adfd&istFeedId=014e8b49-620d-4e56-9e87-79529c403af2&istItemId=irqrqmqqm&istBid=t&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImqfs1aLx7gIVFuDtCh01pAN3EAQYAiABEgIT8vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
On Bissouma, it would possibly play into our hands, if there was a renaissance in player swaps post covid.
BHA is chronically struggling for goals. Why not suggest a swap for Bissouma with Eddie, Reiss or Joe W plus cash if necessary to make it up. In the US, players almost exclusively move between clubs in trades.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we try for Buendia this summer, with player swaps included.
“It’s about time there were some real-world consequences for people that take grim digital actions that have real-world consequences for the people they are abusing.”
Cannot come soon enough!!
Bergkamp and Andy
Raphael Meade and Chris Whyte.
Kroenkephobe,
Raphael Meade is 8 months older than me and we were both born in Islington !
Probably close to missing the boat with Bissouma
He is one of those that should have been targetted a year ago, his price has probably at least doubled , maybe tripled in the last year.
As kronkephobe said, the option of a swap is a good idea,Brighton are not a club to stand in the way of a player who wants to further his career.
I can’t see us paying close to 40/50 mil for him so a swap is the better option
@Kroenkephobe
I’m also a fan of Guendouzi as he has massive potential and experience for his age. If a manager could reign in his indiscipline on/off the pitch i’d have him as one of our CM core four.
The boy has heart and backs his boys on the pitch.
I would sell Xhaka but with all the anticipated changes in midfield a couple will stay.
Do you still believe Arsenal have a top four squad and achieving anything less than that would be a massive failure on Arteta’s part in his first full season? Tom I consider it a failure, yes. However the recent upturn in attacking play as well as a strong defensive performances with so many key players (Mari, chambers, Tierney, Partey, Martinelli) not playing their part, the youth only in first year as legit seniors together and a couple of vital first team components still to add in very optimistic about next season. Arteta has proved he can beat the big team… Read more »
Boys, the bruised banana kit for me. I hated it when it first came out though. Still got one somewhere archived away. I remember my school kit was made by Admiral who supplied Leeds Utd at the time. The Headmaster was a Leeds fan. Anyway, that kit was so thick and itchy it was horrid (I remember Kevin Keegan moaning about it when Admiral supplied the England team). The headmaster even supplied us all with those sock ties that had the number printed on huge letters on the tag that hang down on the outside of the socks!!! They used… Read more »
Pedro
Just out of interest, why do you consider Barcelona to be particularly ‘odious’.
I’ve never liked them for a variety of reasons, which is why the arshavin goal against them will always be one of my favourite arsenal memories.