Merry Xmas to Ian Grant, who started ANR as part of another website.
Merry Xmas to all ANR readers, wherever you are. Thanks for still reading the ramblings of this old beatnik.
Merry Xmas to Arsene Wenger, a unique club-builder who transformed Arsenal from a unique club at Highbury to a bigger club 600 yards away.
Merry Xmas to Cesc Fabregas & thanks for those two assists against Spurs.
Merry Xmas to skipper William Gallas & thanks for that clever dummy run that started and stopped John O’Hara in the box, leaving a hole that Bendtner ran into before jumping to head the winner. That set-piece looked rehearsed. If it was, Arsenal truly have entered a new era.
Merry Xmas to Nicklas Bendtner, who was left alone in the centre circle at the final whistle as all the Arsenal players raced to Almunia, to congratulate him for saving Robbie Keane’s penalty. As I’ve said before, the players don’t want Jens Lehmann in the side. So he will have to leave.
As Arsene admits, Almunia had no CV before he came here. The Spaniard’s story is a fairytale with an ending that has not been written. Can Arsenal win a trophy with him in goal?
Merry Xmas to the Arsenal squad, who are top after 18 games with 20 to go.
Being a conservative gambler, I backed Arsenal to win and Manchester United to win. Didn’t see the United-Everton game on Setanta, as we had a little party here, which went off rather well.
When the last of 23 guests left at 7.15pm, I sat down with some fruit salad and switched on Barcelona-Real Madrid, which was 51 minutes and 0-1, Julio Baptista having slammed a half-volley past Valdes in the first half. Good move, good goal.
Real Madrid, the world’s nastiest club, are backed by the king, the banks, and the referees.
They are seven points clear of Barcelona going into a 10-day in winter break. Madrid are very strong in defence now. If Real they continue to defend like this, La Liga is over.
In Italy, AC Milan lost their derby. Pirlo put them in the lead but Cruz and Cambiasso gave Inter a 2-1 win
Milan are 12th and 25 points behind Inter, who have a seven-point lead over Roma. Milan have three games in hand but may have to retain the Champions League to be in it next season