Thoughts on the Carling Cup Final

What a remarkable performance by “the kids” on Sunday. This final was by far one of the most wholly entertaining matches I’ve seen in a long time. I am still reeling a bit about everything this game included and I feel like I need to watch it again to see everything. However before that happens here are some things that stood out the most:

The Performance

Sure, a win would have been better, but barring that Arsene and the team proved everything they set out to prove (and more) about the quality of the youth program at Arsenal. We were the better side for the majority of the match, and there’s a special sort of joy that comes with seeing a team who’s average age is just under 21 make Chelsea’s costly first team look like the poorer side.

Oh, and Theo’s goal! What a magnificent build-up to a finish that was pure class. His first Arsenal goal really couldn’t have come at a better moment or looked any prettier.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about the team’s performance. Diaby looked immense out there and his ability to anticipate the flow of play and break up Chelsea’s moves was breathtaking. I might go so far as to say that he looked like Viera from the 03-04 season. His work on Sunday makes the news of his injury all the more frustrating. Let’s hope it isn’t too bad this time. Traore is really coming along, too. While he looked a little raw trying to deal with some of Chelsea’s seniors this was by far his best performance and any mistakes he made during the game were overshadowed by his promise.

The Controversy

I’m glad John Terry’s injury wasn’t as bad as it looked because it was definitely a tense few minutes in the pub while waiting for him to get medical attention. I’d also like to join in the applause for Arsenal physio Gary Lewin. It seems like he’s always the first guy out there to help out when someone is injured. Kudos to him.

The “brawl” was really not that bad. Toure definitely overreacted to the foul but didn’t do much more than yell at Mikel until Lampard tried to get involved which led to Cesc holding him back by his neck and things just descended from there. At least that’s how it looks to me. Adebayor didn’t deserve a red card and there’s been some talk that the referee might have carded the wrong guy, meaning to send off Eboue. That actually makes sense after watching this video. Arsenal have appealed Adebayor’s card with the FA so hopefully it’ll be overturned. And can we please get rid of Eboue already? He’s ridiculous.

Cesc has been getting a lot of stick for being “a brat” lately but I quite prefer Goodplaya’s take on him. A sore loser with impeccable taste in loathings.

Here’s a question: What’s the deal with the celery that was being chucked towards Cesc everytime he took a corner? Is there a meaning behind the celery that I’m missing or is it the only vegetable that Chelsea’s fans could get their hands on?