Good Ol' Arsenal - A tribute

You guys know I love biking. There is also another love in my life. Well , alot of love but also worship of an identity. And they are the Gunners !

Arsenal Football Club from North London , England. Established in 1886 by the soldiers of the Royal Army in London. Nicknamed the Gunners and the fans as Gooners.

My father is a huge Manchester United fan. He always told me stories of historic games when he would watch as a little boy in Iran. He tried really hard to brainwash me into being a Red Devil supporter but I just loved the cannon on the logo for Arsenal. Being a bitter rival to Manchester United and my father ... it turned out to be some kind of Star Wars episode.

In the shadows of Liverpool in the eighties and the dominance of Manchester in the nineties , it was tough to be an Arsenal supporter. With the likes of Ian Wright and Paul Merson not being able to compete on the same level , something had to happen. And it happened in the name of Arsene Wenger. A french coach with a stern look on his face. He had the eye for talent. Buying players for dirt cheap prices and evolving them into great players.

1995 - Signing of Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan. My favorite player of all-time.

He assembled a team that I will never forget. With the classy dutchman in forward... Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Ray Parlour , the young rising star Patrick Vieira in the middle...and of course the old-english guards in the back : Tony Adams, Martin Kewan, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon . David Seaman inbetween the poles.

Players retired and some left to join other teams. But got one player that was all worth it. Down and out in the Italian League was a young great player, Thierry Henry. Arsene Wenger saw something special in him and signed him for nothing. Now Henry has the most goals in Arsenal history and one of the elite players in the world.

The undefeated season of 2004. 26 wins 0 losses and 12 ties. the undefeated streak reached a record 56 .

Us Gooners know about the European heartbreak. The farthest they have gone in the European Cup (Champions League) was the quarterfinals. Reached the finals of the UEFA Cup in 2000, but lost in penalties to a Turkish team.

But this year the Arsenal made it to the finals of the Champions League. Only allowing 2 goals in 12 matches , 995 minutes of clean sheets , beating Real Madrid - Juventus - and Villareal in the knockout stages. Meeting a sister club Barcelona in the final .

This game was going to be the greatest. Main word is WAS. The game started off quickly with Henry missing a fantastic chance to go on top . With the whole world watching this epic battle of David and Goliath, David being Arsenal and Goliath the Catalans. With a smooth pass up the middle from Ronaldinho to Eto'o , Jens Lehman brought down the stiker out of the box. I knew what the rule was but didnt think the referee would give such a rash red card in such a big game. The Red Card came out and the German goalkeeper who hadnt allowed a goal for 12 straight games was off . Leaving Arsenal with 10 men and a very nervous backup goalie infront of the world .

From then on I knew Arsenal couldnt play their fluid like progression to the goal. It was Barcelona with one man up attacking constantly.

GOAL!!! Selling a foul outside of the box, Thierry Henry found Sol Campbells trusty skull for a goal in the 39th minutes. What a turn of event!

Second half started like it ended in the first with Barcelona controlling the play and attacking. The young defenders of Arsenal were amazing. Until again , Ronaldinho made another great pass that flicked off of Henrik Larssons foot right to Eto'o again. With the unexperienced Arsenal goalie in the wrong position to block it was tied with 14 minutes to go .

Again , Barcelona attacked and attacked. A rogue kick from the substitute Belletti...striking the goalie on the inside foot ricocheting into the goal . Just like that Arsenal had lost it .

It was the game that never really happened . The great shoot-out between such classy teams washed away with a referee that later stated he had made a mistake with his call. All in all, its part of the game and thats it . Barcelona are champions , but I know Arsenal would have beaten them with fair advantages.

Sad part of it all was Dennis Bergkamp, my favorite player. This was his last game for Arsenal before he retires. If the game was still 11 on 11 , he would have been subed in the 75th minute. That never happened. With his student Van Persie on the sidelines , the future looks bright after him.

Also with rumors of Henry leaving for Barcelona all season ...today , Thierry Henry has signed a 4 year extension the the Gunners. He says its the fans that made him stay. It is true because Barcelona was offering double the money Arsenal was.

With the youngsters ... Fabregas 19 yrs old ... Senderos 20 years old ... Antonio Reyes 21 ... Flamini 19 ... Eboeue 20 ... the future looks strong and promising.

We will miss Dennis Bergkamp and the Highbury Stadium ...but I will never forget.

Good Ol' Arsenal , we're proud to say that name.