A Question of Trust

If Bolton were a friend, they'd be the type that always show up on time, that always remember your birthday and who you could always rely upon in a time of crisis. Arsenal meanwhile are great fun to be around, but you're never quite sure how genuine they are, and you certainly wouldn't leave them alone in a dark room with your wife. In short, they simply can't be trusted.

I spent the morning at the pub and it was a vision of what heaven must look like (in the unlikely event I ever get there): three live coincidental Premiership games, twenty beers on draft, a fried breakfast and the newspapers. Unfortunately the story unfolding at the Emirates Stadium was rapidly becoming a vision of hell.

In fairness, Arsenal actually played extremely well today and it was one of the most one-sided matches I have ever seen; if you ever needed reminding why football is such a beguiling sport, just watch a re-run of this game. It was the sort of 'smash 'n grab' away win which Curbs used to regularly conjur up for us, but Robert Green's goal led a ridiculously charmed life and on a different day Arsenal could have emulated Morton, and also won 9-1 today.

But Arsenal didn't win 9-1; they lost 1-0 and as a result, the otherwise perfect scores at Bramall Lane and the JJB Stadium actually feel anti-climatic. The very real possibility that we finish above Wigan or Sheffield United, yet still get relegated would be a sickening blow. And now next weekend, instead of hoping for a West Ham win over Sheffield United, we must presumably hope for a draw. For all of Arsenal's beautiful football, they don't win enough matches and defeats against Sheffield United and now West Ham have done us few favours.

Villa have the chance to do us a huge favour by beating Wigan on Monday to ensure they play Premiership football next season, whilst rapidly sliding Fulham will view their home game against Man City as a 'must-win' (which if they succeed, merely keeps City in the mire).

Fascinating stuff of course, but all this conjecture can be rendered moot if we can keep registering wins, starting with Reading; draws are no longer enough. The Royals' game was also shown here today, and whilst well-organised and efficient, they are a mediocre side evidenced by the fact that there is every chance they will finish on fewer than 52 points, the very underrated total that we ourselves registered when we returned to the top flight in 2000/01.