Joe Fitzpatrick 
Firstly I have to come clean and say that I didn't attend the game and no, I didn't go on the black scarf march, in case you were wondering. It took a lot of soul searching and contemplation to arrive at the decision not to attend either event but I don't regret that decision, as I correctly predicted that Arsenal were going to lose against Aston Villa and that Arsenal fans were going to end up booing their own players again. It was therefore guaranteed that I was not going to enjoy myself in any case if I did choose to attend either event.
After a long conversation with some friends of mine who are West Ham fans on Saturday night and hearing in detail how they were preparing to head up to Wigan on a jolly (to see their team relegated) it put everything into a bit of perspective for me and I just felt very, very silly indeed when I was trying to communicate my frustrations with Arsenal to them. Things got heated. Words were exchanged. Many of them being "ungrateful" and the C word. There they are, way down below us, a team getting relegated and still they put on a united front and get behind their team, I can't help but admire them for it.
They are not walking around with black scarves on or moaning, they are too busy getting boozed up and blowing bubbles to be doing any of that business! They also explained to me that if the TV cameras did pick it up I was going to look like a "Plastic Manc W***er with a novelty scarf" or a "cry baby who has spat his dummy out". Maybe I'm too self-conscious or easily influenced? I just don't know anymore but I still COMPLETELY understand why those people went on that black scarf march and I sympathise with their goals. Even if you don't agree with their methods or choice of scarf you have to concede that they have a point when they say that Arsenal did have a f***ing cheek putting up the f***ing price of the f***ing tickets! And at least they are putting their money where their mouths are, unlike this mug sitting here, writing this.
For some unknown reason after speaking to my West Ham mates I had a moment of clarity as I found it very difficult to explain to my other half that I was planning on leaving her alone indoors, so I could go and walk around with a sour puss on my face, a black scarf around my neck and very possibly end up booing my own players, something I swore I would never ever do again. I thought to myself... "Why waste a lovely Sunday afternoon off from work on those bunch of muppets that are masquerading as professional footballers and their inept buffoon of a manager, when I have a beautiful woman at home and no pesky kids to get in our way?" So Instead I decided to give my two season tickets to some younger family members who rarely get to attend matches and my father, a Gooner with over 40 years of going to games, did the same with his two club level seats.
We thought... "Why not let the young boys and girls go to the game? They'll enjoy it much more than we will." It was the only home match that we failed to attend all season, but I'm sorry Gooners, I'm not a masochist, I saw what was coming and I couldn't put myself through the ordeal of watching yet another lacklustre display all over again. I truly and honestly felt that if I attended I could not trust myself not to boo my own players, such is the disappointment, sadness, anger and frustration I feel at our annual end of season collapse. It just gets worse for me every year and I'm sure that it was no picnic for any of you either to hear the news that Arsenal F.C. were putting up the cost a season ticket. But, I ask you, was booing our own team off of the field at half time really the right thing to do? And how did it make us look?
The dilemma that all Gooners are now facing is a very worrying one indeed. Our decision to send our very own (or our sister’s) children to go and watch Arsenal at home could actually traumatise them, or could even see us all given a written warning by child protection services for exposing them to such horrifying displays every week.
Darren Bent was wonderful while Arsenal on the other hand were woeful. I know this because I am still enough of a masochist for the Arsenal to have sat down and watched the entire 90 minute horror show, which I now cannot wait to delete from both my hard drive and my own memory.
Two goals down at home, within 15 minutes of kick off against a side that has been struggling all year made for a nightmarish start to the final home game of the season. Darren Bent must have thought that all of his birthdays and Christmases had come at once against an Arsenal side that looked bereft of desire, energy, commitment and ideas. Yes, I admit that Bent took his goals exceptionally well but Arsenal defended very poorly indeed. The hapless Squillaci played Bent onside for his first goal while a Vermaelen slip and poor positional play from Sagna opened the door for Bent to help himself to a second. As good as Villa and Bent were at times, you couldn't help but think that Arsenal should not be 2-0 down at home inside a quarter of an hour against a mid-table team. If Arsenal could just keep more clean sheets they would be looking at all the goals that Van Persie keeps managing to score as winning goals rather than consolation ones.
The only positive to have come out of the Villa game apart from Van Persie's continuing hot streak in front of goal was when the fans started to jeer and laugh as the clearly fiddled "attendance” figures were announced over the P.A. system while the television cameras panned over rows and rows of empty seats. I know that we all know that it's not really the attendance figure and it's actually "sold seats" but it still was funny, wasn't it? That's when I had a tiny little bit of regret that I didn't bother my Arse to turn up. When the chants of "Six per cent? You're having a laugh" started to ring around the stadium I really regretted not making the effort. That was hilarious and conveyed the feelings of the fans perfectly so I take my hat off to you boys and girls for that one. Well done to you all.
If Wenger thinks that his current squad will finish in the top four next season without major surgery he is mistaken and if Kroenke thinks that Ashburton Grove will still be hosting 60,000 guests without Champions League football he could be mistaken too.
Villa beat us fair and square, as did Stoke last week and there is very little point in my going over Arsenal's well publicised problems. As Lee Dixon said on MOTD2, "Ignore the Arsenal defending as I'm not going to go into it anymore than I already have for the last few weeks!" and Mark Lawrenson really hit the nail on the head when he said "I think that one or two players were already on the beach. Listen, it's not a secret, everybody knows what Arsenal need. Absolutely everybody knows. Until the manager addresses that in the summer it's going to be the same old, same old, same old". Not just my opinion this time folks, it's the professional diagnoses of two men with doctorates in defending from the school of hard knocks.
Darren, Darren, Darren. You have the cheek to call yourself a Gooner? Funny way you have of showing it there pal. Do you think that you could find it in your heart to maybe, just maybe, you know... STOP SCORING AGAINST US!? Every time this man plays against us he seems to find a way to score and our manager should be thinking of making a bid for either him or someone like him. We can't just keep depending on our reliant Robin to score all of our goals because, as fantastic as he is, he has a terrible accident history and service record.
It has really come to something when Arsenal fans are looking at Stoke defenders and Aston Villa strikers and saying how we'd love to have them in our squad - like it's some far off pipe dream for us to have Robert Huth or Darren Bent in our squad! Have we really fallen that far?
Time to splash the cash then Mr. Kroenke or you might find your stadium profits dwindle while the attendance figures become harder to fiddle as the Arsenal fans slowly wake up to the fact that they are being diddled.
