Man City 4, Arsenal 2

"I believe we were defensively a bit shaky today."

- Arsene Wenger, a master of under-statement

Well Goonies, we're fucked.

If I was being philosophical, I could say it's a long season and anything can happen, that we played well but lost, that ex-players always do well against their former clubs and it's not unexpected, and that since Arsene Wenger isn't worried, we shouldn't be too. All setbacks are just an opportunity to learn. After all, as Bob Dylan once sang, how many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?

If I was being a good loser, I'd say that it's a pleasure that Toure's been made captain of Man City, and it's delightful that Adebayor is playing well and scoring goals. Adebayor has always had great talent and I could say that it's pleasing that he's started to apply himself again. And of course, a defeat of this magnitude is a big learning experience for our young players.

However, I'd rather not be philosophical. Nor a good loser. I'd rather be an obsessive sore loser (i.e. a fan). It's quite frustrating to see a side lose 4-2. It's not exactly a Henny-Penny-sky's-falling-in moment, but it is fairly depressing. I think most of us have accepted that we're not going to win the league this year, and have scaled down our expectations accordingly.

But losing to City hurts.

It's that deep, dark helpless depression of knowing that this side could be so much more than it is, but it isn't because the manager won't spend. How much would it cost to buy Akinfeev, Villa and Mahamadou Diarra? And how much would we gain if we were a genuine contender again? I refuse to believe that the cost is greater than the benefits. As I said in the previous post, I still think we're going to finish 4th, but I don't think there's the will at the Club to progress any further.

And as for how many roads a man must walk down, WikiAnswers (another of the marvels of the internet) kindly provides the answer:

1) As many as it takes. Which is of course a non definitive answer.

2) 42, which is the ultimate answer to the ultimate question (Dixit Douglas Adams in "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"). Which would imply that "How many roads must a man walk down?" is in fact the ultimate question to life, the universe and everything.

3) Just one, the road of life. Which will either make a man a man, or not as the case may be.

Which leaves us with one tantalising thought - isn't 42 million the amount banked by Arsenal after the Toure/Adebayor sales?