Mighty impressive stuff, keeping up the season chat over at the Wigan thread. Have to say, I’m very impressed at the level of commitment shown towards this blog.

Unfortunately, this blog is all but defunct now. Martin, Brenton, Darren and I simply do not have the time to continue blogging here. It’s a bit sad that our blogging careers here at the Arsenal Offside just about ended when the season picked up, but that’s life. I’m eternally grateful that we clinched Top 3, and finished above Spurs. Just as we suspected all along, didn’t we?

Of course, we still had time to see THAT tackle by Gibbs. Aguero who?

From the four of us to you, we want to say a very heartfelt and genuine goodbye from the Offside. It’s been a great ride, for me at least- covering our disastrous start of the season, in particular recapping our nailbiting, two-leg victory over Udinese in the qualifiers and then our awfully historic defeat at Old Trafford. I developed a sense of community and camaraderie with my fellow Arsenal fans that I had never experienced before. I also got a chance to develop my writing skills and my love for expansive metaphors- as well as player ratings- in front of a constructive audience. For all of that, I thank you.

But, as this season ends, so does my role here. I will be entering my last year of high school, and my summer will be filled with all of that crap you have to do in order to start your school year on a good standing. I simply do not have the time to blog anymore, as much as I would like. Similar to Martin’s burnout last season, I would write posts for the sole point of having to write them. A marathon it is not, but blogging can be consuming business at times.

I want to publicly thank Brenton, Martin, and Darren for our time here at the Offside. Great writers, and great fans. Homey, if you’re reading this, I want to thank you as well. You kept this site alive at the end of last season and invited me to write here. I want to thank Arsene Wenger for saving the squad he put in danger. Pat Rice, for a lifetime of service to the club. I want to thank Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, TV5, Wojo, Theo Walcott, Forehead, Benny CrucialGoal, The Ox, Aaron “Scapegoat” Ramsey, Gibbo, Andre “Meme Base” Santos, Jenkins!, The Coq, and- who else?- Robin “God 2.0″ van Persie for all of the goals, assists, moments, and glories we watched this season. For better or for worse, these guys came up when it counted and ultimately gave a dignified and respectable ending to our season- probably saving our future in the process.

Hell, I’ll even thank Fabianski, Djourou, Squizz, Frimmers- DENCH!, Park, Chamakh, and, of course, Arshavin- thanks for the 4 goals at Anfield, and the winner against Barcelona. Have fun at Polkraine. I’ll miss you, champ.

In the end, my biggest thanks go to the readers and commentators here at the Offside- I only blogged here for about 6 months, but you guys really made this one of the best blogs in the ‘net. Thanks for the page views, the comments, the civil arguments, the not-so-civil arguments, the discussions, the suggestions, and ultimately, your undying love for the Arsenal (except if you were a troll, in which case, piss off!)

With Podolski already confirmed, van Persie in a good position to sign a new deal, and the yearly rumors (M’Vila, Vertonghen, Holtby) being stronger than usual this summer, all signs point towards a positive summer transfer window and a good platform to challenge for trophies next season. For real this time. I can’t wait!

Well, I guess this is the end now. Once again, thanks for everything- it’s been a great ride. If anyone out there has a real, vested interest in keeping this blog going, shoot me an email at shadowrouge99@gmail.com. Serious offers only, please. You would have to be someone with plenty of spare time, especially on the weekends.

Before I leave doe-

You didn't think I would leave before showing this one more time, didn't you?!

Wigan just famously beat Man U, and should have beaten Chelsea a couple weeks ago. I think we match up well against them, though, and should be able to exploit their backline better than either of those two teams.

Speaking to ESPN Brasil, he said, “In the first half Balotelli almost broke Song’s leg, than he harshly tackled Sagna. Someone had to be hard on him, put him in his place.

“Someone had to say something to him because he was doing what he wanted, and that’s not how things work.

“I was watching from the bench. When I was on the pitch I’d have the job to mark him, and that’s what I did. It’s part of the game.”

Read the full article for more. I love it. Fuck off Balotelli.

Why always you? Because you're a prick.

Kick-off is in four hours. This is a game we have to win. Bottom of the table team struggling to score, with a porous backline… yah, if we don’t win, we don’t deserve 3rd place, I’m thinking. Tottenham have an easy run-in to the end and Newcastle are firing on all cylinders. Come on you Gunners!

Good morning everyone. Kick-off is in an hour, and it’s a game that is probably a test of our recent form and a chance to jump back into 3rd. City beat us in Manchester, but only 1-0, and they haven’t exactly been dominating lately (L-W-D-D in their last 4). It’s definitely a winnable match, but we’ll need a few things to go right for us.

Come on you Gunners!

Here’s a short, short post to start me back on the road to wellness. The road that will leads to St. Totteringham’s Day.

Anyway, here we are, April 2nd, a few short weeks away from the end of the season but three long months away from the transfer window. So it only makes sense that transfer rumours will start to circulate, right? There’s no football to focus on or anything…

ESPN Soccernet staff penned this gem:

Arsenal move interests M’Vila

Here’s the actual quote, translated:

“Inter, Arsenal, Real… I will take the fun everywhere!”

“These are great clubs. If the coach calls you and tells you he wants you to make you play, especially a French coach, it changes everything.

“The important thing for me is getting playing time for the France team.”

So, not so fast, ESPN.

With all this in mind, I watched the Rennes/Lyon match the other day. For all the talk about him, he didn’t really stand out. I’ve seen him play before and he’s been very good. Rennes play at a very high tempo, and he’s comfortable moving the ball at speed. He’s solid, but he doesn’t dazzle.

There it is, a short return to writing for me. I’m not sure what my availability is going to be like over the next while, but I hope to re-engage a bit more here.

Cheers,
Brenton

The game kicks off at 3pm UK time, 10am Eastern, 7am Pacific. I hope to chat with you all then. In the meantime, here’s this:

What a dick. We all know he's a dick. I think even he knows he's a dick.

I’m exhausted. Good night.