Spurs 2 (Rose 10, Bale 47) Arsenal 1 (Bendtner 85)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that. Despite being written off on at least three occasions, and facing a quite obscene injury list, we’ve stayed in the title hunt until April 14, not a bad feat by any stretch, but the dream is now over. And with it is our frankly hilarious unbeaten record against Spurs.

It had to end sometime, and thanks to a combination of disciplined defending, and a lack of creativity on our part, it was actually fairly comfortable for them until the latter stages. While they created little, early goals in both halves meant they didn’t need to, and could instead focus on keeping us out. As they defended more and more narrowly, we continued to attempt to thread the ball through the eye of the needle, and repeatedly ran into a brick wall. Even the missing Cesc and Arshavin would have struggled to find the pinpoint pass we needed.

And then, in the final twenty minutes, Van Persie made his return to the side after five months out, and contrary to the suspicion that he might take some time to get back up to speed, he transformed the match, forcing the previously unemployed Gomes into a string of stunning saves that prevented a turnaround of Herculean proportions. A remarkable stop from Van Persie’s volley was followed by another brilliant save to keep out his perfectly placed free kick. Campbell’s header was then tipped on to the bar before Van Persie was again denied from distance.

The difference between the opening seventy minutes and the last twenty could not have been more marked, and makes you wonder what might have been had the Dutchman played a greater role in our season. Even Andy Gray suggested that taking Rooney, Drogba and Torres out of their respective teams would see them come crashing down, so it is all the more impressive that we’ve been in the fight so long.

It is no coincidence that prior to his injury, we were headed towards a century of league goals, a feat we have not come close to since that fateful international friendly.

But we still put ourselves in trouble with some poor defending for both goals. While I don’t believe Almunia was at fault for the first – having decided to punch he did it well, and did not see Rose’s fizzing return – we were opened up too easily to concede the corners in the first place. And for the second, it seemed Sagna was still in the half time dressing room, playing Bale on by a country mile and allowing the easiest of finishes.

In the meantime, we were threatening little. Campbell had an early effort blocked, but the only other time we got behind them in the first half, Kaboul accepted a yellow by deliberately bringing Rosicky down to halt the play. And for much of the second half, we passed and passed in the final third, but could not find a way to penetrate their line.

Rosicky was toiling away but having one of those days when it wasn’t happening for him, Eboue also tried his hardest but more often than not made the wrong decision. Denilson and Diaby struggled, while Nasri showed some sparky moments but could not grab the game by the scruff of the neck as Cesc does. Perhaps it is harsh on him to expect that at this stage.

The most impressive performers, Van Persie apart, were at the back. Clichy was back to his imperious best, running the left flank while mopping up after Silvestre’s mistakes. But the star of the show was Sol Campbell, who was forced to control the defence after Vermaelen went off with a calf injury that may end his season. Even at 35, Sol’s fight shone through, summed up beautifully in the dying moments, when he outpaced Gareth Bale on the wing. Time and time again he won the headers, the tackles and the races, answering the questions raised when he was re-signed back in January.

Frankly, with Gallas and Silvestre likely to leave in the summer, I’d give him another year.

I have to be honest – even before tonight I thought it unlikely that Chelsea would drop enough points to let us back in. But now that the title challenge has come to an end, I’m struck with thoughts of what have have been. If you were asked to select the six outfield players that would be the first names on the teamsheet, you would probably come up with Gallas and Vermaelen at the back, Song and Cesc in the centre, and Arshavin and Van Persie up front. For more than half the game, none of the six were on the field. Only Song and Van Persie are likely to feature again this season.

The injury situation has been ridiculous, which is why I’m going to steer clear of criticising the squad too heavily for failing to bring in a trophy. Wenger had to de-prioritise the FA Cup with the fixture list piling up, we ran into Barcelona in the Champions League, and ultimately, we’ve dropped points in the league  that the likes of Van Persie might have saved us from. Our rivals have not had the same problems, and for that reason I’m proud of what they’ve achieved this season.

There will be issues to sort in the summer (mainly at the back), but that is some time away. We still have four games to play.

Speaking of issues, I have a bone to pick with Sky’s Martin Tyler who, seconds after the Spurs fans boomed out a stadium-wide rendition of ‘Sit down you paedophile‘, decided it was a good time to say that the atmosphere was vibrant. No Martin, it wasn’t vibrant, it was poisonous, and when millions of your viewers can clearly hear what is being sung, I suggest that you don’t condone it.

So there we have it – the title race is over (although we can still take second), the unbeaten run against Spurs is over, and you could argue that our season has effectively gone the same way. As for Spurs, they may be celebrating tonight, but they are still outside the top four, so let them have their moment, release their inevitable DVD, and enjoy the Europa League next season. We’ll have bigger fish to fry.

Stay positive.

Barcelona 4 (Messi 21, 37, 42, 88) Arsenal 1 (Bendtner 19)
(Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg, agg 6-3)

It would be so easy after a heavy defeat to criticise the players who didn’t reach the high standards they are capable of, to belittle a referee who was conned by a number of dives (notably by Busquets and Alves), or to pick holes in the nature of the goals we conceded.

But that would be churlish. At the end of the day, we were beaten by the better team, a unit that exceeded their usual level (no mean feat), and a pair of players a cut above anyone else on the pitch – Xavi, who was sensational in midfield, never giving the ball away and always creating, and of course, Messi, who bagged all four goals in a devastating display of finishing.

To be outplayed by the best team in the world is no disgrace, particularly when you are missing so many first team starters. To run into a genius having one of those nights is just unlucky, and while we contributed to our own downfall at times, you have to wonder who could have stopped Barcelona tonight. In the end, we weren’t even close.

For each goal, you could pinpoint a mistake on our part, but that is the case with almost every strike in world football. What Barcelona do better than anyone is press when not in possession, giving the opposition absolutely no time on the ball. So relentless is their pressure that sooner or later a sloppy pass is played, and then they are so electric going forward that they can punish you ruthlessly.

But despite their brilliance and our status as heavy underdogs, we struck first – Walcott was sent through by Diaby, and instead of shooting squared it behind Bendtner. At that point, I thought the chance had gone, but when the Dane’s initial shot was saved, he reacted quickest to prod us ahead. Game on, it seemed at the time.

Unfortunately, Barcelona had more gears, and just a few minutes later, Messi’s attempted pass was deflected back to him, and he lashed an unstoppable drive from just outside the area, with Vermaelen desperately lunging to block.

By half time, he had his hattrick – his second coming courtesy of a late run into the box after setting Abidal away, and the third an audacious chip over Almunia after our defence had been caught upfield. I felt for Almunia at this point – he had narrowed the angle, and knowing Messi likes to dink the ball, he stayed upright. Messi simply dinked it higher.

That was the killer blow, and although we had chances in the second half to reduce the deficit, it was no surprise when Messi added a fourth late on. Again, Almunia was unlucky – he saved the first shot, before being nutmegged by the second.

Half the team played very well – Almunia, Clichy, Vermaelen (mostly), Diaby (at times), Bendtner and Denilson had good games, while on the flip side, Rosicky and Silvestre struggled, both being withdrawn in the second half. Nasri looked good early on but never seemed to recover from a heavy early tackle.

But we had no-one to match the remarkable brilliance of Xavi and Messi. The only players we have that are capable of destroying opposition in that manner are on the treatment table. That isn’t an excuse – there are no guarantees that a fully fit squad would have triumphed.

At the end of the day, we have to hold our hands up and admit we were second best. Wenger has, Bendtner has and we must too. At the same time, we should draw immense confidence from the fact that even with twenty minutes left of a tie with the best team in the world, our patched up team were not giving up the hope of recovery. Many will learn from this.

We now have a week to recover before playing Spurs next Wednesday night. That should allow the players to rest, refocus, get over this disappointment and move forward. The season is not over.

Onward. And congratulations Barcelona.

Arsenal 2 (Walcott 69, Fabregas pen 85) Barcelona 2 (Ibrahimovic 46, 59)
(Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg)

What a game. What a recovery. What a display of mental strength.

Following the match by using a combination of Twitter and the BBC commentary was painful, but having finally finished my work trip I’ve managed to see the game, and what an extraordinary affair it was. From the manic early stages which could have ended the tie, to Barcelona getting the goals their display richly deserved, all the way through to a comeback that no-one could have foreseen.

I was preparing what I would write at 0-2, and it was along the lines of hoping we could just get past Wolves at the weekend, before getting everyone in shape for the trip to Spurs in two weeks time. But now, we have reason to believe that we can remain in the Champions League, not least because both of Barca’s centre backs will be suspended.

Of course, we were counting the cost of the game too. Gallas is probably out for the season with a recurrence of his calf injury, Cesc certainly is after breaking his leg (if he broke it winning the penalty, it makes the subsequent kick and his refusal to leave to field all the more heroic), and Arshavin will miss at least a few weeks with a calf injury of his own. Who knows what eleven we’ll be able to field on Tuesday night - just four days away.

I’m sure you all saw the match, and witnessed Almunia repeating his performance from Old Trafford last season in single handedly keeping us in the tie with a string of stunning saves. Interspersed with his acrobatics was a shocking miss by Ibrahimovic, who appeared to be having another one of his big-game failures. But early in the second half, he struck twice, and while Almunia has been criticised for the first, I can see why he felt the need to come out. But he got his angles wrong and the Swede punished him. For the second, Xavi was afforded far too much time to pick his pass. But you couldn’t argue with the scoreline at that point.

In between, Bendtner forced a fine save from Valdes, but it looked hopeless. Two goals down at home, it felt as flat as our capitulation against United in that semi-final. But unlike then, we had an ace up our sleeve. And that ace, surprisingly enough, was Theo Walcott.

Soon after coming on, Bendtner slipped him an inch perfect through ball, and he finished under Valdes, who probably could have done better but may have been taken by surprise bythe early shot. His pace was pinning Maxwell back, and shifting the momentum in our favour, and the comeback was completed from the penalty spot, after Cesc’s shooting leg collided with Puyol (again after a Bendtner assist). The decision may have been debatable, the sending off certainly so, but our captain needed no second invitation to lash the spot kick home and leave us rubbing our eyes in disbelief.

Having seen the incident many times, I suspect Cesc might have damaged his leg in the act of taking the penalty. The prior kick, and the one at Birmingham, may have weakened it, but if you watch him take the shot again, he lands on his right leg at an unpleasant angle, which may have resulted in the weakness finally caving in.

Some questioned his appointment as captain nearly two years ago, but although he was already a fine player, he has proven his leadership credentials time and time again this season, dragging the side towards the finish line with no apparent regard for his own health. His thoughts have not been on the World Cup, he has played through pain, strained already aching muscles, and set an example that the rest would do well to follow. We can only hope that he has one remaining act this season – lifting a trophy.

It will be immensely difficult given the insane nature of our injury crisis. Ironically, having spent most of the campaign with a packed treatment table, the problem seemed to be easing. But once again, you could name a full team of absentees, and no side can withstand losses the the degree we have. One can only imagine where we would be if we had a little more luck in that regard.

You could argue that Wenger has taken a few risks, bringing back Cesc and Gallas too early, but those are risks I think any of us would want him to take. And it says a lot about the spirit of the players that they don’t want to rest up, they want to get out there and win something for the club.

More than ever, I think this club is heading powerfully in the right direction. I know we always talk about ‘next season’, but can you imagine how dangerous we could be without even half the serious injuries?

That is for another time, because thanks to a stirring comeback, we are still in the Champions League. And if results go our way tomorrow (essentially, we don’t want Chelsea to win), we would still be in the Premiership race. We might be hobbling towards the line, but if sheer will to succeed can be enough, we might yet get there. Either way, you have to be impressed.

Tomorrow, we simply have to get three points against Wolves. More on that game in the morning.

Until then.

Birmingham 1 (Phillips 90) Arsenal 1 (Nasri 81)
(Premiership)

On a day that Chelsea and United found opponents rivalling each other to see who could roll over the most pathetically, we dropped two points in the most agonising fashion, deep into injury time to a Birmingham side with a history of decimating our title challenges.

A win would have put us in a glorious position ahead of the meeting between our two rivals next weekend, but the draw, and particularly the manner of it, rips away the momentum we were building. It could be an absolute hammer blow.

However, it isn’t a fatal one. Clearly we need to get back to winning ways, but our next league game at home to Wolves gives us the perfect opportunity. A draw between Chelsea and United would leave us back to where we were. Of course both need to drop further points, but as I’ve been saying for ages, any away game is tricky, and there are plenty left for everyone.

As for the game itself, we were good in patches, without ever looking capable of scoring the couple of goals we needed to protect ourselves against the inevitable defensive lapse. But when Nasri burst through a tired defence to drill the ball into the corner, we seemed to have gotten away with it, and picked up another vital three points.

But with seconds left, a long punt caused havoc at the back, Sagna’s clearance bounced off Kevin Phillips and towards Almunia. The keeper was slow to react, palming it weakly upwards and backwards, and could only watch helplessly as it dropped into the net.

For the record, I don’t think there was anything wrong with the goal. Some have mooted the offside position of Benitez, but he was not interfering by the current rules, so the goal rightly stood.

It is easy to point fingers at Almunia, the pitch, the missed chances of Nasri and Arshavin to wrap the game up, but having taken off my rose-tinted glasses for a second I have to concede that Birmingham just about merited the draw. They should even have taken the lead, Dann inexplicably missing from two yards after the ball came back off the post.

As for the other topic, Howard Webb, I thought his game was mixed. Initially, I was ready to spew a torrent of anger at him, but some of the more robust challenges were actually fair, including the one on Cesc. And I do think Diaby fouled his man before the disallowed goal.

But where the frustration really lies for me in the complete inconsistency of yellow cards. Song was booked for his first (innocuous) foul, Clichy for his first ‘offence’, if you can even call it that. But a few Birmingham players got away with a string of far worse challenges before eventually being carded late in the game. Wenger was rightly furious, and it isn’t the first time. Sometimes it seems that the less skilled side are allowed greater leeway.

That said, I don’t believe Webb affected the result. On the day, we just weren’t quite good enough. Against Hull, we played in a similar way but got away with it at the last – this time fortune was reversed. The goal was a fluke, but you could similarly argue that Denilson’s shot a couple of weeks ago would normally be safely caught by a keeper. Sometimes, shit happens.

We cannot afford to focus on it. It is a blow, especially now that we can’t overturn Chelsea or United on goal difference given their massive wins. But we must bounce back with a win over Wolves next weekend.

Frankly, Barcelona is a bonus. I want the league.

Hull 1 (Bullard pen 28) Arsenal 2 (Arshavin 14, Bendtner 90)
(Premiership)

When you play a side as dislikable as Hull, with a manager like Phil Brown, the default position is to wish for an absolute hammering, to send them back with their tails between their legs. But sometimes, it is equally satisfying to see them denied a point at the last, after a display littered with cynical, cheap and sometimes nasty fouls.

The game was almost up - Hull had defended a succession of corners with relative ease before, in an apparent act of desperation, Denilson lined one up from 35 yards. When we saw it arrowing straight at the keeper, our heads collectively dropped. But Myhill, usually so impressive, inexplicably parried it straight back into play, and Bendtner gratefully tucked away the winner. It was a gift, and rarely has one been more important.

We had looked in complete control in the early stages, Arshavin finishing coolly after dancing past two non-challenges, but with Hull completely deflated they were awarded an undeserved lifeline when Vennegoor of Hesselink was bundled over by Campbell in the box. The only reason Sol had allowed the Dutchman goalside of him was that he was playing him comfortably offside. But the linesman, who was in the perfect position, inexplicably failed to flag, and Bullard slammed home the penalty. Hull’s spirits were raised, and they reverted to type – rotational fouling in the centre of the park and a series of ugly lunges.

That they were allowed to play that ’style’ was entirely the fault of Andre Marriner, who failed to retain any semblance of control on the game, and whose persistent lack of action against the Hull players encouraged them into ever more dangerous challenges.

In a way, I don’t blame the players. If you knew a referee wouldn’t penalise you for handling on your own goal line, you’d be tempted to stretch that arm out to block a goalbound shot. Similarly, if the referee is unwilling to punish a sequence of repeated fouls, then you will continue to commit them in comfort.

And it transpired that way. In one first half incident, Fagan had Sagna in a headlock, off the ball, and dragged him to the ground, a stupid and intentional foul that should have resulted in a yellow card. He was warned. In the five minutes that followed, he was given another two ‘final warnings’, and ended the match without a card to his name.

But the incompetence did not stop there. Aside from his complete inability to apply the advantage rule, Marriner was seen time and time again letting players off with poor challenges. Dawson was the first to be booked and could have been sent off for a wild two-footed lunge, while in the same moments, Boateng was first poking Bendtner in the eye and then slapping him. Boateng was only booked for what is a mandatory sending off, and strangely, the Dane picked up the same punishment, despite doing absolutely nothing.

By half time, Boateng had helped eradicate Marriner’s mistake by putting his studs through Sagna’s knee and picking up a second yellow card - a shocking challenge that should have resulted in a straight red.

The mood was dark at the break, not helped by the snide and frankly unprofessional coverage dealt out by ESPN. I had only previously heard talk about the depths of punditry they plumb, but I have a free month of the channel and was finally directly exposed. Suffice to say that when the trial period is over, I won’t be subscribing.

Jon Champion is an awful commentator. There, I said it. He spent a full ten minutes after the penalty trying to get anyone who would listen to agree with him that Campbell should have been sent off, blissfully ignoring the fact that the penalty should not have been awarded in the first place. His co-commentator, and the panel of Keegan and Leboeuf all disagreed, but it didn’t stop him.

In the second half, Campbell put in a terrific tackle on Zayatte, a powerful but safe (legs were on the ground) challenge which won the ball. Again, Champion started a one-man campaign that Sol should have been dismissed. Again, Leboeuf and Keegan pointed out the obvious - it was a fair challenge, and you don’t tend to get in trouble for those. Undeterred, he continued, frantically insisting that Wenger would not be jumping up and down about that particular tackle, unlike the Shawcross equivalent.

Of course he wouldn’t, Jon, because it was legal, fair and safe. No comparisons can be made, and if you think they can, you are in the wrong profession. You moron.

At that point, I muted the television, and despite our struggles as time ticked away, I found it far more relaxing that listening to a wind-up merchant promoting his own slanted agenda.

No matter. Thanks to Denilson’s speculation, Myhill’s blunder, and Bendtner’s persistence, we took home the points. When you consider that we are missing a host of players (some who will return soon), Hull did not play a game midweek, and we have a completely useless referee, you realise that the manner of the points matters little. This was one of our big tests, and we’ve passed it.

United are likely to breeze past Fulham tomorrow, so it will be as you were at the top. But next weekend, we have West Ham at home, Chelsea travel to Blackburn just days after their Champions League encounter with Mourinho’s Inter, and United face Liverpool.

It was important not to lose ground today, so that we can capitalise if our rivals slip up next week.

Mission accomplished. Oh, and enjoy the Championship, Hull.