The way I see it - Arsenal v Birmingham City

Last updated : 30 April 2004 By Jason Hogan

I have been a Gooner for a bloody long time now and, for all that we have won with Arsene at the helm, I never thought that I would witness the day when we pulled off an achievement that proved to be as special as the one we achieved on that oh so wonderful night at Anfield way back in 1989 when George Graham's men pulled off the most dramatic title win that there has ever been at the expense of what I consider to be the best English side that I have ever seen - but I was wrong because now, in my opinion, Arsene's Army have topped that and I think that winning the title this year ranks as our greatest achievement yet.

Why? Well, it's not so much because of the fact that we won the league at the Lane or indeed because of the fact that everyone connected with Spurs will have to live with the endlessly damning and embarrassing ramifications that go with it forever. That, for me, is just a bonus albeit a hugely enjoyable one.

You see, when we won the title back in 1989 we were only in our accustomed position of being written off for a matter of days before that particularly decisive match. This time, we have won the title despite being written off as team before a ball had been even been kicked, ridiculed for neither having a strong squad nor the financial resources to strengthen it as well as generally being insulted, belittled and degraded as a club in the wake of arrival of a certain Roman Abramovich at Chelsea last summer.

Now, whether this is a failing of mine I don't know but all the things the press and the media said about us last summer felt personal. It was as if they were saying it to me and to this very day, even in the light of what we have gone on to do, there is part of me that finds it very hard to forgive and forget.

But, as my mates will testify, nothing ever shook my belief that we could get our title back and even in the wake of all the unfounded speculation over the futures of Henry, Pires, Vieira, Bergkamp and indeed the Boss last summer the title remained the thing that I wanted above everything else this season.

As I have said before the source from which I gained my belief can be traced back to last year's FA Cup final. I was so disenchanted with things by the time we faced Southampton in that final I didn't even bother watching it (at least from the start). But, unlike me, showed that they had the guts to dust themselves down, show some character and grind out a win.

It's that kind of character that has underpinned our success this year. There were times when the going was tough and for four days at the start of this month, the got REALLY tough. But, when those days came, we had the character to still find the answers with such a level of consistency we have now won the title without suffering a single defeat. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!!!

Still, despite the fact that the Premiership trophy title will be coming back to where it belongs, there is of course some unfinished business to attend to starting on Saturday when we entertain Birmingham.

I have to hand it to the men from St. Andrews. Not only have they managed to survive one term in the top flight they have made a fairly impressive fist of consolidating their top flight status.

Many people would say that the Blues have their limitations but you have to give them credit for playing to their own strengths instead of trying to compensate for the strengths of others.

There is precious little doubt that the acquisition of Mikael Forssell (albeit on loan from Chelsea) has been a catalyst for what appears at present to be the rise and rise in the fortunes of the club and, from the outside looking in, the highest compliment I can pay him is that Birmingham have been none the worse for the loss of World Cup winner and last year's catalyst for their survival last term, Christophe Dugarry.

What's even more impressive is the fact that Forssell has scored more goals than any of the strikers he had to make way for at Chelsea and if that doesn't say much for his talent, then nothing will.

The Finn is definitely the man we need to watch though we will also be graced (if that's the right word) with the presence of Robbie Savage. All I can say is that if there is a footballer in the game that needs a good slap more than him I have yet to meet him. Paddy had better make sure that he is wearing reinforced shin pads that's for sure!!

There is definitely going to be a party atmosphere at Highbury and I'm glad to say that I will be there to sample it for myself. A sense of history still beckons for the chaps. Let's make sure that we don't pass it up.