You see, only Arsenal can win a European game 5-0 and get roundly criticised for it. Now, let's get one thing straight here - there were a fair few people who were quietly confident about us going out of the tournament with The Gunners trailing 2-1 from the first leg in Portugal and the press ramped it up by pointing out that we had only ever overturned a first leg deficit 32 years ago.
As usual The Arsenal went into a match with the press putting us in a non-favourable light and charting what we stood to lose rather than what we had to gain. Having initially confounded them, made a tiny sliver of history in the process and run out convincing winners on aggregate, the press, as steadfastly reliable as ever, chose to make out that we made a meal of beating a limited Porto side.
Amazing, isn't it? Even in their best spell of the match, Almunia and Arsenal were not exactly working overtime. At best I can only remember them having a couple of chances which were far from one on ones. And I don't remember Porto slicing our defence apart or seeing Almunia diving across his goal every 90 seconds or so.
According to the press however, we would be punished by better teams who would take the chances that Porto created - hold the phone will you? Talk about making mountains out of molehills.
Still that's the press for you. After more than 20 years as an Arsenal fan I should be well used to the nitpicking garbage that emits from the press but I just can't help it. The hacks love to write articles about us with a slant mapping out what we stand to lose and yet when we go out and win convincingly, it's a case of "Yeah but".
I used to think we are measured by what we do, But such is the way of the media the emphasis is very much on what we don't do or fail to do. "Yeah but you're a high profile club" I hear you say. Maybe, but we are also a club for which everybody in the media cannot wait for us to fail. Everyone connected with Arsenal is accused of having a chip on their shoulder and every one of us is paranoid. Have I got a chip on my shoulder? Damn right I have! And after reading all the shit they write about us for well over 20 years well all I can say is that I am, as a Gooner, all that they made me.
On some days I do feel very bitter about it all but on some days it does add grist to my mill. At present, a desire burns inside me, in my mind I will growl "We'll fucking show you" and all the cheap shots aimed at us in the recent past will eventually give way to redemption and glory.
What we saw on Tuesday night was a taste of the Arsenal of old. Nobody epitomised that more than Nasri and Eboue in the way they took their goals. And what about Bendtner eh? That is what I call redeeming yourself after an abject display in the art of goalscoring. The jury is out on the Dane in my eyes but he has not done himself any harm and his confidence (which is sky high in his own mind anyway) will have surely been restored.
Anyway the Arsenal are in the last eight. The press may not think we were inspiring but then they don't have to carry this result with them. There are only big teams left in the competition now. I hope that giving Porto a hiding was just the shape of things to come.
On Saturday we will visit the KC Stadium in Hull. I'm not going to do a run down on Hull . Not their team, not their permatanned dickhead of a boss, nothing. The only thing I am interested in is a victory here. Nothing else will do. I meant what I said last week - we cannot allow young Ramsey's injury to count for nothing. And we must continue to wage our vendetta against everyone until we get our damn hands on that league trophy and give young Aaron something to really remember from this season.
More than that, we have to effectively erase the memory of two years ago. We let it effect us, consume us and we blew our shot at the title. The thought of me salivating like a rabid dog over my laptop may not evoke a pleasant picture. But I am hungry and I want this title so badly, I can almost taste it. The Arsenal lads should feel the same way. Let's see if they are in tune with me on Saturday night.