The gooners will be missed....

[MK Gould]

Bit early for an obituary I know, but I like to think that our potential absence from the Champions League will be a cause for sadness far beyond the gooner population....

We've played some decent football over the years, but it's about so much more than that. The countless thousands of away fans who have enjoyed the hospitality inside and around the Grove.... And the countless cities we have visited on our own travels - with good nature, spending our hard earned in their bars - without feeling the need to smash them up! I think we've created a great impression and have been a great advert for English football fans, and are always welcomed back. Munich this week was a perfect example!

I find it very hard to believe that the same could be said about the Spuds.... Trouble seems to follow them around - and most have had nothing to do with their use of the jewish tag. And will Barca and Bayern fans relish a trip to N17 as they might have done to N5....? Er, I think not....!

[Barriecuda]

Agreed, Arsenal is a relatively good ambassador for the English games. Our fans tend to be vocal but not disrespectful, and the Emirates does provide good hospitality even if the atmosphere can be a bit shallow despite its size.

However, I won't be talking about us not in the Champions League until it actually happens. Gotta keep the faith, even if I don't necessarily believe in the team's leader or direction as of late...!

[BournemouthRED]

We'll get champions league football next year!

[MK Gould]

We'll get champions league football next year!

The Europa League Final is in Turin next year. I've already looked it up....!

[StuartL]

We'll get champions league football next year!

The Europa League Final is in Turin next year. I've already looked it up....!

Nice, anyone got any spares ?

[Nos89]

We'll get champions league football next year!

The Europa League Final is in Turin next year. I've already looked it up....!

What makes you think we'll get to final, when we can't even get past Bradford or Blackburn in domestic competition?????

[SteveO 35]

We'll get champions league football next year!

The Europa League Final is in Turin next year. I've already looked it up....!

What makes you think we'll get to final, when we can't even get past Bradford or Blackburn in domestic competition?????

Yeah, but this time he's gonna spend big haven't you heard. £100m warchest to be unlocked bringing the finest talents in world football to the bowl. He knows what's wrong.....this Summer will be the one......don't worry about the previous 8 years, Lord A-hole knows and he's gonna sign the best players that money can buy

[Bradywasking]

We'll get champions league football next year!

The Europa League Final is in Turin next year. I've already looked it up....!

What makes you think we'll get to final, when we can't even get past Bradford or Blackburn in domestic competition?????

to lose once (to a lower division club) is bad to lose twice is careless. The bigger picture suggests no lessons learned in any competition. Europa League next season will be no different. I think many Gooners are more concerned about finishing above Spuds than finishing fourth. Thing is finishing above Spuds means fourth and finishing below them means Europa League at best.

[mcdowell42]

Leaving aside finishing above the scum, if we wernt going to get a top 4 would people be happy playing in the europa league or would they be happy finishing out of the europa league places altogether,id prefer us not playing in the europa league,so giving us less fixtures and not having to travel to countries tht havent been discovered yet Maybe then we might actually make a proper attempt at competing in the league.

[MK Gould]

Leaving aside finishing above the scum, if we wernt going to get a top 4 would people be happy playing in the europa league or would they be happy finishing out of the europa league places altogether,id prefer us not playing in the europa league,so giving us less fixtures and not having to travel to countries tht havent been discovered yet Maybe then we might actually make a proper attempt at competing in the league.

My main issue with going into the Europa League is that, unless Arsenal have a massive change of heart, they are covered on the Season Ticket and so will be forced to pay for group games that I would probably otherwise avoided. And because of that there is also little chance of League Cup type price reductions for Silver/Red members.

But I've spoken to several of the more regular away travellers who are looking forward to the chance to visit some different grounds/countries for a change.

I don't think there is much chance of us finishing out of the European places altogether though....

[northbank123]

Leaving aside finishing above the scum, if we wernt going to get a top 4 would people be happy playing in the europa league or would they be happy finishing out of the europa league places altogether,id prefer us not playing in the europa league,so giving us less fixtures and not having to travel to countries tht havent been discovered yet Maybe then we might actually make a proper attempt at competing in the league.

Not in the business of travelling to away European games so my perspective will undoubtedly be different to others but I couldn't give a fuck about watching us play on a Thursday tea-time. Yes the CL is a bloated competition and I'm as frustrated as anybody at our feeble performance in the knock-out stages but it beats having to watch Gervinho fall over the ball against part-time Eastern European farmers.

And given the way we treat the domestic cups and that our primary goal is achieving 4th place does anybody really think we'd do anything other than reach the knockout stages only to field a weakened side and crash out? Waste of fucking time.

[TeeCee]

Wenger ALWAYS throws the FA cup these days because of the CL so it will be a blessing in disguise when we don't qualify. Hopefully we won't get Europa either so for once Ar'senile Wenger will have to go for the domestic cups - trophies which we actually have a remote chance of winning!! I would love us not to qualify for europe at all, it really will fuck Wenger up and bugger all of his excuses.

[SteveO 35]

Wenger ALWAYS throws the FA cup these days because of the CL so it will be a blessing in disguise when we don't qualify. Hopefully we won't get Europa either so for once Ar'senile Wenger will have to go for the domestic cups - trophies which we actually have a remote chance of winning!! I would love us not to qualify for europe at all, it really will fuck Wenger up and bugger all of his excuses.

He'd still throw them away if we had chance of qualifying for the virtual trophy

[donaldo]

We will be missed by any half decent team who pray they draw us in the first round of the knockout stage

[Poldi]

Whether it is with Cologne or with Arsenal, I have always thought that going to away matches is usually more fun than watching home games. Going abroad even adds some more to the excitement.

Cologne have been jumping between the divisions for two decades (currently enjoying a decent run of 13 matches unbeaten - with a chance to qualify for a play off spot towards promotion back to the Bundesliga...) so - I know it's only my personel fate - they haven't qualified for any European Competition for something like 17 years!

During that period Arsenal qualified for the Europe/CL every single year. To me that is some kind of achievement, because you cannot take anything for granted. It's probably not the kind of success that all the Gooners look for at the start of a season (nothing like winning a cup or league title), but if you don't even qualify for Europe for a change, you'll be left watching Eastenders instead. You wouldn't want that to go on for a long time...

A teenage Cologne fan is now member of the lost generation and condemned to listen to his dad's or granddad's stories 'bout good aul' times, when Cologne where going places in Europe..., while their friends support Bayern and Dortmund. You don't want that to happen to Arsenal?