Shyam is a true fan and I respect that. Win or lose, always support your team.

And Kevin, those who think Liverpool paid too much for Torres or even Mascherano should really do more research.

http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats/sta ts_turnover_07.htm

Of course Wenger has some really spectacular cheaper buys like Henry and Fabregas but let’s compare apples with apples.
None of the players in the list above except for maybe Van Nistelroy has contributed as much in his 1st season as Torres which makes the price of Torres really an absolute bargain. So please £21m doesn’t really warrant all the exaggeration especially when you look at that list.

And when you look at the even bigger picture…
http://www.top-ten-10.com/sports/footbal l/football_transfers.htm

Torres’s sum become even more paltry.

And as for the penalty, nobody is mentioning Flamini’s blatant handball as he controlled the ball in the build up to Diaby’s goal. The ref missed it. Maybe he made a mistake for the penalty. That’s football too.

Until they bring in video replays (which I thing FIFA are too old-fashioned and short-sighted to do) referees will make mistakes.

The fact is that Liverpool were behind 3 times in this tie and came back to win - that shows incredible willpower, and in the case of Torres and Hyypia, incredible skill.

In the last few years Arsene Wenger has created a team of relative unknowns whose combined value of acquisition of 30 million pounds was what Manchester United paid for one Wayne Rooney.

Even yesterday, with no disrespect to Liverpool, they played some outstanding football and passed Liverpool out of the park. Just when they thought they had a victory the opponents were awarded a dodgy penalty which they duly converted and it is the same old story for Arsenal.

The beauty of the game is that it can lead to memorable upsets and magnificent victories. In both these fronts Arsenal became the fall guy. Arsene Wenger wanted to prove that talent short on passports and high on technique can win trophies and win them beautifully. He wanted to show that one doesn’t require money (Chelsea, Man u, Liverpool et al) to mould great teams. He wanted to show that this time Arsenal can win trophies and play by his vision by supplementing beauty with resilience. He wanted too show the world how the game is to be played in a time and age when money does all the talking.

Arsene Wenger has fallen short. Does this mean the demise of dreams? Does this mean the end of imagination? Does this mean he has to go into the next season and spend a fortune on new ’star’ players who will help him win games in important matches? Does this mean that natural talent and youthful innocence don’t stand a chance in the high-cauldron of football aesthetics?

I hope not. The matter is simple and clear: I will always support Arsenal till i die. I may not win trophies but when young Theo Walcott runs 80 yards through five players and makes an inch perfect pass for the forward to convert then i am transported into a new footballing realm of dreams and aesthetics. That moment will be enough for me to last a whole season.