It is here then! The match which promises so much. The match every one - particularly the Barcelona and Arsenal fans have been waiting for.

Arsenal, in their best years in the recent past (a couple of years ago when they were winning domestic titles) were performing very miserably in Europe. It was a very good team but critics said that it could not be termed great until it won the big ones in Europe. This, the performance so far, is probably a couple of years late. It was totally unexpected that Arsenal would reach the Champions League final in the year it almost finished 5th in the English Premiership - some thing which exemplifies how it has been a crazy ride of emotions for Arsenal fans. The ride isn’t over. There is still pondering regarding Henry going to Barcelona (some thing I, as a Barcelona fan am very much over excited about). Regardless of that, the season could be perfect for Arsenal if they do manage to win the Champions League.

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93 years of memory come back this weekend as Arsenal bid adieu to Highbury. The last game will be played versus Wigan Athletic this Sunday on what promises to be an emotional good bye to the stadium for Arsenal fans. No more will they play in the stadium which has seen some of the finest glory moments in Arsenal football history.

For me, as a comparatively recent football fan, the joy of Thierry Henry scoring a goal and the cheers have been synonymous with Highbury. Where will fans cheer Henry next season? Nou Camp or Emirates Stadium? That question can be answered post-Paris and post the Champions League final. I doubt if fans any where will love him as much or cheer for him as loudly as those at Highbury did.

Below are some tributes and memories:

• Times - Lazy Summer Afternoons.
• BBC Photo Tribute.
• Alan Smith at UK Telegraph.
• Islington Gazette.
• Arsenal.com.
• El Cid’s memories.
• Notes from an Angry Island.
• Nirav Mehta.
• Arogorn.
• Singapore Gooner.
• Jakarta Casual.
• Some times fairy tales happen.
• Perfect final day.

Do put in your Highbury memories and links to other pieces and blog entries on Highbury which you find worth mentioning.

Thierry Henry’s brilliant kick meant that Arsenal drew the game versus Tottenham Hotspur. However, the concerns of the possibility of a club in trouble in the future are very real. Arsenal now has no chance of qualifying for the Champions League until either:

1. The Spurs do some thing stupid, or,
2. Arsenal win the Champions League.

Arsenal Review explained before the match why today was a must-win game. In the end Arsenal only managed to draw courtesy Henry brilliance. A lot f Arsenal would cry over Davids’ going on and would feel he should have stopped.

Soccerworld explains why this is a misled perception:

Arsenal had nothing to complain about. I don’t think Spurs were under any obligation to kick the ball out after two Gunners tripped over one another. The Tottenham players simply took advantage of a mistake by their opponents. That’s far less egregious than Henry’s quick free kick against Chelsea a season ago, so I don’t want to hear any post-match complaining from Wenger.

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Arsenal being the only English club left in the Champions League, almost every one in England is hoping for an Arsenal victory. Check out what the papers say here. One person who has more at stake than your normal fan is an anonymous Arsenal Fan. Reports The Sun:

AN ARSENAL fan splashed out £204,000 yesterday on the biggest-ever bet on the Champions League.

Immense faith in Arsenal and Thierry Henry at the face of the unpredictability of football? Speaking of Henry, he seems peeved at the numerous and repeated questions regarding his future. Henry says he needs more time. Why should tabloids question the loyalty of Henry, a passionate Arsenal player if ever there was one, if he wants to assess the situation he has on hand before making a decision?

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