It was always going to be a nervous last day of the season and boy was it. Things couldn’t have been more closer as the afternoon went on and I don’t know about you but that was probably the most nerve-racking Arsenal match I have ever watched.

The first goal in the match was always going to be decisive, especially as Arsenal seemed to play “with the hand-brake on” as Arsene would call it. In the first half, things were pretty even and in all honesty, Newcastle probably looked the more likely to break the deadlock.

It was 0-0 at half time and that was the score at White Hart Lane. I did wonder if Tottenham were playing mind games and giving Arsenal a false sense of security, maybe putting into our minds that a draw would be enough. Unlikely I know, but when under stress and nerves then I thought anything would be possible.

Then on 52 minutes, the vital moment came. Sagna did well to win a freekick on the right hand side, Walcott delivered and the ball bounced to Koscielny who smashed in from close range. In a game of few chances, it was a massive, massive goal and no-one else on the pitch deserved it more than Koscielny. To say he was immense was an understatement - he was colossal.

After that, it was the most nail-biting 40 minutes of my life. Tottenham were still level and the Twittersphere was hoping for a Sunderland draw - but I knew they would score eventually. When Sunderland needlessly got a man sent off, things looked even more ominous and sure enough, the one man team scored with, their one man, as Gareth Bale scored in the 90th minute.

Up until the 90th minute, I was a nervous wreck but when Bale scored it meant any mistake from us or brilliance from Newcastle would condemn us to 5th spot which would be disasterous. And when Theo Walcott waltzed through and hit the post, I almost broke down.

We had 4 minutes of injury time, could we hold on?

Fortunately we did, and the relief was such a release. And below is always how I will remember that day:

[Original Tweet]

Pure ecstasy for us, and pure anguish for them.

As far as I’m concerned, the post-mortem can start in the coming weeks. For now, we should enjoy making it into the Top Four, finishing above our North London rivals (who lets not forget, we 7 points clear of us only 10 games ago) and having the chance to play Champions League football next season.

And concentrating on the positives, our run of late has been outstanding. Whether by accident or design, we now have a defensive unit which is solid. Koscielny and Mertesacker are now a strong partnership, we have Gibbs and Monreal on the left and Sagna (who is likely to leave) and Jenkinson on the right. And that is something we can build on next season.

Our main problem this season has been scoring goals, and I’ll touch more on that in the upcoming season review.

Yesterday, as I’ve already mentioned. Koscielny was fantastic, and by far the Man of the Match. Podolski and Cazorla found it hard to get into their groove but tried, while Rosicky was trying to set the tempo by closing down at every opportunity. Ramsey again was full of running and desire but lacked that cutting edge that could have made a difference - a couple of times he had the chance to play Theo clean through but couldn’t execute the pass. Oxlade-Chamberlain did well I thought and linked the play well and the two fullbacks were solid and made some really vital interceptions. Szczesny didn’t really have much to do but did well well called upon.

So there we have it. 1-0 to the Arsenal and the chance to play Champions League football next season! I don’t know about you but this Monday morning is distinctively more enjoyable than usual!

Well our season has come to this. We all know what the deal is - win and we finish in 4th spot and have the chance to play in the Champions League next season. A draw or defeat and then (let’s face it) we’ll finish 5th and Tottenham will finish 4th, bar a surprise result at White Hart Lane.

It’s hard to get excited about this game as our season rests on this final game. Anything less than a win would be disastrous and as every Arsenal fan knows, football is often a funny and cruel game.

Newcastle have nothing to play for but the final home game of the season always has more atmosphere and pressure, and they will have nothing to lose and will be up for giving their fans something to cheer about. And a win against Arsenal would be a big scalp and that massive c*nt Alan Pardew would love to stick it to Arsene.

So the pressure is on.

Unfortunately our record at St James’ Park recently has been poor and today, of all days, is not the time to have an off day. Arsenal have to be 100% focused on what’s required and even if we’re 2 goals up, I will still be nervous.

Because of the importance of the game, you can’t help think about all the crazy (or not so crazy) things that could happen to us today. The referee might give Newcastle a dodgy penalty, we might have a goal disallowed, we might get big decisions against us - anything could happen and that’s what I’m worried about.

Defensively, we have looked good of late but our problem is scoring goals. For the first time in a long time, we are having a season where goals have been hard to come by. Giroud looks like making a comeback for today’s game but far to often he’s missed important chances. Today is not the day to miss a sitter or waste opportunities. I have a feeling we will have to be ultra-clinical today to win all 3 points but I’m not convinced that will happen.

We all remember the final game of last season against West Brom and the wide range of emotions Arsenal fans felt during those 90 minutes. We got there in the end but it was one hell of a roller-coaster ride but hopefully it won’t be as tense this time around…

Well as I predicted, it was a tense night.

Arsenal scored after 11 minutes through a Podolski header. Wigan’s defending was shocking but we were glad for the gift.

But after that, we did the same thing we did against QPR and put our foot off the pedal - and this time paid the price. Once we scored Wigan were the better team and the scored a well deserved equaliser. You can dispute the freekick however you want, it was a foul and we still had to defend the freekick, which we didn’t.

So at half time it was 1-1 and a draw was no good for any side.

A combination of poor defending from Wigan and a higher tempo from Arsenal saw us score 3 goals in quick succession but the 4-1 result is an unfair reflection on the match. We weren’t 3 goals better than Wigan and they deserve a lot of credit for their performance - at times we look vulnerable at the back.

And it’s important to note that the injury to McManaman changed the game.

The result is certainly the confidence boost we need, but we need to play much better if we’re going to get all 3 points against Newcastle. They will be more relaxed against us but will still want to put in a performance in their last home game of the season. And with the pressure off, they have nothing to lose.

Our job is simple. We need to win and nothing else matters. Sunday is our cup final. We always see drama and excitement on the last day of the season, so lets hope the drama isn’t us missing out on the Top 4 on the last day.

For Wigan, they couldn’t follow up their heroic FA Cup win with another miracle tonight, although they did come close. They looked dangerous at times tonight and after getting the equaliser, it was anyone’s game. They are a good team that play attractive football, and it’s a shame they’ve gone down - especially when there are plenty of other teams that play boring football and offer the Premier League very little. Hopefully, they will bounce back soon and I wish them all the best.

A few weeks ago, you wouldn’t have thought that the two managers of the Top 2 clubs in England would no longer be in their jobs before the season was over, but that’s exactly what’s happened.

Alex Ferguson retired and had his official send off on Sunday in front of thousands of his adoring fans at Old Trafford, while Roberto Mancini had a far less glamourous send off, being officially sacked yesterday.

The official statement from Manchester City was that he failed to meet any of the seasons targets, except for Champions League qualification, and in today’s football - however harsh the sacking was - it’s par for the course.

Looking around Facebook and Twitter, the outrage from City fans was, quite frankly, ridiculous. All the “Thank you for everything Roberto” posts were nauseating and some football supporters really need to get a grip of themselves. For me, Roberto Mancini is possibly one of the most overrated managers of all time.

Let’s look at his track record shall we? At Inter Milan, he won 3 Serie A titles but all 3 of those were helped hugely by the effects of the Calciopoli scandal, where Juventus were relegated, and AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina were docked points.

During his time at Manchester City, he won the Premier League - only after almost losing to QPR on the last day of the season and scoring a last minute winner. And I don’t need to tell you about his record in Europe at both Inter and City, which was shockingly poor, considering the talent at his disposal.

I’m sure he’ll be just fine this afternoon, having a nice cup of tea thinking about the reported £28 million pay off he has to worry about.

Along with the new vacancy at The Etihad Stadium, a job has opened up at Everton. With Mourinho a dead cert to become Chelsea manager next season, people are looking to who could become the new boss at Goodison Park.

I know his name has been banded around for the Everton and possibly Wigan jobs but for me, Rafa Benitez would be excellent at Manchester City. He has extensive knowledge of the Premier League, has a good track record of managing egos and is astute in Europe. If Rafa was appointed at Manchester City, I would put them as favourites for the league ahead of Manchester United. If Rafa and Mourinho join City and Chelsea respectively, then it would be a really 3 horse race for the title next year. Arsenal and Tottenham would again be fighting for 4th position unless big changes were made.

But at least it would be a more interesting season. Manchester United pretty much cruised to the Premier League title this season and we need another competitive year. Arsenal are always capable of stringing a decent run together but it’s only usually in the final months of the season. If we have this massive war chest that people are reporting then we could compete, but does Arsene have the ability to pick the best talents? He’s been working on a shoe-string for so long it’s hard to know if he would spend the money on players that are truly world class.

The task for both teams tonight is simple - 2 games of the season left, and nothing less that 2 wins is enough.

And both teams have their destiny in their own hands.

Wigan Athletic are 5 points clear of safety but a win tonight would bring them to within 2 points of Aston Villa. With the last game of the season at The DW Stadium against the aforementioned team, another victory would save Wigan and relegate the team from Birmingham.

And it’s a similar situation for us tonight. Tottenham sit 2 points clear of us and a win against Wigan would see us leapfrog our North London rivals by a solitary point. Going into the last day of the season, another win away at Newcastle would secure a Top Four finish and that hugely coveted Champions League spot next season.

So both teams are desperate for victory, probably meaning you’re best putting your money on a draw!

It will be a battle of wits between the two managers on the touchline, and a battle of desire and fight from the players on the pitch.

The game is too close to call - those thinking it will be a whitewash to the home side are sadly deluded. Wigan are on a massive high after winning the FA Cup against all the odds on Saturday so don’t think they will be afraid of facing us. I don’t need to remind you Wigan won the same fixture last season.

If Arsenal give it absolutely everything, and start like they did against Manchester United then we can’t ask for any more than that. But while we should underestimate Wigan and their ability to beat the top sides in the Premier League, they do have their weaknesses.

Defensively they can be suspect. Against Tottenham the other week, both of the goals they conceded could have been avoided and they played well enough to deserve all 3 points. The same could be said about their away game against West Ham as well, for the majority of the game they dominated play and possession, only to concede goals against the run of play. If we score early and keep up the tempo, we can overwhelm them and take all 3 points.

But give them half a chance and they’ll take it. McManaman is a big threat from wide positions, as is Kone with his pace. They have players like Maloney who can hurt us from set-pieces and that is something we need to be weary of with our relatively “small” team.

We’ve also had 10 days to prepare for this game so we really don’t have any excuses, while Wigan only played 3 days ago in the biggest game of their history.

Who knows which way this is going to go, but one thing is certain and that’s it won’t be an easy night.