By arlington 
Preparing for Kickoff
Woke up crazy early today buzzing for the match, Arsenal versus West Ham. Grabbed my favorite jersey – the old burgundy one, lucky charm you know – and brewed a massive pot of coffee. Needed fuel. Figured I’d jot down the big moments live, try capturing the real feel of the game as it unfolded hour by hour. Set up my notebook right by the telly, phone silenced, snacks ready. This was happening.
The First Half Rollercoaster
Right from the whistle, you could feel the tension. Arsenal pushed hard early on, swarming all over West Ham’s box. My pen was flying:
- 5 mins: Huge chance for Saka! Blasted it just over the bar, nearly took the roof off. Leaned forward shouting at the screen.
- 38 mins: Bad turnover from Arsenal… Bowen pounces. Couldn’t believe it. Groaned loud enough to wake the neighbours. 1-1.
- 45+1 mins: Rice whips in a free kick… Zouma meets it perfectly. Head in hands. Silence. Stupid marking. 1-2. Half-time whistle blew like a punch in the gut.
23 mins: Odegaard pulls the strings, beautiful pass! Ødegaard slipped Jesus through, cool finish! Jumped off the sofa yelling! 1-0!
Second Half Agony & Absurdity
Spent halftime pacing. Second half kicked off and Arsenal looked frantic, messy. More notes spilled out:
- 55 mins: Ref points to the spot! Looked soft from my view. Saka steps up… saved! Areola guesses right. Crumpled back onto the sofa feeling sick. Groaned.
- 72 mins: Ref runs to the monitor… Stomach dropped. Spent like five minutes waiting. Finally gives a penalty? For a handball? Couldn’t see it properly. Odegaard takes it. Scores. Small fist pump, mostly numb. 2-3.
- 89 mins: Pushed everyone forward like crazy. Trossard swings one in… TOMIYASU! Scrambled it over the line! Went absolutely nuts! Knocked my cold coffee over. Didn’t care. 3-3!
67 mins: Kudus unleashes one… top corner. Pure anger now. Turned the volume down. WHAT WAS THE DEFENSE DOING? 1-3.
Full Time… What Just Happened?
Whistle blew after six minutes added time. Just sat there breathing heavy, notebook ink smudged, fries cold on the table. Ended up sketching rough stick-figures of the key goals next to my scribbled timeline – Saka’s rocket shot, Jesus’ tidy finish, Tominasu’s chaotic bundle. What. A. Game.
Finished my notes shaking my head. Arsenal showed crazy grit to come back, but man, they made it stupid hard on themselves. That stupid VAR delay was painful. Still buzzing hours later though. Feels like we stole a point back from the dead. This one’s going straight into the memory book. Football, eh? What a mess. What a ride.