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Alright folks, today I tried putting together this detailed head-to-head thing between Arsenal and Manchester United. Wanted to dig into all the past games. Figured it might be useful, you know? Anyway, started like always, opening up a fresh spreadsheet. Tedious as hell, but gotta start somewhere.
Gathering the Raw Stuff
First job was finding reliable past game stats. Searched all over the place – fan sites, official club histories, archived match reports. It’s messy! You click one thing, end up on a forum from ten years ago arguing about someone’s offside call. Lost like an hour just chasing down proper facts for just one season. Seriously annoying. Found myself yelling at the laptop screen: “Why won’t these sites just say the actual freaking score clearly?!”
Started typing numbers into the spreadsheet by hand. Team name, date, final score, scorers, venue… one freaking row for every single match they ever played against each other. My fingers felt like sausages after punching in the first fifty entries. Coffee was the only fuel. Halfway through, spilled some right over the keyboard. Panicked for a minute there! Thought I’d wiped out everything.
The Agonizing Reality Check
You know that sinking feeling? When the excitement wears off? Got that hardcore. Looked at the mountain of data still left to enter, saw the empty spreadsheet rows mocking me… seriously debated shutting the laptop and going to the pub. Thought about all those times people casually say “Just look up the H2H stats.” Yeah, easy to say! The sheer amount of games was mind-blowing. Hundreds! My back already ached.
Kept plugging away. Hit another wall – inconsistent data. Some sources said the game ended 1-1, another claimed 2-2. Who do you trust? Ended up cross-referencing multiple archives, wasting another chunk of my life. Utterly frustrating. Shouted at the screen again: “Make up your stupid minds!”
Almost Threw My Hands Up
Real talk: This almost killed the project entirely. The doubt crept in. Why do this manually? Isn’t there some smart tool or website that does this garbage automatically? Couldn’t find one I trusted completely, and let’s be real, I wanted it my way. Swore loudly. My cat ran out of the room. Seriously considered just posting “They played a bunch, United won more, the end.”
But nah. Gritted my stupid teeth. Went back to the sources I trusted the most, flagged the disputed matches for later, and focused on the clear wins, losses, draws. Started calculating averages: goals scored, goals conceded at each stadium, form streaks… the boring math part. Felt like high school detention.
Why the Hell Did I Persist?
Moment of honesty? It was partly pure stubbornness. Hate leaving things unfinished. Mostly? Remembered my ex was a massive Man Utd fan. Couldn’t stand that guy by the end. Arrogant prick. Bragged constantly about their wins over us. Every time I thought of him smirking, I punched another stat into the spreadsheet with extra force. Call it petty motivation. Yeah, still kinda bitter he never sent back my hoodie. And he probably still uses my Netflix password. Jerk.
Finally Seeing Some Order
Eventually… started seeing patterns emerge. Interesting stuff too, not just the obvious big wins. Little runs Arsenal had at Old Trafford during unexpected seasons. How many draws ended 0-0? Way more than I thought. Surprised myself, actually. Took way longer than planned, but seeing it all laid out in my own sheet? Weirdly satisfying. Even got sucked into reliving that insane 8-2 loss for a minute. Dark place.
Finally stopped typing. Rubbed my eyes. Looked at this massive beast of data, lines and lines of it. Felt like I’d actually accomplished something tangible, despite the tedium, the spilled coffee, and the lingering resentment over my hoodie and Netflix account. Compiled it all into a semi-readable guide. Pretty sure my personal grudge fueled the final push.
Would I do it all again? Ask me tomorrow after the ibuprofen kicks in. Took forever, was more frustrating than assembling IKEA furniture blindfolded, but dang… I made the damn H2H guide. Now someone please tell my ex I stole his stupid stat thunder. And tell him he owes me for the bloody hoodie!