Where are all those mouthy Spurs supporters who were so cock-sure they’d finish above Arsenal only two weeks ago – and some of whom reckoned Arsenal wouldn’t even finish in the top four?
There was a BBC article with comments enabled, and they were full of themselves. I wonder what they’re thinking now?
Last day of the season, and all the major decisions had already been made. Leicester had won the title – and they bloody well deserved it with the consistent performances they’ve put in throughout the whole season. Aston Villa, Norwich, and Newcastle were relegated. The only parts of the puzzle still undecided were who would get the final Champions League place (Manchester City or Manchester Utd) and who would finish as runners-up (Arsenal or Spurs)?
Arsenal were playing already-relegated Aston Villa, and Spurs were at already-relegated Newcastle. Earlier this week I was praying that Sunderland would still be in a dogfight with Newcastle on the final day so that – in theory – Newcastle would be up for it against Tottenham. But Sunderland condemned the Geordies on Wednesday by beating Everton. So, with Spurs being two points ahead of Arsenal going into the final game everyone assumed that they’d hammer Newcastle, so whatever Arsenal did to Aston Villa wouldn’t matter.
But it didn’t quite turn out as expected. Newcastle absolutely hammered Tottenham with a 5-1 victory. So with Arsenal beating Villa 4-0, the Gunners ended up finishing second!
I was on a lesson with a pupil who is a Spurs fan, and we had the radio on intermittently so we could keep tabs on what was happening. Arsenal had gone one-up within a few minutes, but with Tottenham at 0-0 – and still expecting an easy victory – that didn’t really mean much. Until Newcastle scored. Then scored again. My pupil was gutted when the lesson finished at that point. But as I continued to listen to the match reports as I drove away, it was me who was gutted when Spurs pulled one back, and when Newcastle went down to 10 men I thought that was it.
But Newcastle had other ideas. They scored again. And again. And then, again. They took Tottenham apart.
The only thing I’m hoping for now is that those idiots who keep clamouring for Arsene Wenger to be replaced give it a rest and go back to whatever they do for a living. Arsene is the only man for Arsenal. Period.
How much do Arsenal get for finishing 2nd?
Someone found the blog on that search term. Well, apparently, they will get more than Leicester – as a result of being televised more. They’ll get £101m, compared with Leicester’s £93.3m.
Every team in the Premier League gets a basic £55m. The winner gets another £25m, and each position below that is worth £1,236,083 less. So Leicester got £25m for winning, and Arsenal got £23.7m for coming second (£1,236,083 x 20 places = £25m more or less). Then, each appearance on TV is worth £750,000 (plus a little bit for being on MOTD). Leicester got on TV 15 times, whereas Arsenal were there 27 times!
Arsenal would still have earned the most even if they’d have finished third. The full pay-out table is thus (from the Independent):
1. Arsenal – £101m
2. Manchester City – £96.8m
3. Manchester United – £96.3m (if they finish fifth by either drawing or beating Bournemouth on Tuesday)
4. Tottenham – £95m
5. Leicester – £93m
6. Liverpool – £90.4m
7. Chelsea – £87.1m
8. West Ham – £85.6m
9. Southampton – £84.5m
10. Everton – £82.9m
11. Stoke City – £79m
12. Swansea City – £75.3m
13. Watford – £74.1m
14. West Brom – £73m
15. Newcastle United – £72.7m
16. Crystal Palace – £72.4m
17. Sunderland – £71.7m
18. Bournemouth – £70.4m (if they remain 16th by losing to Manchester United)
19. Norwich City – £66.7m
20. Aston Villa – £66.2m