Month: May 2024
The Stanley Cup Playoffs : Conference Finals 2024
So we are now down to 4. The Conference finals are upon us, starting tomorrow as the 4 finalists face off against their conference rivals. After last night’s game 7 win for the Edmonton Oilers, we now know who are the four finals that will face off for a right to play in the finals and contest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Edmonton having won a tough series against the Western Conference leaders the Vancouver Canucks, having to had come back twice from trailing in the series will face off against the Dallas Stars. The Stars had it a bit more easier winning 4-2 against the Colorado Avalanche.
In the West the New York Rangers, who were the points leaders in the regular season, had it easier than anyone, resting since the 17th of May having seen off the Carolina Hurricane 4-2. A day later the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 and will now face off each other in the conference finals. I think the Rangers are really strong and will be difficult to beat but I hope Edmonton wins the Cup.
Arsenal 2 Everton 1
Arsenal missed out on a first Premier League title since 2004 despite beating Everton as Manchester City took the glory. To be crowned champions, the Gunners needed to beat the Toffees and hope City failed to win against West Ham. Arsenal suffered a setback when Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free-kick put Everton in front, although Takehiro Tomiyasu equalised three minutes later. While Arsenal did eventually hold up their end of the bargain with Kai Havertz’s late winner, ultimately City’s victory over West Ham took matters out of their hands.
Phil Foden’s early double for City at Etihad Stadium effectively ended the lingering hopes Arsenal had of a first title in 20 years. The Gunners were further frustrated as Everton took the lead in north London despite the home side’s dominance. After Thomas Partey fouled Dwight McNeil 25 yards out, Gueye’s free-kick took a huge deflection off the forehead of Declan Rice and flew into the net past the wrong-footed David Raya. Arsenal responded quickly, Tomiyasu equalising with a fine low finish from the edge of the area following a pull-back from Martin Odegaard. Havertz and Emile Smith Rowe both struck the woodwork in the second half, as belief visibly drained at the end of a long, losing battle for silverware.
Arsenal did find the winner, however, although it came in controversial circumstances. After Havertz tucked the ball in from close range, the video assistant referee recommended that the goal should be disallowed for a Gabriel Jesus handball in the build-up. But after reviewing the footage at the side of the pitch, referee Michael Oliver allowed the goal. There were even widespread suggestions that West Ham had pulled level, with fans caught on camera celebrating a phantom Hammers equaliser. Some supporters were even asking journalists at Emirates Stadium for confirmation of the real score in Manchester. Those celebrations turned to defiance when Rodri restored City’s two-goal advantage.
FOOD REVIEW #485
Pump – Aerosmith
Pump is the tenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released on September 12, 1989, by Geffen Records. The album peaked at No. 5 on the US charts, and was certified septuple platinum by the RIAA in 1995. It also has certified sales of seven million copies in the U.S. to date, and is tied with its successor Get a Grip as Aerosmith’s second best-selling studio album in the U.S. (Toys in the Attic leads with nine million). The album was the fourth best-selling album of the year 1990. In the UK, it was the second Aerosmith album to be certified Silver (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in September 1989.
Pump was the second of three sequentially recorded Aerosmith albums to feature producer Bruce Fairbairn and engineers Mike Fraser and Ken Lomas at Little Mountain Sound Studios. The song starts out with the energetic Young Lust before going into one of my favourites of the band – F.I.N.E. which should have been the name of the album but whatever. The song title is an acronym for “Fucked Up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional”, as stated in the album’s liner notes. Its raunchy lyrics focus on youth angst and lasciviousness, and the verses feature the line “I’m ready” after each line, suggesting sexual arousal, or being “ready” for sex. Tongue-in-cheek lyrics are prevalent, including “she’s got the Cracker Jack, now all I want’s the prize”, “I got the right key baby, but the wrong keyhole”, “I shove my tongue right between your cheeks”, etc.
Going Down/Love In An Elevator is a fun song with typical glee sung by Steven Tyler and co about well, according to Tyler himself based on an actual experience where he was making out with a woman in an elevator and the doors opened. With a raunchy music video to boot! We move on to the harder Monkey On My Back which I understand is about beating a drug addiction. Great song but then we go on to what I think is the very best song that the band has ever composed. It’s Janie’s Got A Gun which describes a young woman planning her revenge for childhood abuse. Clearly this is a fun and awesome tune and mostly upbeat despite the dark lyrics and implication. It won the band a 1990 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Then we have Dulcimer Stomp which segue’s into the danceable The Other Side, which is about finding a new love and moving on from a toxic relationship. My Girl is an upbeat ditty while Don’t Get Mad/Get Even is more down low blues influenced about taking revenge for getting cheated even. Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man is a similar drum beat heavy – almost hypnotic ending with the drums. And finally we have the power balled What It Takes which was released as the 3rd single. There is even accordion in it and it’s probably one of the top 5 ballads released by the band.
Overall its and excellent album and it received mostly positive reception, and has since been called “a high-water mark of the glam metal era”, that “stands toe to toe against Aerosmith’s undisputed mid-’70s classics.” Pump is first Aerosmith album that I bought back in 1991 when I was 15. I had previously only heard Angel and on hearing samples of Dude Looks Like A Lady and then the music video for Janie’ Got A Gun, I was hooked to the band. I’d call this one my joint favourite Aerosmith album along with 1993’s Get A Grip. I rate this album a 9 outta 10!
What If We All Had To Leave The Earth And Settle On New Worlds
I’ve wondered for a very long time what it would be like to be part of the generation of humans who had to leave the earth behind and settle on different planets in another star system. What an exodus that would be! Imagine the work that would have to be put in to ensure that all the living humans, animals & birds are tracked and moved into large spaceships that serve as our home for the duration of the journey that it would take for us to travel from earth to the new planet or planets.
Our current population is 8 billion! We don’t have the technology to transport living beings at the moment. Let’s say that we can manage to get the technology down and can create large spaceships the size of huge metropolitan cities with homes, gardens, can grow food and create water supply for all the creatures living on them. We would have already colonize a few moon including our own and possibly Mars by then and have some experience on moving large groups of people and animals. I think. So now, the ships are built and I suppose we have to do it in waves and it would take several decades before every living creature can be shipped from here and reach the new planets we will call home.
So let’s say it happens in waves with maybe 50 such ships in each wave and each ships have humans with their pets in one section and in segregate sections the birds and animals are housed. Insects and creepy crawlies aren’t brought along. Once they reach the new planet/planets, houses/apartments are built quickly with our new advanced technology so that people can start living there. The bird and animals an let free to live in areas of the wilderness and thrive in the new worlds.
After a small gap of a few weeks, the second wave leaves and so on and forth and it’s finally the last couple of waves that are left and they are getting ready. I imagine myself being a part of this wave and being part of the few million humans left and are ensuring that all my family members are grouped together in one of these massive city ships and that we and our pets are among the million plus in one of those ships. In all these ships we have a mix of the rich and the less rich in them and even the homeless. Imagine being part of the team that helps to gather these people and transport them to the pickup points where they are shuttled to the big ships.
I imagine that as the last few humans are waiting in line to be shuttled the humans who are managing things, look for the few animals that still remain. A few wild animal are round up, some birds and small tree dwelling animals are caught in cages and taken to be transported to the ships and in their enclosed sections of the ships. Finally we have some stray kittens, cats, puppies and dogs to chase and capture and I imagine myself being part of this team. Some humans, thinking that they would be better off without having some animal pets with them, abandoned some of these cats and dogs as well along with the strays.
So in our large hover vehicles the size of huge mobile homes we chase these cats & dogs and gather the kittens and puppies along with the older ones, as they run scared thinking we are out to hurt them. We scoop them up, bring them in and get them cleaned and handed over to those of us who are doing a quick cleaning and medical checkup to make sure that they are free of any dirt and diseases. I personally have handed over a couple of cats and a few dogs, including a couple of puppies. These two sisters were filthy with some dirt on them so I give them to a colleague who is on bath duty. We are stopped on the road running a quick scan to see if we have any more bio signs of animals.
Finding no more bio signs, my team signs off and we contact the large ship we are going to go to and let them know that our areas are animal free. By this time all the dogs & cats are clean and settled in on beds as we head off to the ship. My two pups are cleaned up and they are getting a medical scan from the med tech. She says that they are both free of any maladies and are healthy and clean, so I scoop the both and go to where I sit. I place them on a blanket next to and give them some food and water. Bellies full, they now want rubs and pets and are licking my hands and face. A colleague looks at the 3 of us and says, “Looks like your family has just been increased by 2”
I smile and say “Yes it has” and sit back for the ride to the ship. As we dock, I take them to where my family is staying and introduce the two puppies to the rest of the family and then discuss what we are going to call them. The ship leaves orbit and heads out for the long journey to our new home.
Some Fun Facts About Bagels
The first bagel rolled into the world in 1683 when a baker from Vienna, Austria, was thankful to the King of Poland for saving Austria from Turkish invaders. The baker reshaped the local bread so that it resembled the King’s stirrup. The new bread was called “beugel,” derived from the German word stirrup, “bugel.”
According to legend, the first bagel rolled into the world in 1683 when a baker from Vienna Austria was thankful to the King of Poland for saving Austria from Turkish invaders. The baker reshaped the local bread so that it resembled the King’s stirrup. The new bread was called “beugel,” derived from the German word stirrup, “bugel.”
The traditional bagel is the only bread product that is boiled before it is baked.
Prepackaged bagels first became available in grocery stores in the 1950s. (Source: Einstein Brothers History of Bagels)
In 1960, the frozen bagel made its introduction and consumers had access to bagels even if they didn’t live near a bakery. (Source: Einstein Brothers History of Bagels)
To revive several-day-old bagels, microwave very briefly (15 seconds), or moisten with water and bake for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven or simply toast them.
Never refrigerate bagels or any bread product. Bread products go stale up to 6 times faster in the refrigerator. Leave at room temperature or freeze.
Gibson Les Paul 50s Standard Gold Top
What Is AVIF?
AVIF is an image file format developed by the Alliance for Open Media that can be used by anyone. It can store both still and animated images with the “.avif” file extension, using lossless or lossy compression. AVIF stands for AV1 Image File Format on account of its use of AV1 compression. It is widely seen as a replacement for HEIC (High-Efficiency Image Container), which uses HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding) instead of the newer AV1.
In case you’re confused: AV1 compression will eventually replace the older HEVC standard. Since the old HEIC container relies on HEVC, AVIF has been introduced as a new image format that makes use of newer AV1 compression. AVIF supports both high dynamic range (HDR) and standard dynamic range (SDR) content, including the commonly-used sRGB and BT.2020 color spaces. It supports color depths of 8, 10, and 12-bits, film grain preservation, transparency like PNG images, and animations just like the GIF format.
AVIF and WebP are engineered to outclass traditional formats like JPEG in compression efficiency significantly. AVIF, leveraging the advanced AV1 codec, generally achieves superior compression and, thus, smaller file sizes for equivalent image quality.
Celtic Of Glasgow Win Their 3rd Scottish League Title
Another title. Champions again. The familiar sight of Brendan Rodgers with arms aloft, hands waving, face smiling. Celtic have won their 12th Scottish Premiership title in 13 seasons. They only needed a draw from a trip to Kilmarnock to be crowned champions, but ended up winning 5-0. Celtic went into their penultimate game at the top of the table and three points clear of their rivals Rangers. That meant just a point from a draw with Kilmarnock would be enough to get their hands on the trophy. It might have just been one point, but it wasn’t guaranteed as Celtic lost their last two games at Kilmarnock.
But Celtic managed to score five goals – including two from man of the match Matt O’Riley. Celtic will lift the championship trophy in front of their home crowd after their final league match against St Mirren on Saturday 18 May. The following week, they have their chance to get their hands on more silverware as they take on Rangers in the Scottish Cup final. Any match between Celtic and Rangers is known as the Old Firm derby – they are the two biggest names in Scottish football and are both based in Glasgow. No club other than Celtic and Rangers have won the Scottish league title since Aberdeen in 1985.
New McDonalds Burger Coming To The UK : The Hat T
McDonald’s fans will be spoilt for choice this summer as the fast food chain introduces several new additions to its menu. The star of the show will undoubtedly be The Hat Trick; a triple-patty burger served with two slices of cheese, grilled onions, mustard, and ketchup in glazed sesame seed buns. Other menu items will include sharing boxes, including a chicken share box (six Chicken Selects, 12 chicken McNuggets, two McNugget dips and two Select Dips). For cheese lovers, the beloved mozzarella bites are returning with a delectable tomato dip for £2.39.
As well as all that meat, there’s also two slices of cheese, grilled onions, mustard, and ketchup all served in a glazed sesame seed bun for the price of £5.89, or £7.69 as part of a medium meal. “Introducing The Hat Trick, for when scoring once just isn’t enough. This winning new burger includes three 100 per cent beef patties, with two slices of cheese, grilled onions, mustard, and ketchup all in a glazed sesame seed bun.” It looks like this coming out in the UK & US for now.
To accompany these, several classic dips have been given a makeover, with a new and improved recipe — including the Garlic Mayo, and the Sweet and Smoky BBQ. Both are being added permanently to the menu alongside Sweet Chilli as the perfect chicken companion. For cheese lovers, the iconic mozzarella bites are also making a comeback with a rich tomato dip (£2.39), and to finish off your meal there are some new sweet treats to choose from. A Skittles McFlurry is joining the line-up, as well as a Galaxy Chocolate and Raspberry Pie (£1.99).
Why Smoke? Just Quit Smoking Them Damn Cigarettes
May 31 is No Tobacco Day. Share some tips to stay clean and quit tobacco.
So once upon a time, a long long time ago I did smoke. Not a lot but I did smoke a few cigarettes in a day. When I was 15 a couple of my older cousins who were 18 smoked and since I hung out with them a lot, it was only natural that I would pick up the habit. Also ages 16 & 17 some of my friends also smoked maybe like a pack a week. Hence by 17 I picked up a cigarette and started smoking.
I usually smoked a brand – which I can’t remember the name of now – which was thin and brown and was only available in select shops in the city. I never bought a full pack of those, slightly more expensive than Wills or Kings which were the top popular brands, but would usually just get a half pack. When I was 19 I moved to Bangalore for a year and when it was colder there, I started smoking a lot more. When I came back to Cochin, I started buying this menthol brand – again, I do not remember the name
By the time I was 23 I just quit as I knew that it was not the right thing to smoke. I had asthma and I started thinking, why do I want to add on to my health problems by smoking shit. I just decided on the spot and never looked back.
Prompt from 31 Blog Post Ideas for May from The Frangipani Creative
The End Of An Era As Marco Reus’s Final Game With Borussia Dortmund Looms Large
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus is all set to play his final game for the club and that too a Champions League final. Let us take a look at his long career in the German club. The German footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for the club Borussia Dortmund joined BVB back in 2012 and has stayed in the club till date. He recently announced the Champions League final will be his last match for the German side. Let us take a look at the career of the legendary midfielder when he donned the Black and Yellow.
Reus joined Dortmund in 2012 after leaving Borussia Mönchengladbach. Reus cited he wanted to challenge for the league title and the Champions league thus he thought that his boyhood club Dortmund was the place to go. In his first season at Dortmund, Reus led the team to a Champions League final after defeating Real Madrid in the semi final. In the final, Marco Reus was able to get his team a penalty which was successfully converted into a goal by his teammate but they still ended up losing after Bayern Munich scored a late goal thanks to Arjen Robben.
Over the next couple of seasons, Marco Reus proved to be a key player for the German giants. He has led the team to three DFL Supercups and two DFB Pokal. Over the course of his career for Dortmund, Marco Reus has played 427 matches in which he has scored 169 goals and provided 130 assists. Before starting the 2018-2019 season, Marco Reus was made club captain by the new coach. He served as the captain of BVB until 2023 when he decided to step down. In April 2021, Reus became the leading goal scorer for Dortmund in the Champions League after scoring his 18th goal in the competition. On 4th November 2023, Reus played his 400th match for Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich.
He has been linked with a move to Inter Miami to join Lionel Messi and Co. Reus’ final home league game will be this coming Saturday May 18th against lowly SV Darmstadt 98. It will be an emotional day for him and the Dortmund fans. Reus’s final game in a BVB shirt is going to be on 2nd June 2024 against Real Madrid in the Champions League Final. If Reus and Dortmund win the UCL it would be a perfect fairytale ending as Reus would win his first UCL and that too in his last game for a club he has been a part of for 12 years.
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (My Thoughts & Review)
10 Fascinating Facts About The Stanley Cup Playoffs
Scotty Bowman’s Four Straight
From 1976 to 1979, the Montreal Canadiens, coached by Scotty Bowman, won four consecutive championships. But they came at the expense of only two head coaches. Fred Shero was the coach of the Flyers in 1976 when they lost to the Habs. Don Cherry took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 1977 and 1978, losing both times. And when the Habs beat the Rangers in 1979, Shero had made the move from Philadelphia to New York and lost to Bowman in the Final again.
Dick Irvin’s Annual Trip
From 1931 to 1955, teams coached by the great Dick Irvin appeared in the Final 16 times. The Irvin-led Maple Leafs lost in the Final six times in nine years from 1931 to 1940, winning once (1932). But Irvin would capture the Cup again in 1944, 1946 and 1953. In total, though, Irvin-coached teams would lose in the Final 12 times.
The Original Six
The NHL didn’t reduce to six teams until 1942. What is now called “The Original Six” became the NHL, and the top four teams at the end of the regular season played two best-of-seven series to determine the champion.
New Kids on the Block
In 1967, the NHL doubled in size from six to 12 teams. In each of the first three seasons after expansion, one of the new franchises, the St. Louis Blues, advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. Three years in a row the Blues, coached by Scotty Bowman, lost. In 1970, the loss was punctuated by Bobby Orr’s goal that was followed by his Superman-like dive, which has been immortalized in bronze.
The Four-Peat
Since 1950, only two organizations (and three coaches) have won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships:
- Montreal Canadiens (Toe Blake): 1956-1960
- Montreal Canadiens (Scotty Bowman): 1976-1979
- New York Islanders (Al Arbour): 1980-83
In this era of the salary cap and player movement, it’s hard to imagine eight years in which only two cities hosted the Cup as champions, but from 1976 to 1983, only Montreal and New York won the title.
Boston’s Best
In the postseason history of the Boston Bruins, four players have reached 100 points: Raymond Bourque (161), Phil Esposito (102), Rick Middleton and John Bucyk (100 each). Bourque’s 161 points is the second-highest total for one organization by a defenseman, but what is more amazing is that Esposito posted his 102 points (46 goals, 56 assists) in only 71 postseason games.
The Habs-Bruins Rivalry
Anyone in Boston or Montreal will tell you the teams don’t like each other. But it isn’t because of their regular-season battles.The Habs and Bruins have faced each other in 33 playoff series, totaling 170 games. Montreal holds a 102-68 advantage and has outscored the Bruins 511-420 over the years.
Kurri’s Greatness
From 1980 to 1990, Jari Kurri was one of the most lethal scorers in the game for the Edmonton Oilers; it didn’t hurt that he was skating next to Wayne Gretzky for most of that time. Still, no player in NHL history has scored more postseason goals for one organization than the 92 that Kurri posted for the Oilers.
Passing 40
Only two players in NHL history have reached the 40-point plateau in a single postseason: Wayne Gretzky (three times) and Mario Lemieux. The last time the mark was achieved was by Gretzky in 1993.
151 Wins As A Goalie
Roy was the No. 51 pick in the 1984 NHL draft, and he would suit up for the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche. When Roy retired in 2003, he was the winningest goalie of all time, but the top two goaltenders on this list would later pass him. To this day, Roy still leads all goaltenders in playoff wins (151). Roy won four Stanley Cups, three Vezina Trophies and three Conn Smythe Trophies (a team MVP award). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, and he’s currently the head coach of the New York Islanders.
Six Weird Laws In Jamaica
1. It is illegal to empty a privy between the hours of 4 am and 10 pm
A privy is an old-fashioned term for an outdoor bathroom. Back in the days, people would use outdoor toilets or bedpans. Since they did not have sewer systems or modern toilets, they had to empty the contents manually in the early morning or late afternoon. But emptying them anytime between 4 am and 10 pm is illegal.
2. It is illegal to shake or beat a mat after 8am
Yes! You read that correctly. This rule is applicable to rugs, mats and carpets, with the exception of door mats.
3. It is illegal to bury someone after 6pm
This law is more popular than the rest and it is also still observed today. If a burial does not commence before 6 pm, the funeral will have to be pushed to the next day.
4. It is illegal to have a pigsty at a main road
Back in the day, farming was one of the main sources of income for people in Jamaica, and this continues to be the case for a few. A pigsty usually carries and unpleasant scent that many wish to avoid if necessary. If a pig is let loose, they can also cause nuisance to those in public spaces. As such, it is illegal to have a pigsty at a main road that is not shut off with a wall or fence.
5. It is illegal to sell rope after 6 pm
Yup, that’s right! So no matter what you do, always ensure that you purchase your rope before 5:59 pm.
6. It is illegal to disturb someone by ringing their doorbell
The law stipulates that unless it is for a lawful reason, there should be no pulling or ringing of a doorbell to disturb the persons within the house. Knocking is also prohibited and it is illegal to unlawfully enter a building or house to annoy anyone within.
The LG Gram 17 – Dream Laptop For Me
The LG Gram 17 line has always been about combining productivity and portability, delivering a roomy 17-inch display that provides ample room to work in a trim, three-pound package. This year’s version adds the option for dedicated GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, which makes the Gram 17 a good fit for content-creation basics. The graphics boost adds some weight to the Gram 17 and somewhat shortens battery life, but the Gram 17 remains impossibly thin and light — and long-running.
The LG Gram 17 line starts at $2,000 for a system that features an Intel Core i7-1360P CPU, RTX 3050 graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Our $2,300 test system doubles the RAM to 32GB and the SSD to 2TB. Both models feature the same CPU/GPU combo powering a 17-inch nontouch display with a 2,560×1,600-pixel resolution, a tall 16:10 aspect ratio and a variable 144Hz refresh rate. The LG Gram 17 starts at £1,600 in the UK for a model with the same Core i7-1360P processor but integrated Intel graphics. An RTX 3050-based model is available in Australia for AU$3,599.
Combined with the RTX 3050 GPU and a generous 32GB of RAM, the Gram 17 offers balanced performance. When matched up against other content-creation laptops, its performance fell in between laptops — namely the Dell XPS 17 9730 and Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra — that feature power-oriented Core i7 H-series processors and newer and more powerful RTX 4050 or 4070 graphics, and the 16-inch Lenovo Yoga 7i that features a Core i7 U-series chip and integrated Intel graphics. The matte finish on the touchpad and elsewhere on the Gram 17 means the laptop is a magnet for fingerprints and smudges. Keep a cleaning cloth handy to keep the laptop looking pristine.
The 17-inch, 16:10 display is delightfully enormous. It’s taller than a traditional 16:9 widescreen display and is also an inch wider than 16-inch, 16:10 laptops that are growing in popularity. The 2,560×1,600-pixel resolution results in crisp text and images. And while the RTX 3050 doesn’t make it a gaming monster, its display is faster than the typical 60Hz panel with a variable 144Hz refresh rate that smooths out the appearance of fast-moving video and will keep up with you during Fortnite and other casual shooters.
Manchester United 0 Arsenal 1
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League and ensured the title race will go to the final day with victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Gunners delivered an unconvincing display against a severely depleted United side but did enough to secure the win that puts them one point ahead of Manchester City having played a game more. Leandro Trossard struck after 20 minutes when lazy defending from struggling veteran Casemiro played Kai Havertz onside and his cross was turned in by the Belgian at the near post.
United showed plenty of endeavour but suffered from a glaring lack of quality and never seriously tested Arsenal keeper David Raya, as their own hopes of European football next season faded further. Arsenal must now hope north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur do them a favour by getting a result at home to Manchester City on Tuesday. The Gunners host Everton in their final game of the season next Sunday, while City are at home to West Ham. The elation of Arsenal’s fans at this vital win was not dampened by the storm that arrived in Manchester just before the final whistle as skies darkened and lightning flashed around the stadium. Arsenal know Manchester City’s fate still lies in the champions’ own hands and two wins against Spurs and West Ham will take a fourth successive title to Etihad Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side, however, have done all they can and two hazardous-looking fixtures – away to Spurs in the north London derby and here at United, where they have suffered before – have been safely negotiated. No matter that this was an Arsenal display lacking their usual fluency – at this stage of the season the only currency that counts is wins and the visitors did the job. Once again Trossard made the difference with a trademark swoop at the near post ahead of Casemiro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the decisive moment. Arsenal will now hope Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is as good as his word and they can somehow raise themselves to upset City.
The Gunners still have a chance of their first title in 20 years going into the final game of the season – and they would have happily settled for that in August.