As the World Cup reaches its thrilling conclusion on Sunday, it was the turn of European giants Germany and Spain to contest a very interesting game last night to see who would face Holland in the final.
And it was Carles Puyol of Spain who scored the only goal in a 1-0 win to send the German team home in dismay, and the Spanish fans into delirium for what will be their first-ever World Cup Final.
The Spanish won their fourth straight game 1-0, but now, there is concern in the Spanish camp that, rather than the multi-talented, silky-skilled, attack-minded team of the past, they are becoming more defensive, negative, cagey and, quite frankly, a bit like Arsenal.
The Gunners earned the dubious title of the '1-0 kings' back in the George Graham era, with their fans even coining the now-famous slogan - put into the song - 1-0, to the Arsenal! Their standard of football was less important than the result; the journey less so than the destination.
Now, under Arsene Wenger, the opposite is true, and an all-out attacking style - seemingly regardless of the result - is the philosophy at the Emirates. Sadly, Spain seem to be resembling the Arsenal of old rather than the new and exciting team they are now.
Mind you, I hate the Dutch, so I probably won't even bother to watch the Final.
