The Warm-Up: Arsenal win, so all their problems are solved

It’s weird that every season a gradually increasing sense of crisis seems to build around Arsenal, but every year they seem to end up with exactly the same thing. That, in some respects, is why the crisis is there, that the thing they end up with is ultimately disappointing every year, but still, to paraphrase of one of their fans’ favourite songs, it’s happening again.

Arsenal beat Middlesbrough 2-1 on Monday night in a game or performance that few would call scintillating, but it did the job against opponents who are theoretically fighting against relegation. Once the shock of Arsene Wenger actually changing his side’s formation, going with a 3-4-3 system rarely seen under him, had subsided, goals from Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil sealed the victory and put them back up to sixth place.

Perhaps this is just another blip on an inevitable downward spiral, but a quick glance at the remaining fixture lists reveals that Arsenal do actually have a decent chance of sneaking into that top four once again. They have games against Spurs and Manchester United to face, but other than that things look relatively straightforward: they play Leicester, who will presumably be spent from the Champions League and their post-Shakespear bump is fading anyway, then Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland and Everton. It’s happening again…

We’ve heard it before, but it looks like John Terry really is going to leave Chelsea at the end of this season. The man who is still technically the club captain has made just five appearances this season, so it’s not exactly a surprise that he will be doing one to pastures new when his contract runs out in the summer.

“After 22 years there is so much to say and so many people to thank at this great football club,” Terry said. “From coaches, team-mates and staff to the fans who have given me so much support down the years, I can’t thank you enough. There will be opportunities for me to speak further about this over the coming weeks. I will decide on my future in due course but for now I am committed to helping the team achieve success this season.”

So where will he go? There are rumours doing the rounds that up to 10 Premier League clubs will offer Terry a chance, while the usual suspects in China and America are reportedly counting out their pennies. What would be the funniest destination? There’s probably only one answer there: step forward, Arsenal…

Joyous scenes on the south coast, as Brighton and Hove Albion are a top flight club for the first time since 1983. Their win over Wigan, coupled with Huddersfield only managing a draw against Derby County, meant that promotion from the Championship and into the Premier League was secured, the fruits of a 20-year struggle from the very depths of the Football League finally arriving.

“Go back 20 years and we were homeless, a club going nowhere, and here we are today on the way to the Premier League,” Tony Bloom, the chairman and perhaps more importantly Brighton fan who has tipped £250m of his own fortune into the club, said. “I’ve been a passionate Brighton supporter for 40 years. When I took over and committed to building the stadium and the training ground, I did it because I love this club. So, to be here with almost 30,000 fans … it’s all our dreams come true. Amazing.”

Amazing indeed, particularly since they have rather sashayed to promotion while Newcastle, with all their riches and resources, are wheezing over the line, their own elevation to the top flight also inevitable but somehow slightly joyless, especially when compared with how Brighton have managed it. Well done, Seagulls…

Just a quick one here: Kolo Toure is asked what his favourite song from the Celtic terraces about him is, he answers Whitney Houston. Lovely stuff.

Hey, we mentioned them before – BUT JUST LOOK AT THEM! What a marvellous time they’re having. Lovely stuff.

It might not have escaped their attention that last season Middlesbrough were exactly where Brighton are, celebrating on the pitch after eventually grabbing promotion, but now they’re joylessly heading straight back from whence they came. Maybe it’s harsh to judge them too much for losing to Arsenal, but it’s the manner of their impending relegation which is particularly disappointing, sinking limply, with barely a fight.

With Leicester set to face Atletico Madrid tonight, why not enjoy the second leg of their Cup Winners’ Cup tie from waaaaaaaay back in 1961. Complete with what we assume is the Spanish version of Pathe news.

The big one, then. Well, a couple of big ones. Tonight Leicester face Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, and will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit to do so: that doesn’t happen too often. Meanwhile Bayern Munich face a similar task, after losing the first leg of their tie against Real Madrid 2-1, so they travel to Spain to attempt what only seven teams have managed in the history of the competition: to win a tie after losing the home leg.