There you have it. Arsenal will not be winning the Capital One Cup this season. We're out.
You never like it when your team loses but for me, this time the result wasn't so much as surprising as the reaction towards it. You need not be a Gooner (Arsenal fan) to recognise that throughout the nine years that we had failed to lift a trophy, losing a game precipitates anger among fans, let alone a defeat in a Cup competition.
Almost too often after a loss, our team is made the butt of many jokes and news feeds on social media become filled with foul-mouthed rants by our own supporters and rival fans alike. So you can imagine how pleasant it was to go online the morning after our League Cup defeat and see many fans embracing our Cup loss, not celebratory of course, but rather in the most respectful and supportive manner.
Even the most religious of Arsene Wenger haters did not throw the usual "Wenger Out" tantrums, which I can assure you would have happened if we had suffered a Cup exit last season playing with "kids" while still chasing a trophy.
A lot is down to the way the manager has gone about his transfers this season, notwithstanding the argument that he should have brought in another centreback. The addition of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy and Calum "Tony Adams" Chambers combined with the abundance of talent we have in midfield (so much so that we refused the return of Cesc Fabregas) breeds an air of belief around the Arsenal camp that this is a stronger team capable of seriously challenging for trophies.
With further evidence that the Arsenal Board is now able and willing to flex that financial muscle a little more freely, there is plenty of optimism ahead. At least for now, the majority of Gooners have been won over.
But enough about The Gunners, let's give credit where credit is due. Seeing the way Southampton played the other day against a pretty decent Arsenal side, no one can say they did not deserve a place in the next knockout stage of the Capital One Cup.
At a time when many had predicted their downfall after a summer of mass exodus, they have risen above all odds to maintain their style of football and pick up the impressive form where they left off last season.
Everybody loves an underdog story like this one, which is why I am not the only one secretly backing the Saints to keep it up.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, the same cannot be said of them. If you have not already heard, apparently they are going through a most difficult period of transition. As highlighted this week by Louis Van Gaal, their new Dutch manager, this is "the toughest challenge of his career".
Really? Does he even hear himself?
Unlimited budget for transfers, world class players at his disposal, patience and full support from the owners, relatively easy fixtures so far and not to mention his outstanding resume of having managed Europe's biggest football clubs earning him the nickname "Iron Tulip" – all that and he considers this his toughest job to date?
Is he trying to dupe us into thinking that he is doing quite a fine job given such difficult circumstances? Nice try, LVG, but with all due respect, we were not born yesterday.
The latest humiliation at the hands of Leicester City did nothing to improve my impression on the Dutchman.
Yes, the referee might have had a hand in sparking Leicester City's comeback by giving what should not have been a penalty, but with the score at 2-3, there is no acceptable explanation as to how United can let in a further three goals to ultimately lose 5-3. Surely, the genius tactician in Van Gaal must shoulder some responsibility.
It would also help his case if he stops giving excuses about having too many injuries and blaming everything else on the "disastrous mess" that David Moyes left behind for him to clean up.
To be honest, Moyes did not have the credentials to become Manchester United manager, but at least he has done better than Van Gaal without being afforded the luxury of time and money. Compared with the latter, he had bigger shoes to fill, greater expectations to fulfill and a lot of pressure to prove the doubters wrong.
Yet Van Gaal is more interested in making sure that everyone knows what an impossible task he has been handed, such as claiming that the massive project of rebuilding Manchester United is something that will take years to achieve.
It would have been believable had he not spent £150 million on some of the world's best players. The squad he has now is one with a lot of quality in it, and the minimum target Van Gaal should deliver is to finish in the top four and bring back Champions League football.
Unlike his predecessor, it seems that Louis Van Gaal still has the backing of the United fans, you know, the lot who thinks that another attacking player in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo is the answer to their woes.
Top marks though for sticking with their manager's "philosophy" of recruiting as many forwards as possible, so what if there's no defence, right?
It's back to business then, this weekend's match against West Ham is another big test for the United manager. Anything less than three points and Mario will be laughing again. – September 27, 2014.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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