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Well Ace. I am going to be a gooner till about the 89th minute. But if we are loosing at that point in time, I will play my trump card and change teams claiming to be Italian through and through.

who was the first team to field a side with no English players? Chelsea under Ranieri...

I agree though. As an Arsenal fan of many years, it's an embarrassment to have no more than two English players who are virtually guaranteed first team football. And even one of them is not that assured of it any more (Sol).

Gilbert was looking good until he got crocked, Hoyte is going to come back from Sunderland next year and there's Walcott, but the record of Wenger with English talent is a bit shite. Although when he's nicking players like Fabregas at 15 from Barcelona, you can't really be too critical as an Arsenal fan.

Ned wrote:

who was the first team to field a side with no English players?
Chelsea under Ranieri...


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As a Chelsea fan I was disappointed, even a little embarassed, when we fielded a team with no English players... but I support Chelsea for reasons other than nationality, and in the PL Chelsea FC and their players represent nobody other than Chelsea FC and their suporters.

Ace asked us to support Arsenal as the last remaining British team in the CL. That, for me, is not a valid reason for supporting them in their games against Juventus. That they represent everything BUT British football in their line up just makes the argument to support them even more fatuous.

Now that my team are out, I want to see the trophy going to a team who can be truly deserving the title "champions"... and that isn't Arsenal.

I would prefer to see a return to the original format of the European Champions Cup, but I know that the money generated from allowing 2nd and 3rd place clubs from major leagues like Italy, Spain, England and Germany won't allow that to happen... just don't expect me to support a team I dislike purely because they happen to play in the same league as the club I do support.

I hope Arsenal win it just to piss the rags off!

i think steve gerrard seems to agree