Only in Soccer...

Only in soccer could a story like this happen. Refernce my earlier article on how Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal were cross-town North London rivals, battling for the last spot in next seasons Champions League. Heading into Saturday, Tottenham held it by holding fourth place in the EPL, one point ahead of Arsenal. If Arsenal could not pass Tottenham, but beat Barcelona in this year's Champions League Final, they would enter next year's Champions League, bumping Tottenham out.

Arsenal came from behind on the back of a Thierry Henry hat trick to down Wigan Athletic 4-2 at the last match at Highbury. Spurs finished away to West Ham United, currently sitting in midtable obscurity in the Premiership, but will be playing in the FA Cup Final next weekend, so the Hammers were expected to field a B-squad, resting their regulars and recouping from a slew of injuries. The stage seems set for controversy and legal battles, and West Ham emerges the winners 2-1.

Where the story gets interesting was at the Tottenham team hotel the night before the match, there was an outbreak of food poisoning among the Spurs players. The match was requested to be moved back to the evening, but London Police said no. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

The Spurs loss ensures that Champions League Football will be played at North London's collossal new Emirates Stadium, the new home of Arsenal next season. The stadium has been way behind schedule and has hit repeated snags, making it a very public failure to open on time. Conspiracy theorists, start your engines...