Final a victory for the neutral

FOR a few hours late on Wednesday night, the capital of France was turned into the capital of Catalonia, as Barcelona cars flew up and down the Champs Elysees, horns blaring and scarves and flags flying.

Fans thronging the pavement cafes responded with full-blooded renditions of the Barca anthem, as the joy of becoming champions of Europe for only the second time was unleashed.

As you might imagine, Arsenal fans were pretty thin on the ground, the majority disappearing into the sticky Paris night as they struggled to cope with the sickening after-effects of a strictly footballing version of what Gooners now like to call ‘Tottenham Tummy’.