Didn’t get to see but the highlights of this Carling Cup match, but it looks as though the kids did us proud. A beautiful cross from Armand Traore (sans knuckle duster I hope) headed in by Nicklas Bendtner with only 8′ left to go. Phillipe Senderos had to scamper back to the goal and prevent an equalizer at the last moment, when the acrobatic Obafemi Martins got past Lukasz Fabianski who was, for some reason, having himself a little stroll 17 yards away from the net. But then Denilson showed Cesc that he’s not the only one on the squad who can find the top corner of the net from distance. He took an untouched pass from Abou Diaby and simply cracked it into the top right corner. Great showing overall by the team, who averaged just 20 years old. Outstanding.

Next up… Hammer Time.

Oofa… I told myself before the match that this was going to be a 4-1 score for the Arsenal. I guess I imagined that last goal coming from the wrong team, because we got that one too. I don’t think anyone thought we would come away with less than the full 3 points on this match, but… these are the kinds of matches we blew last year. Luckily for us, we’re not the kind of team we were last year… we’re better. Much better. The team as a whole is looking brilliant.

I read something interesting over on The Cannon:

“Almunia was in goal but we might’ve well as put his granny between the sticks because even if Derby scored all their shots, we still would’ve won.”

It hadn’t occurred to me while watching the game, as I knew our back line was manhandling them, but I didn’t realize just how well. So I checked the match report to double check. Derby only managed 3 shots on goal, of 5 attempts. So, Manuel could have basically spent the entire match with his arms folded, leaning against one of the posts and working his teeth with a toothpick as he watched all Derby’s efforts whistle by… and we still would have won. I reiterate… oofa.

I didn’t get to see this one, but it appeared from all the post-match coverage that the Arsenal put in a command performance to gain the upper hand in Group H. Goals came from Robin van Persie, Eduardo da Silva and Julien Escudes’ ass (with an assist from Cesc Fabregas), giving the Gunners a comfortable lead in the group stage.

I’m feeling pretty good about our chances this year in Europe. Of course, it’s still too early to tell for sure, but if we can keep our current form and stay healthy… good things are certainly on the horizon.

Next up… Derby County on Saturday.  Not sure who will be between the sticks for this one. This could be the game to let Jens back in there. If he can’t keep a clean sheet against the Rams, well… you do the math. Not sure if Eboue’s slated to be back in there either. Julien Escudes’ ass will be away on International Duty.

I actually had to wait two whole days to savor this one before writing about it. And damn, did that ever feel good. Well, the last 25 minutes of the match at least. The first 65 minutes although exciting, had me mumbling things to myself such as “Ok… anytime you guys are ready. We do this come from behind shit 20 times a year, so let’s go… come on, damn it…quit fucking about and get on with it…” and so on. You get the point. At about 14′, Gilberto Silva brought down Berbatov just outside the area. This allowed Christian Bale to step up and put a wicked curl right past Manuel Almunia to the left post. If Bale keeps striking them like that at just 18 years of age, he’s going to have one hell of a career. And I suspect we’ll see him in different strip before too long. Whatever… Manuel didn’t look too pleased to see this one sail by. And it may have been because he thought Alexandre Hleb could have gotten a foot on it from the left side of the wall. Not sure what happened there.

At around 30′ Hleb put a nice pass over to Abou Diaby, who nearly split the crossbar in two. So close. At the half, based upon chances created, the score should have been 1-3 Arsenal, but it was still 1-0 Pond Life. Dimitar Berbatov, who for the most part was contained by our back line, nearly found nylon at 50′ when he caught Almunia coming back from the snack bar a bit too slowly. He almost had a wide open net, but Kolo Toure wasn’t having any of it. He slid in and left him bereft. Gorgeous save, Kolo. A miss there could have turned things horribly wrong.

We created tons of chances going forward but some were off, others were just stopped by the impressive work Paul Robinson was putting in. But then, at 65′… Emmanuel Adebayor used all 9 feet of that Togolese frame of his to head in a beautiful set piece from Fabregas and equalize. How you let the tallest man in the building go unmarked near the 6 yard box is puzzling to me, but I’ll get over it. Pure elation abounded at that point for certain, but the Spurs were still showing bits of dangerous play, so I wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea that the usual plan was falling into place.

At about 80′ there was an impressive piece of goalkeeping worth mentioning by Gael Clichy that kept the Spurs from going ahead. Nice hands, Gael. You should be our #4 behind Lukasz Fabianski. At this point, the red and white moved the ball expertly up the field. Tomas Rosicky passed off from the left to the middle, finding Cesc Fabregas, who sent an absolute rocket past Paul Robinson from nearly 30 yards out. Robinson got a fingernail on it, but it went in the upper left and the Gunner fans in attendance went completely ape shit. As did I. Anyone… and I mean anyone who thinks Cesc can’t shoot now needs to STFU. And I like how he’s always grabbing the Arsenal crest on his jersey when he scores. He’s all about the team and not just himself. That attitude will have him wearing the Captains’ armband one day (no offense to Kolo, who’s doing great).

Darren Bent almost found an equalizer near time but decided he’d rather see an Arsenal goal kick. Thanks Darren, you’re alright man. During the final minutes, there were a few somewhat terrifying moments that had me cringing that we might wind up in another 2-2 draw like last year. But Ade just wasn’t having that shit. Less than a minute before injury time was to end, Adebayor expertly tapped himself up a nice little volley which he chased down and blasted out of the air to beat Robinson at the top left. The place went berserk… well, at least in one area of the stands. Most of the rest of White Hart Lane was filing out in disgust. I can’t say I blame them. Unfortunately for Spurs fans, it’s very likely that the Arsenal will be ruining their Christmas this year as well. Since, on December 22, they will have a trip over to Ashburton Grove and most likely have their other testicle crushed.

The mighty Nick Webster uttered a phrase the other night on Fox Football Fone-In that has been echoing through my head ever since. And, I’m not quite sure how to get it out. While discussing the current table with Stephen, he turned to the camera, smirked and said…

“Arsenal are now just one Jens Lehmann howler from the top of the Premiership.”

Well, that’s just fucking great, Nick. I was feeling pretty damn good about the #2 spot so early in the season with a game in hand, despite the constant poo-pooing upon Arsenal by Steven Cohen. But Nick… somehow you just shit on my whole parade. It’s ok, I still love the show.