A big collective sigh of relief from the Gunners faithful on this one, wouldn’t you say? I felt all along that Arséne would stay, but who really knew? There were certainly times when it seemed it could go either way. It would have been a terrible blow to the team if he had left. But he doesn’t strike me as a man who just cuts and runs for the bigger, better deal. There’s more to Le boss than that. Yet…

Arsenal is more than one man. Arsenal is more than one star. Arsenal is more than just players, coaches and fans. Arsenal is much more than any of that. Arsenal just is. There are some men who come and go… some leave an indelible mark. Some leave the club a better place than when they arrived. Arséne is certainly one of these men, and I for one am thrilled that he’ll be with us just a bit longer.

I didn’t get to see this one. In fact, I got news of the score while in Disney World with my wife and kids. After a long day, 90f heat, running all over the park… I found myself parked on a bench on Main Street USA with two of three kids passed out in the stroller. Along comes a fellow wearing Aston Villa gear… as he walked by, I asked “Did you catch any EPL scores for today?” First, he appeared a bit stunned to hear this question coming from an American accent (with a hint of Brooklyn). But he recovered like a true English gentleman and told me the Villains had beaten Chelsea at Villa Park. I congratulated him… and as if he could read my mind, he said “I think Arsenal beat Portsmouth 3-1.” The Land Of Happiness got just a bit happier at that moment. Thank you, anonymous Villains fellow.

The replays I just saw show what looked like an unintentional handball by Fabregas just before that beautiful hook into left side. I wonder how the crowd saw it. Rosicky had a sneaky little tap in past one defender and the keeper, and I think Ade’s gotten the PK role away from RvP for a bit… so long as he keeps selling them like that. And all this even after big Phil gets the toss. Nice match, Gunners.

So, we find ourselves in second. And, if the Scousers only had the common decency to beat the hapless Rams with a single goal rather than six, we’d be a notch up the pole, I think. Whatever… plenty of time to sort that out.