Comeback. I went into the half being pretty disappointed. Not without hope, but definitely disappointed with the level of play. You could just tell how tired they were in that first half. The passing was awful and we were giving away balls left and right. To Everton’s credit, they were playing pretty well. I expected a tough match from them. But it all fell apart for them in the second half

I suspected that Arsene would go with the 4-4-2 this time instead of the 4-5-1 again, but I didn’t expect to see both Eduardo Silva & Nicklas Bendtner start the match. I had forgotten about the New Year’s Day match with West Ham coming up, so it makes sense to switch it up a bit and rest some people. Notably, Adebayor & Rosicky started on the bench, with Eboue out entirely.

In the first half, it seemed like the new striker duo just couldn’t get the distribution they needed from the midfield, and as a result, nothing materialized. I’m sure there were words to be heard at the half, from Le Boss… and whatever they were, they did the trick. Gael Clichy sent up a nice long ball for Eduardo who did what he does best and slid the ball past the keeper. Composure in the box? Eddy gots it. Hey, Toffees? Equal. Eleven minutes later, he did it again with a nice pass in from Bendtner. My favorite Arsenal blogger has oft referred to Eduardo as “the Blinky Crozillian” which, breaks me up to no end. But this match, I submit, he was in fact Crozilla, wading up and out of Liverpool Bay to go stomping upon the wide-eyed Scouse populace. It’s nice to see Eduardo finally doing in the Prem what’s he so well known for in other competitions.

Things got a bit testy between the two sides. You could see how bad Everton wanted to come back, but it wasn’t to be. Even after Nicklas Bendtner got his second yellow and a red (stupid challenge, Nick… bad boy), Everton pressed but could not find an equalizer. Eduardo, Flamini, Clichy and Cesc also saw yellow cards before the match was over. Speaking of which…

Cesc… I warned you. We were up by two goals with 6 minutes left to go, yet you chose to roll around on the ground as if you had been hit by a sledge hammer after Mikel Arteta threw an elbow. You were fouled, no doubt, although I thought a red card was a bit harsh. It did not appear intentional on Arteta’s part. But a foul it is. So, why the theatrics? Where’s the mark on your face today if it was such a violent blow? You spent the first half of this season proving to the world why you could be a leader for this side. Why this sudden rash of diving and play acting? It hurts to do this, but here’s your first Pink Card. See to it it’s your last. And, if the Cesc we all watched play the first few months of the seasons calls you, tell him we all want need him back

Blech… that’s all I need to say. I’m not much of a fan of this 4-5-1 anymore. It seems to be falling flat more often than not since the rash of injuries to the midfield. I’m wondering if these guys are 100% yet.

There were some sparks in the game yesterday, but it was mostly back and forth drudgery with a fair, albeit boring, result. Tomas Rosicky seemed to have the most on the ball this match, but not enough to find a goal for us. So, now we find ourselves in 2nd position after being 1st for what seems forever. I wonder if it’s not a blessing in disguise. At least this might quiet the constant criticism about Arsenal not having what it takes to go the distance. As if we were desecrating the hallowed position of the reigning champions. Bother all that. Now we can just concentrate on getting back to early season form. We’ll see where we’re at in May.

Cesc… what the hell? This is the second time in as many games that I’ve seen you go down in the box where I was second-guessing myself whether or not it was a dive. I gave you the benefit of the doubt last week, although the challenge looked soft, and I couldn’t find a replay of this one against Pompey. But if I see that shit again you’re getting Pink Carded.

Manuel Almunia, hero. Rob Styles, myopic. What could have been a horribly bad turning point in the match after a shit call by Styles, was instead a boost to an already impressive Arsenal side yesterday. Manuel guessed right and made a beautiful right-side stretch to stop the PK. Of course, the dicks running the cameras then need to zoom in on Jens on the bench. We know what’s going on with our keepers without you reminding us, assholes. Well done, Manny. And don’t sweat it Jens. Just because you cocked up two games for us early in the year, and you run your mouth sometimes, you’re still a world class keeper.

Earlier, at 48′, a nice stumbling pass from Tomas Rosicky found Cesc Fabregas who back-passed right in front of Emmanuel Adebayor who doesn’t need to be asked twice to bury that shit… and so he did. It still stands… when Ade scores, we do not lose. Then, Andy Garcia, keeper of the world’s largest forehead (god help us if that black strap ever lets loose), managed to get one past Almunia while he was practicing his brass pole techniques on the left side. Scintillating. Can’t deny that it wasn’t a nice goal made in traffic, but I felt like it should have been stopped. But that’s ok. That PK stop will have quite some miles with me. And you?

How about that winning goal? Now, now, everyone… let’s not get too excited. Nicklas Bendtner puts his pants on in the morning the same way everyone else does: one leg at a time. Only, once his pants are on, he scores game winning goals, baby. My man Nick was on the pitch for oh… 9 seconds when he decided to head-slam a corner from about 3 feet above any other head in the box. The man can fly. I think Nick will find his way into the starting line up before long if he’s patient and sticks around.

So, we do the double on the Pond Life in the Prem this year. Nicely done, Gunners. And, we get to let our young squad do them one more time on January 9 for the Carling Cup. Insult to injury.

I would like to start my commentary on this match with the following: AHHHHH HAHahahahhhaahhahah! AHHHHHhahahahahahaaaa! Kinda like DeNiro in the theater scene of Cape Fear, get me? AHHHHAHAHAHAHahahahah! AAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!

Ok, I’m back. Seeing our youngest side go up there and beat Mark Hughes best squad was incredibly satisfying. The Rovers fought back nicely from deficit, but even after we went down a man, our pups still pulled it out to knock those twats out of the Carling Cup. Well done, lads.

Handled. My word, did that one ever taste sweet. Not as sweet as perhaps a 4-0 thumping, but no one expected that. What a feisty little tussle it was, though. The boots were flying in both directions and it felt as if an all out brawl might ensue at any moment, particularly in the second half.

There were hints that we’d get back some of our sorely missed midfield for this match, but it was a cheeky move indeed by The Professor to surprise us (and Grant) by fielding the full first team again, less Robin van Persie who for some reason rode the bench until ‘65. Perhaps his knee is still niggling him a bit. But he was looking pretty sharp when he did get on the pitch and damn near found himself a goal only seconds after he walked on. Robin is a force. Le Boss maintained all week that Cesc Fabregas was the furthest from being back, but there he was alongside Alexandre Hleb, who was back in the hole behind Emmanuel Adebayor. Mathieu Flamini was rumoured to be out as well, but again there he was. They didn’t all look to be back to 100% fitness, but they looked good. When I saw them all come out of the tunnel dressed to kill, I nearly leapt from my chair.

In the first half, I think we were the better side by a fair margin. You could see Chelsea were doing their best to interrupt the flow we love so much. And here and there they were doing just that. But we managed to keep it going for the most part, although never seeming to quite get that last pass in front of the striker where it needed to be. Avram Grant obviously did his homework for this one and had them putting up some heavy traffic in the box anytime any of our boys got near it. We were making stabs in, but not very effective. And although we seemed to keep the ball down their end of the pitch, they still made several threatening runs up field. Some of which gave Manuel Almunia a good stretching. In fact, Manuel made several world-class saves.

With only moments to go in injury time before the half, Cesc Fabregas lays in nice corner to the far post where William The Conqueror Gallas, with his magical Mohican powers was waiting to slam home yet another perfectly placed header. Cue the fist pumping.

The second half was another story. Have you ever tried keeping a pissed off cat in a flimsy cardboard box or a paper bag? That’s a little what it felt trying to contain Chelsea as the half wore on. They were pissed off and desperate and trying hard to equalize. We were still making chances for more goals, but it seemed at any moment they would get their first. That’s a very uncomfortable feeling. Have you ever been leaning back on a chair too far, and had it tip over? That feeling you get for that split second when you realize you’re about to go ass over ears is what the entire second half felt like for me. But man, was it ever a fun match to watch. In the closing minutes you could feel Chelsea’s desperation escalating. And then, to end it all, Cesc goes down in a crumpled heap with the likes of one Assley Hole (sp?) who gets all tight and takes a swipe at our talented Spaniard. That got me pretty riled until Cesc and I simultaneously realized that the final whistle had blown and the once mighty Chelsea were beaten.

My arms are still sore from the fist pumping.