San Siro Heroes. That’s the phrase being used all over the football world today as Arsenal have become the first side to beat AC Milan on their turf. What a match! Simply nail-biting, end to end. I was on my feet the entire time… I just couldn’t sit still for this one.

As I had suspected, we didn’t see the same lax Milan side that showed up in London. And, although they weren’t quite the attacking powerhouse I had expected, they did ramp up their efforts quite a bit. But the Arsenal defenders held on and played brilliantly. It seemed like nearly every time a long ball came near the 18 yard box, Phillipe Senderos or William Gallas was there to clear it out. Milan made several scary attempts in past the back line, but Manuel Almunia was able to deal quite effectively. On the offense, it seemed we were being frustrated in the box at the other end just as much, but we kept the pressure on. Our midfield played them very tough and seemed to handle the legendary Milan midfielders throughout.

At 33′ Konrad Plautz made one of the most outrageously horrible calls I have ever seen an official make. I respect the job a referee does, and I do realize how difficult it can be. But Plautz was not more than 20 feet away, and looking directly at the incident when Massimo Oddo brought Alexandre Hleb down at the edge of the box. Hleb showed a bit of theatrics in his fall, which obviously irked Plautz, because he carded Hleb for diving. Konrad… theatrics are not against the rules, you ass. Yes, players use theatrics when diving… but they also use them to draw attention when they are truly being fouled. How you can fuck up a call like that when you’re so close to it and focused in, is simply beyond my comprehension. I just hope we don’t have Plautz for any of our remaining matches. And Konrad, you might want to buy yourself a new whistle today. Because you sure as hell wore that one out last night.

No matter… because at 85′, Cesc Fabregas put in a long range hopper to the left side just out of Kalac’s reach to give us the away goal advantage. You could feel Arsenal fans the world over erupting in joy. I nearly woke the kids with my noise. The elation on the faces of the players and the staff in the dugout was a beautiful thing to see. It was as if this was just what they needed to dispel any sort of creeping self-doubt. And I always love Cesc’s reactions to a goal. I thought he was going to knock Arséne over. He’s all heart, that kid.

The opener lent momentum and you could feel another was coming. The unleashed Theo Walcott made a lovely little run up the right near time and got around the left back, crossed in front of the goal where Emmanuel Adebayor loped in to slam home the finisher. It was an appropriate underscore to a much deserved victory throughout both legs. The mystique of the San Siro will still exist, but forever more with that one caveat, that one footnote… Arsenal came here and won.

Disjointed. We never seemed to quite get our shit together with this one, and Aston Villa are not a side that’s going to let you slide easily. The players just seemed to be out of step with one another. The OG then just set the tone for the match. We picked up the pace in the second half, but it was only enough to rescue a point.

At 70′, as I’ve done so many times before, I looked at the dog and said… “Let’s just hang in there… it’s never too late for this team… right?” and once again, my beloved Arsenal dug deep and had me screaming at the TV. Of course, the dog couldn’t give less of a shit, since he was only worried about Blackburn handling the Magpies that night, the prick. But, talk about waiting until the very last second… I rewound and watched it several times. Nicklas Bendtner puts that goal away, according to the Barclay’s clock on screen, at 92:57. It just doesn’t get much closer than that. It’s only too bad that it wasn’t a game winner instead of an equalizer. And, poor Phillipe Senderos… I’m irritated with him and feel bad for him at the same time. A lot of defenders make that very same mistake. It’s too bad it’s him though, as he already gets a fair amount of stick from the Arsenal faithful. They’re probably calling for his head. Not I.

Arséne believes we were still experiencing a bit of hangover from the Birmingham game. I suppose that has to be considered as a factor. Whatever it is, I really hope it’s been shaken for tomorrow night. We’re liable to see a completely different AC Milan side than we saw at Ashburton Grove, when we get to the San Siro. The travel will be wont to take its toll on the players as well. On the upside, there’s talk of Robin van Persie returning to the lineup, but not as a starter. I hope he stays fit. We’re going to need him in the stretch.