Van Persie 19, 40, Denilson 59 – Divers: none – Criminal Scumbags: Barton

Now that’s the kind of Arsenal football I love to see. And yes… they’re back. Were it not for the hot hand of Shay Given, the scoreline would have read 6-0 at the least. The Gunners dominated from the opening minute and never let up. There were the usual ebbs and flows to the match, but for the most part, Arsenal never let up. This is a refreshing change from past matches where the side never properly put the screws to the opposition.

Robin Van Persie opened his account this year with a brace, which I think is going to open the way for a stream of goals from him. Denilson also put a nice little shot in after one of several impressive passing displays in front of the Newcastle goal to seal the victory. Several other players would surely have gotten on the sheet if it weren’t for the keeper and a few clangs off the post. It were as if the entire Arsenal side were taking turns taking shots at the goal. It really was a beautiful thing to see, and I hope we see more of it. Adebayor nearly hit home a few times, but it wasn’t his night. He still featured in the build up to all three goals, even drawing the penalty for RvP.

Short post this week. On vacation with the family. I’ll update the table when I get home.

Update: Found a little more time to write on this. I’m away but find myself with free time once the little Scurvy’s are off to bed at the condo we’re renting somewhere in between two churning hurricanes.

So, Eboue… yes, Emmanuel Eboue. WTF? I don’t know what to think about this guy anymore. I cringe when I see him in the line up. But lately, he’s been pretty solid. And that little backheel maneuver was pretty, I have to admit. Of course, he then went and tried it again only to hand over posession. Not that it mattered at that point. And, what sort of Arsenal match would it be without the grim visage of Robin van Persie limping off the pitch. How do you spell that noise your wife makes when you say something particularly distasteful in front of particular people? Uhckhhckhh…. or something to that effect. Well, I made that noise myself for the first time since my testicles descended when I saw Robin score a brace and then, limp off the field. Reports are filtering in now that he may be alright and that he might actually line up for Holland this week where, he will undoubtedly be slide tackled into several indvidual pieces. Robin van Pieces, if you will.

Who else? Oh yeah… Emmanuel Adebayor. He didn’t hit the nylon Saturday, but he worked his lengthy Togolese ass off, did he not? I think someone may have pulled him aside in the locker room and given him a bit of advice… perhaps something like this:

“Manu… hey man, listen… the fans, they’re giving you some shit, right? Well… here’s what you need to do… get out there and work your ass off. Just play hard, loose your inner-lion, help the team win, even if it means someone else scores the goal. That’s what will win the hearts of the fans back. Kissing the badge? Not so much.”

Joey Barton. Now… I  know the easy thing is to make fun of him being a criminal and all, but… he paid his debt to society for at least some of his wrongdoings, and I’m fine with that. He steps on the pitch and slide tackles our man Nasri. Holy christ in a sidecar! But guess what… it was a fair tackle, people. A bit too physical, I’d reckon, but fair nonetheless. Joey is going to catch shit in every stadium he makes a fair tackle in from here on out… just because. That’s his bane. Even the douche-lips smirk he threw Nasri after the tackle (funny as it might have been) wasn’t entirely out of order. This is a physical game, and it’s a mental game. If you’re not prepared to deal with blokes like Joey, stay in the locker room. Fucking Cantona was ten times the scumbag on the pitch as Barton, but people adore him because he won trophies. Can you picture Barton getting a Nike ad in ten years where he walks about half-shaved telling people to play beautiful? Not going to happen. Just what does Eric consider to be playing beautiful anyway? Stepping on other players? Drop-kicking fans? Meh… great footballer, no doubt… but not much of a human being. Barton is Catona without the silverware. Both useless in my eyes.

Right. So, our boys are back playing beautiful (cough) we’re in 4th place and that’s all that matters for now. Here’s to hoping for a healty international break. See you in a week or so.