Nasri 22, 48 – Divers: El Miraculo

Now that was a great match. Non-stop, open and rough from beginning to end. The yellow cards flew, the official screwed up calls, harsh tackles were made, Ronaldo hit the mat… it was classic Arsenal v Man U.

Although it seemed that Manchester United may have played the better game technically, luck was just not with them yesterday. It was definitely with us, though. We went in a weakened side, with several starters out. Missing Adebayor, Niklas Bendnter was paired with Abou Diaby up front. I have to tell you that frightened me a bit when I saw the line up, as did the presence of Denilson in midfield with Cesc. But it worked pretty well, I’d say. Although, I can’t believe how many of Cesc’s passes went astray. He seemed to be having an off day.

Samir Nasri found the net at 22′ by deflection. It was just what we needed to build the confidence lost from the previous few outings. I’m really enjoying Samir this year. He’s just been such a successful signing and really seems like he’s having a good time out there. More from him was to come. At 48′ he took a pass from Cesc on the edge of the box and belted it home. A really nice build up in play ended with a fantastic shot.

I had to watch this one on the laptop late last night, but it was sheer joy to see our boys have not lost heart in this campaign. They’ve had a lot of shit slung at them recently… and this is their answer. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

Clichy 90 – Divers: unknown

Our seeming collapse continues. This match wasn’t shown here. I tried to get it online, but several hours after the match was over there still wasn’t a torrent available. I knew that couldn’t be a good sign. I gave up and hit the wires… we had thrown away another 3 points to a side we should have beaten. But, should we have?

I question that logic these days. There is now no question… something is wrong. We are not playing Arsenal football anymore. When we’re on, we can beat anyone. But when we’re off, we can be beaten by anyone. We shouldn’t expect to just beat teams like Stoke just because we’re Arsenal. That shit just doesn’t fly anymore. That team is gone. We now have to work, and work damn hard if we’re to place respectably in the table this year. We’re still in the top four, but with the schedule we’ve got ahead of us, I’d be really surprised if we stay there. In fact, if Villa win tomorrow, we’re down to fifth. And it will be quite a trick to get back in before December.

I can’t comment on the performance of either side yesterday, having not seen much more than the highlights. Gael Clichy’s goal caromed off two defenders before finding the net. It was pure luck. I also hear we may have quite a few injury setbacks. Great. And Keith Costigan mentioned that there were rumors of infighting in the dressing room after the Tottenham match. That’s just fucking ducky, Keith. Manchester United will be out for blood when they come visit next week. If we can pull our shit together in time to get a result, it will be an epic reversal perhaps never before witnessed.

And, as much as I hate to say it, I was wrong about the Pond Life. The top half of the table is not out of reach for them. They’re now only 4 points off mid table status after squeaking out a win over Liverpool. Perhaps Harry Houdini has not only reversed things for them, but put the hoodoo on us at the same time?