van Persie 37 (Pen) – Divers: Totti

Did I not tell you I felt it in my bones? We didn’t get to my predicted 2-0 or better, but Robin van Persie got his goal  from the spot and Niklas Bendtner skied his over the crossbar. Not to mention Emmanuel Eboue, who despite trying his damn hardest to win back the hearts and minds of the Arsenal faitful, still managed little more than a bumbling effort and missed chances. But, staying positive, we did boss Roma around the pitch and came away with the win.

I really like the new formation we were using. As I’ve read on several other blogs this morning, this 4-2-3-1, or whatever it was, seems to minimize the otherwise ineffectual central midfield we’ve had of late. And it allows us more offensive options and when we get a few more of our players out of the treatment room it could get even better.It seems like almost every team we face has sorted out a way to play low lines and either get a 0-0 draw out of us or a nicked goal. Could this new approach be Arsène Wenger’s remedy for that? Interesting idea. We’ll see how he lines up his players for Fulham on Saturday.

So, all in all a nice attacking display, and the defense continues to look solid. Say what you want about our Center Defense being somewhat Lilliputian in nature, they’re on a pretty nice run of form lately. And with Djourou to supplement, I feel much better than I did at the start of the season. Up front, Bendtner & van Persie were regularly harassing the seven men that Roma seemed to have in the box most of the match. We seemed so comfortable in fact that at the half, Wenger told Toure & Gallas “Joo two have a nice nap in zee dressing room, and joo catch up with us later, jes?“  I think Kolo was actually booked for running onto the pitch without first getting permission from the official, though. Bizarre. I’ve never seen that happen before. And, is it me or did the halftime break seem  much shorter than usual? I don’t know if it’s a different amount of time for CL Ties than it is in the Prem. Either way, as The Professor said, we should be ready when the whistle blows – mea culpa.

Looking forward to watching us try and crack open the 9 man defense Roy Hodgson will no doubt present to us on Saturday. They’ll be clammed up like a 16 year old virgin in a cast iron chastity belt. But in the end, the wine stained prom dress usually hits the floor. We shall see.

I’ve got your preview right here. I’ll put this plain and simple without waxing pathetic about who’s going to leave the squad if we fail. The Arsenal are going to march into The Grove tonight and boss Roma around the pitch. We will walk out of there victors, 2-0 or better. There. I said it. Totti will be entirely ineffective. I can feel this in my bones. The mounting frustration at the club lately will spill over onto the unsuspecting Italians and we will reap the rewards. Bendtner & RvP to each score one. That’s where my pound is going.

Well, not exactly a fun match to watch. It had the feeling all match long that we were about to score, but it never did happen. The adrenaline from that alone will probably keep me up past 3am.

The upside was that Andrey Arshavin made his Arsenal debut and my wishes were heard that he would start. Unfortunately, the football faeries ignored my wishes that Eboue remain on the bench forever… or in another town entirely. But, Andrey acquitted himself admirably. He was the maker of several plays and the taker of several shots that could have easily put us ahead. If that’s his idea of easing into the squad, then I can’t imagine other than a bright future for him at the club.

The whole team played well (although Song & Denilson were as dismal as ever) but we just couldn’t find the opening we needed with all but Jones crowding the box. We were playing a line so high that Almunia was nearly in the center circle, but we couldn’t find nylon. I have to say though, the passing game seemed to be much more crisp than it’s been in quite some time.

With an Aston Villa loss this morning, that puts us 6 points out of the top four and 17 points behind the lead. I’d say that’s pretty much insurmountable, wouldn’t you? 2nd place isn’t entirely out of reach at just 9 points ahead, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll be fighting quite hard just to get into the top four for the remainder of the season. No matter, I’ll still love watching my Arsenal football, and there’s still plenty to play for this season.

I was away over the past few days and missed the match. So naturally, I downloaded it the moment I got home, watched the first half on the laptop while riding the bus to work and then the second half while riding the bus home. That’s entirely normal, isn’t it? I wonder why all the weird looks then.

So… that was a convincing performance. In all honesty, Cardiff looked like shit the entire match. But let’s not let that detract from a terrific Arsenal performance. One like we haven’t seen in quite some time. This match could have easily been 7-0.

But it wasn’t about the goals. Who doesn’t love this story? Seven days shy of a year since being sidelined with injury, and he’s back. A dream start for Eduardo Da Silva on his long awaited return, and a brace to show for it. To me, he looked more than ready to return and put in a solid performance for an hour with no signs of slowing. I would imagine Wenger took him off as a precautionary measure at that point and the match was well away at that point anyway. I nearly misted up on seeing the team celebrate his first goal. What a moment. Relief on his face, then pure joy when he sees the pile of teammates descending upon him. He says he kissed his wedding ring in celebration for his wife and daughter sticking with him through all he’s been through. I’ll never forget that. His second goal celebration was also pure class. He went straight over to the medical staff and hugged Tony Colbert. You can’t script this sort of thing.

As much as the night was about Eduardo, the rest of the team looked pretty damn sharp too. The forever castigated Niklas Bendtner put in, I thought, a pretty nice performance. He did have a few missed chances, and there was one challenge at the end that was just a bad move and he was cautioned for it. But apart from that, his work rate was high, and he was creating chances and taking his own. His glancing header from the corner gave us our second goal, very well done. Carlos Vela was very impressive. He’s obviously ready to challenge for a starting position, and showed that last night. The freshly frosted Samir Nasri also put in his typical solid performance. Only one real shot fell to him, but he was involved throughout, creating as much as anyone. Lukasz Fabianski put in a good cameo, although it must have been a bit boring for him at the back. Not a whole lot went on at that end of the pitch. The rest of the squad put in a solid performance. Even Song & Denilson had better than usual days. Of course, the opposition allowed for quite a bit, so don’t expect 4-0 results up against Premiership talent.

Overall, a very promising night from a team that will be tested for the remainder of the season. It looks promising, and I’m full of hope. Come on you Gunners! And…

Great having you back, Eduardo!

Divers: Keane

It’s never a boring affair when we play Spurs, is it? True to form, this match was a gritty fight down in the dust. We seemed to be getting bossed around the pitch most of the match, and only after going down to ten men did we seem to seriously kick up the fight a notch. But it was too little too late.

It needs to be said… Emmanuel Eboue is not a Premier League quality player in any way, shape or form. I understand full well that we are short on players, especially in the midfield. But know this… Arsène Wenger’s insistence on putting Eboue on the pitch is an insult, not just to Arsenal fans, but to all of top flight football itself. I’ve said this before… it’s bad enough when you put in one poor performance after another, but to compound that with a shit attitude and shit judgment is just beyond acceptance. He needs to go, and at the very first opportunity. Preferably to Tottenham, where he can wallow away the next five years in the Championship (before they get relegated again).

Emmanuel Adebayor was well on his way to putting in his laziest performance this season when his hamstring piped up and said “Ah, fuck it… time for a nap.” and he went prone. I can’t say I was very upset about it. I hate to see any of our players injured, but I also can’t help feeling that he’s just in the way of others who might do better when he’s fit. Andrey Arshavin, and even more surprisingly, Eduardo Da Silva were both on the bench, but neither made an appearance. The announcer mentioned that Arshavin was warming up at one point, but he was never used.

All kudos must go out to the rest of the team, who really did put in a lot of work to get us this point. And, came close to getting us all three near the end. Oh, how that would have been the sweetest thing in the world, but it wasn’t to be. Gael Clichy took a serious shot to the head and went off a bloody mess. Even superficial head wounds can bleed like the dickens, so let’s hope it’s nothing serious. As much as it pains me to say it, Tottenham put in a pretty decent effort of the match, particularly with the addition of Wilson Palacios in midfield. He was a pretty tough nut all match. Robbie Keane looked like shit and spent most of the match on the turf looking up pleadingly to the ref. I guess he was desperate for his Homecoming Goal and was typically willing to dive just to get it. Benitez was right, someone like him can’t be great on a truly great team. Back to the slags, Robbie.

Had Eboue not been a fuckhead and brought us down to ten men, a draw would have felt pretty awful. But in light of his idiocy, a draw doesn’t feel too bad. Particularly in the manner we got it. It felt like if we had another five minutes, we could have taken the match.