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!