On Thursday, I said:

Bad JuJu, DuDu. Bad JuJu…

Bad JuJu? Well, we got it alright… and fucking how. We’re lousy with it now. And, I’m not entirely convinced the loss will rid us of it. Forget the dropped points. We need to correct the hoodoo that Eduardo’s dive put on us. How? I haven’t the first clue.

What could have been an emphatic statement to the league that we have, in fact, arrived… instead, turned into a bizarre spectacle. One like I’ve never seen before. It was bizarre on so many fronts, I’m just not sure where to begin. Let’s start with the positive.

Yin
We were the better team. Even the staunchest of Manc will have to admit that until we unraveled ourselves, we were taking it to United, and playing them off their own park. They seemed to have the better of possession for a while, but we were the ones doing the pressurizing. The strike by Andrey Arshavin was absolutely thunderous. The keeper got a few fingers on it, but he’s lucky to still have them. That ball wasn’t going anywhere but into the back of the net. Very impressive. And, despite starting with Niklas Bendtner on the bench and Cesc Fabregas at home, I think we looked to be the better side. I’ll take that as a sign of big things to come this season. We can mourn the loss of three points we should have won, but I’d rather see the positive. The quality divide between us and last seasons champions hasn’t been reduced… it’s been eliminated. They’re going to need those three points more than we will come May.

Yang
Then the shit hit the fan, and tiny bits went flying everywhere, sparing no one. First things first: Mike Dean has absolutely no business being an official in any capacity whatsoever. He is inadequate for the task. His judgment is impaired to the point that it must be speculated whether or not he’s either 1) involved in match fixing 2) favoring his own team or 3) both. Which would you choose, Mike? Right.

The diving hasn’t subsided in the wake of DuDuGate. Not even a little. Eboue hit the turf at one point, and we all saw what that cheating prick Rooney did to get their first goal. Amazing, how the bad juju works, is it not? Rooney dives in the exact same place as Eduardo, gets the same exact result. He hits the PK to swing momentum in their favor. Will there be a witch hunt for Rooney and subsequent penalty? Of course not. That sort of thing doesn’t happen to fine Englishmen.  Almunia did make contact, don’t get me wrong… but it’s clear in the replay that Rooney was on the way down before at contact was made. Here’s a nice write up on it over at God is a Gooner: click. Pink Cards for Eboue and Rooney.

Arsène Wenger is an amazing man. How he was able to keep his cool and stand there unfazed, amongst the legions of Manc twats shouting obscenities at him… I’ll never know. He just stood there, and let it all just roll off him in waves. It’s if he just knows… He’s more then they are, or ever will be. He’s better than that. Arsène knows.

So… another adventure to Old Trafford is in the books. I’m a bit mixed on how I feel about it. I’m pleased with how we played, and excited for the future since we look so much better. The result… well, I think we brought it down on ourselves. It was retribution for Eduardo’s dive. I just hope we’ve evened the score on that front. We’ve got to face Manchester City in two weeks. Having this black cloud still above us would not be good. We’ll see… of course, that black cloud may also take its vengeance upon us during the International break… which would really not be good.

Are you up for this? Are you not absolutely and entirely up for this? Oh, I am. If you’re not, you have no blood in you. You should probably get yourself some medical attention quickly. Good luck with that.

Viewership for this match could go well over a billion people tomorrow. A billion. Well, two of them will be my 6 year old son and I.  We will be screaming at the TV screen in our home way over here in the U.S. You’ll hear us, if you listen closely. It will sound like a cry, distant and enraged, on a soft breeze… saying:

Rooney, you soft bleeding twat!

And in turn… Who are ya! Who are ya! I can’t wait to hear the Arsenal faithful in full voice up in Old Trafford tomorrow. I might have to watch Football Factory again before kickoff. Too many F & C Bombs in that one for the boy, though.

Downside
We’ve got to go without Cesc Fabregas, our midfield magician. It looks as though Aaron Ramsey will stay home too. I supppose physically they will both be there at the match. How could they not? But, no strip for them. Which, sucks.

Upside
We’re on a tear, and United have some injuries of their own, plus a dodgy start to explain. The momentum we take with us is the best we’ve had in years. Just how we line up without Cesc will be interesting, though. Will this be the first 4-4-2 we see this season? Possibly, but I think Arsène will go with something like this:

Almunia
Sagna – Gallas – Vermaelen – Clichy
Eboue – Song – Diaby
Bendtner – van Persie – Arshavin

I like it. That’s no weak team there, is it? I’d be happy to see that line-up trot out. And, if Eboue finds net tomorrow, I’ll jump out the fucking window, laughing maniacally. I hope he does, too (our TV’s on the first floor). But I’m seriously hoping we see some action from RvP and Andrey. Robin is due. You can just feel he’s set to pop. A nice hat trick from him tomorrow would be a splendid way to open his 2009-10 account, no?

I’m still calling this one 4-3 to the Arsenal. I know that sounds insane, but so did 4-4 at Anfield last season, yeah? Not that I called that show. But, stranger things have happened. This is either going to be an all out shooting gallery, or a tight, low-scoring affair. I’ll have the former please.

Come on you Gunners! Come on you Arsenal!

Bad JuJu, DuDu. Bad JuJu…

When Eduardo had his leg broken in Birmingham City two seasons ago, it began a spell of bad luck for us. You can’t look back at that season and not point to that match as when the Arsenal were truly unmanned and began to unravel. You could even argue that the poor run of form lasted on through last season as well. Now, we’re back. We’re in top form and firing on all cylinders. The last fucking thing we need right now is to jynx that by cheating. And, let’s not dicker around… it was cheating. The infuriating thing is that we didn’t need to! We were running them all over the park. The goals were coming, you could feel it. And then… that. That display. I was sickened. Especially coming from Eduardo. So, as much as it pains me to do this, I’m giving the first pink card of the season to Eduardo Da Silva, for being a diving cheat in last night’s match. Shame on you, Eddy.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, on to positive things. The team played well, very well… again. Our momentum is a frightening thing of late. Is it not? I love it. With a somewhat reduced squad in place, we still bossed the Bhoys around the pitch. We split possession with them, but had far more shots on target. The passing was crisp, accurate and flowing. I’ve talked much over the past 18 months about wanting to see the return of our pretty footwork. Now, I’m starting to think not only has it returned, but it’s improved… drastically. Did you see that build up from Nik, to Abou to Eboue for our second? Simply gorgeous ball.

And, Eboue! EMMANUEL EBOUE?! My, how things have changed for him. It’s apparent that he attended the same school as Abou Diaby & Alex Song during the close season. Catharsis is in full swing for many a Gunner these days. Eboue outplayed nearly everyone there last night. His finishing on the second goal was excellent. His overall play was strong, consistent and sharp. It has to be said… having gone through the lowest of troughs, Eboue kept his chin up and worked, and improved, and has now earned his way back into the hearts of our fans. It’s no secret that he’s well liked amongst the squad. I imagine he’s been like the goofy cousin that makes everyone laugh at the family barbecue. But, now he’s working his butt off to keep his place. Good on you, Emmanuel. Welcome back!

Another quick mention… the Celtic fans are excellent. What a massive showing of pride they put on at the Grove last night. Despite being down 3-0, they were full throat, scarves stretched overhead and behind their side all the way to the end. Of course, they were probably all drunk. The excellent finish by Donati to make it 3-1 was something I was actually happy to see (for them). I hope they win both the SPL & Europa.

With just the dregs of the match to be played out, Arsène trotted out the irrepressible Andrey Arshavin, who spent all of 50 seconds on the pitch before putting away our third goal. Whatever we’re paying this man, we need to be sure it’s enough, and put him under some long-term deal that will see him retire with us. The same can be said of a lot of our players right now. It is a fine time to be an Arsenal fan, is it not? A fine time indeed. Are you, like me, brimming with confidence for our trip to Old Trafford at the weekend? I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a match. Some pundits are calling for a closely guarded draw. I say it’s going to be a shooting gallery. Where better to emphatically tell the world than we’ve arrived than OT? 4-3 to the Arsenal. That’s not a typo.

COME ON YOU ARSENAL!

Emphatic. 12 Goals in the past three matches. That simply can’t be sneezed at.

I don’t think anyone expected Pompey to pull this one out of the hat, what with the tumult going on at the club. But, this is exactly the sort of team that we’d be upset by last year. What a difference a year makes, huh?

The flowing football, the champagne football, is back. Oh hell yes, it’s back. I’m scared to see what our possession % for this match was. It had to be approaching 70%. We moved the ball and kept the ball. At 18′ Eduardo Da Silva took a lovely run around his man up the left, squared backwards to Abou Diaby who had no choice but to bury it. David James got some fingers on it, but they weren’t enough. Four minutes later, Emmanuel Eboue raced up the right to pass off to Diaby again, who placed a sitter into the back of the net.

At 50′ William Gallas became the first person in football history to score three consecutive goals, none of which had anything to do with his feet. The first with his head, the second with his ass, and the third with his face. Yes, the man who four days ago said “Nut in zee face!“, today went and scored… with his face. Funny game, this football.

At 68′ Robin van Persie, who was perpetually frustrated trying to find nylon himself, tapped up to an awaiting Aaron Ramsey who then slotted home for our fourth.

The Arsenal put in an incredibly strong performance to keep the momentum going into some very important approaching games. Let’s just hpe they can keep up the pace. Cesc went out at the half with a knock, but it remains to be seen how serious it is.

So, that was an unusual, but much welcomed win, no? I had a feeling, after seeing the boys play at Goodison, that they weren’t going to be just another in a long string of English teams to go up there and fail. Much was made of Celtic’s recent success at giant killing. But, you can just feel something’s changed with this team. It shows in the way they act, walk… and most importantly, the way they play. It’s just different now, and you can feel it. Can they continue this way? I sure hope so.

The first goal was pure hysterics for me. More known for his in-the-air prowess and hunting for headers, William Gallas guides one (with some curl on it!) to the far post using… his ass. Actually, it was his back, but ass is more fun to say. The ball came rocketing in at him, to which he bravely responded by throwing his hands up, turning away, and screaming “Nut in zee face!” But as luck would have it, the ball chose not his face, but his back ass, and then continued its wicked spin on into the goal. The celebration afterward was fucking brilliant. More ass goals, please.

From that point on it was all us, and you could tell it was only a matter of time before one of our may opportunities was going to find the net. It wasn’t that Celtic played badly, they didn’t. They were just outplayed, with a bit of luck on our side (for once!). The second was an OG off Caldwell, but I seriously think that goal was the result of mounting pressure. Call it luck, but it’s not like Caldwell took the ball to his own net and fired it in.

So, we’re set to meet Celtic at The Grove next week, with a 2 Away Goal lead. I like our odds. And this weekend, we’ve got our home opener against a struggling Portsmouth. I have to say, I like our odds there too. I’m really hoping for the same team and formation, with the addition of Eduardo as a backup for the boys up front. It will be good to see them at home. Perhaps this is where our strike force will join the scoring party? I think s0. 3-0 to the Arsenal – Fabs, Andrey & RvP each pulling out one.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!