So what started out to be quite the tussle, ended in a rout. And a more deserved rout I’ve never witnessed.

I’ll start with what pretty much every other blogger is talking about. Was it worth the risk Cesc Fabregas to bring him in? When I first saw him limping, I thought no. But in hindsight, I think it was. That being said, I also feel that we were probably on our way to scoring had he remained on the bench. We had the momentum. You could see a massive improvement after the break. Was it another pep talk from the boss? From the captain? We may never know. But we transformed from a side that played well in the first half, to one that played great in the second. The attacking on the ball was just ruthless. As in, completely without Ruth. Whoever she might happen to be.

Aston Villa had their share of threats in the first half, but we pretty much shut down their efforts in the second. Manuel Almunia, when he had something to do, did it well. The back four were a wall. Not the tallest wall in the league, but a wall just the same. Andrey Arshavin was having a somewhat subdued match, but still played well. He doesn’t seem to have bad days. Have you noticed? He’s either good or great. Abou Diaby put in yet another very impressive performance. Could he be the next on the team to completely revamp his outlook? He’s certainly on his way. On that note, we’ve come to expect excellence from Alex Song, and once again, he did not fail to deliver. He will be sorely missed when he’s off to the ACN next week. I wish him success there as well as good health, but secretly hope his side get dumped as soon as can be managed. Come back to us soon, Alex.

At 57′ Cesc Fabregas came on for Denilson, who also looked pretty decent. He immediately made an impact, simply by being on the pitch. He’s a defender magnet. Within seven minutes, he was fouled about seven yards outside the area. He stepped up to take the shot, and curled it over the wall and into the left side of the net past Friedel at full stretch. 1-0 to the Arsenal. The celebration in the corner with the fans was a thing of beauty. At this point, Song seemed to be playing forward a bit more, with Cesc hanging back. I’m wondering if this was intentional to minimize risk of re-injury to his hamstring.

At 81′, Milner dumps the ball directly to Armand Traore, who decided to pop a huge diagonal up to Theo Walcott on the right side. Theo outstrips his man, as he’s wont to do, and slides the perfect pass in front of the onrushing Cesc Fabregas who simply belts it into the right side past Friedel, yet again. Job done. But… Cesc is now limping. He put a lot into that run to get into position and looks to have aggravated his hamstring at the least. Hopefully it’s not serious and he’ll be back soon. Luckily, the upcoming fixture schedule is somewhat kind to us, so hopefully he can find the time to heal up. No offense to Portsmouth, West Ham et al, but these are definitely the fixtures we want to have in light of our over-crowded treatment room.

Cesc goes off at 84′ for Aaron Ramsey to come out and Aston Villa appear to have been stunned. The defense is positively knackered as Abou Diaby takes the ball in the center circle at 91′, dances his way up to the area and puts in our third. A lovely shot from a man who is making his case to be included in every start. 3-0, match over.

It felt good beating Villa after recent experience with them. It felt good knowing they were beginning to fancy themselves giant killers, having done in the rest of the supposed Top Four. It felt good beating Martin O’Neill after his shenanigans last time around. He’s a fun character to frustrate. Aston Villa had previously scored in nearly every match since the season began, but left Ashburton Grove with nothing. No goals, no points… nothing. Apart from a sore ass, that is. An ass that, I’m quite sure Rafa Benitez and his men will enjoy taking up the task of plugging, when they come to visit Villa Park later today. Big fun.

So, we’re off to Fratton Park tomorrow. Given the travails of Portsmouth lately, it’s reasonable to expect full points from the match. Especially given the high we’re riding and the 2-0 whipping they took from the Hammers recently. And, if Wigan somehow pulls off a draw or even *gasp* a win over United, we may find ourselves in second position by 2010. Imagine that. At the very least, we should only be two behind United and four behind Chelsea. I like our odds… I do like our odds.

Come on, you Gunners!