(Buck your ideas up son)

Let's face it - things are not looking good for Arsenal. The Gunner's slide into mediocrity continued last night with a piss-poor performance against a Bolton side now just two points clear of the relegation zone. The gap between us and fourth remained at 5 points thanks to Chelsea's draw at Swansea, but two teams, namely Newcastle and Liverpool, now occupy the space between us and them. To put that into perspective, that's a Liverpool team with lumbering man-child Andy Carroll up front and a Newcastle team managed by Alan 'he's absolutely raped him' Pardew. Can things get any worse?

Well yes, as apparently Jack Wilshere looks to set to miss the rest of the season. The young midfielder aggravated his injury in training and will almost certainly not feature in the league. Wenger must now rely entirely on the midfield trio of Song, Ramsey and Arteta, an alarming prospect given Ramsey's tendency to play as if he's just returned from his year long absence (ie tentatively and sloppily) and Song's apparent disinclination to provide any meaningful contribution at either end of the pitch. Arteta continues to provide the only spark in the middle, although his physical limitations prevent him from taking the game to the opposition in the way that someone younger and quicker might, say a Fabregas or a Nasri.

Meanwhile Van Persie continues to look like a man who feels the burden of expectation upon his shoulders - with Gervinho in Africa his support up front at Bolton came in the shape of the inexperienced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the woefully inefficient Theo Walcott. The latter, who can can only really be allowed one more season to show why he should be allowed to play for Arsenal, looks less and less like the player who beat three Chelsea defenders to score at Stamford Bridge in October. The paucity of quality in the team was reflected by the rather abject performance on the pitch. Opportunities were created in a first half which Arsenal largely dominated - Ramsey failed to make sufficient contact on a Van Persie through-ball, and Walcott unsurprisingly squandered a one on one after he was played in by Oxlade-Chamberlain. David Ngog missed a similar chance at the other end but Arsenal should have been ahead at the break.

After half time the roles were reversed. The Gunners best chance came in the shape of a cross from the returning (and ever-reliable) Sagna, which Van Persie could only crash against the post. The Dutchman hit the woodwork again with a Bergkamp style lob from close range, and Oxlade-Chamberlain fired just over from 25 yards, but for much of the second half the ball was in and around the Arsenal penalty area. Despite creating only half chances, the home side were almost rewarded for their hard work right at the death when Szczesny brought down Mark Davies in the box but Chris Foy gave the goalkeeper the benefit of the doubt.

The momentum gathered during a dominant second half performance against Villa on the weekend failed to spill over into the next game, and instead Arsenal demonstrated the lack of incisiveness and ability to convert chances that has plagued their game since late December. Van Persie's task must seem increasingly thankless and futile if the other strikers consistently fail to alleviate his workload, and rumours linking him with a Summer move to Spain seem to be gathering momentum. Moreover the midfield must start creating the chances that their possession merits. Walcott and Ramsey, playing as they are, would probably look out of their depth in promotion chasing Championship sides.

What's to be done about a run of form that makes Champions League football next season look more and more unlikely? Well with the transfer window shut (and our only purchase a young German from Dortmund without a single senior appearance to his name) the only thing we can do is to hope that the player we have can turn things around. The talent is obviously there, as evidenced by the fact that the team went from 17th to 5th in about a month earlier in the season. When Gibbs and Santos return we will at least have two bona fide full backs, which will allow Vermaelen to move back into the middle to partner Kosielny, who has, except for Van Persie, been Arsenal's standout player this season. Oxlade-Chamberlain, who looks to have displaced Arshavin in the pecking order (much to the pleasure of most Arsenal fans with the exception of those select few who have honoured him by naming their blogs after him) looks like the player that Walcott always wanted to be: fast, strong, tricky and with a fierce shot. As his general game improves (and with the return of our actual fullbacks) we should have a genuine wide threat for the first time this season. Above all else though, players like Ramsey, Song and Walcott have to start making a positive contribution. Van Persie cannot carry this team for an entire season, and shouldn't be expected to. Ultimately the difference between playing in Europe on a Tuesday night or a Thursday will ultimately rest in their hands.

Hello all, long time no see.

Much has changed since I last wrote: Robin Van Persie has finally developed the reputation he deserves, Wenger's head is no longer on the chopping block and most importantly Arsenal are back in the hunt for a place amongst Europe's elite (and Manchester City) in next season's Champions League.

At the start of October we were dead and buried. Lingering just above the relegation zone, it would take a miracle get us anywhere near the top four. Well we found a miracle and his name is Robin. The striker has 20 goals already this season in all competitions, and two more in the league would see him match Alan Shearer's record for league goals in a calender year. A truly remarkable achievement for someone who's legs are part flesh and bone and part Ming vase.

The striker's fantastic haul only tells part of the story. Equally astonishing was that pundits and fans alike expected an Arsenal team that was almost 50% new players to not play like a team that was almost 50% new players; when the new recruits were unsurprisingly unable to blend seamlessly into a team with a technically difficult style of play everyone threw their hands up in despair. Mertesacker, Santos, Arteta, Gervinho, Jenkinson and Benayoun have all been thrown into the first team this season and have had little time to settle. Really it should have surprised absolutely no one that when they finally did have time to learn how to play as a team Arsenal's form would see a drastic improvement. There's life in the old dog yet.

Since that loss to Spurs way back in October, Arsenal have lost just once (discounting the 'who gives a carling cup' and a meaningless tie in Athens). We now sit just one point off the Champions League places, and while the title seems destined for Manchester, the race for third and fourth places is well and truly on. Ostensibly a four horse race, I think Liverpool can be discounted on the grounds that they are rubbish. Dalglish has them playing in a way that serves as a constant reminder that he had not managed a team in ten years before taking on the job, and if the Suarez racism case has a silver lining for Kenny it's surely that it serves to distract the press from the fact that all of his other signings are quite shit (and he overpaid for all of them). If they were going to stand any chance of finishing fourth, it probably involved Suarez being able to play in all of their remaining games.

That leaves us with Chelsea and Spurs. As it stands, Spurs look likelier to finish first than fifth; keeping Modric meant that Redknapp now controls arguably the best midfield in the league, whilst Bale is reproducing the form that saw him linked with clubs all over Europe. They're finally getting some use out of Ledley King, and Brad Friedel has ended Spurs' laughable goalkeeping problems. A traditional mid-season collapse is looking increasingly unlikely, at least in North London, but over in West London things are still shaky. When Chelsea beat City a couple of weeks ago there was talk of them having turned a corner. A premature assessment as it transpired, as this was followed by successive draws against mighty Wigan and awesome Fulham. The Blues once lauded defense looks creakier by the week and simply isn't cut out to playing the high line that Villas-Boas is so determined to use. Sturridge looks like a good prospect but Drogba and Torres have 4 league goals between them all season. Things could well come to a head at the Emirates on the 21st of April when Chelsea come to visit.

Meanwhile it was Wolves who entered the lions' den on Tuesday, but instead of a mauling they left with a point. The performance somewhat characterised Arsenal's attitude against weaker opposition in recent years. After grabbing an early goal through Gervinho, we became content to sit back and just wait for another to just materialise. Opportunities were created and squandered but the intensity that you see week in and week out from the teams in Manchester simply wasn't there. And so instead of doubling our advantage it was instead cancelled out when Steven Fletcher was on hand to head home from a couple of yards out after a blocked shot fell to him just outside the 6 yard box. Predictably the rest of the game was spent laying siege to the Wolves goal but to no avail, even after they had a player sent off (probably unfairly).

Nonetheless the ante was upped after it was too late. Granted Hennessey in the Wolves goal had a great game and more than once goalbound shots were only kept out by desperate lunges from defenders but the game should have been killed off in the first half.

Rumours abound that Thierry Henry has signed a two month loan deal - I'm not convinced either way that this is a good or bad idea. What I do know is that Henry was part of a team which knew how to put games to bed. This is a squad that's been crying out for an experienced head in the dressing room to instill some belief and know-how into a still relatively young squad - if he can leave his ego at the door then that's exactly what Thierry brings to the table.

QPR are our guests on Saturday and then we're off to Fulham on the 2nd - if we can win both these games then the congested Christmas period can be considered a success. Either way, compared to October, we're sitting pretty.

Traditionally calling an end to Arsenal's involvement in the title race after a mere seven games would be seen as premature - there has, in the past, been enough quality in the squad to retain the possibility of being crowned champions at the end of season, at least mathematically. There may still be 84 points up for grabs, but the likelihood of the Gunners picking up the 78 odd that they'd need to win this thing seems beyond improbable though. One glance at Sunday's team-sheet will tell you why. Injuries and the loss of 2 of the squad's best players have taken their toll, and now we're confronted by the stark reality of finishing outside the Champion's League places for the first time since 95. Pretty bleak, right?

Right. Bleaker still when one remembers that Jack Wilshere is out till next year and Bakary Sagna is now out for the next three months. Still, it's important to examine the positives:

1. Before Sunday Arsenal had won three straight games in all compeitions.
2. We've now played Spurs, United and Newcastle away and Liverpool at home.
3. It can't possibly get any worse than losing 8-2 at Old Trafford.
4. Spurs were expected to demolish Arsenal on the weekend when in fact it ended up being much more fiercely contested than that.

This bring me neatly on to yesterday's game. There's been a lot of talk of a power shift in North London for years now but the fact remains that Spurs haven't finished above Arsenal since the 94-95 season. That said, the Gunners have lost three of the last four and bragging rights definitely reside in Tottenham right now. Truth be told most Arsenal fans were expecting much worse from this game; Redknapp's current first team, as much as it pains me to admit it, is stronger than Wenger's: Bale, Adebayor and Modric are all Champion's League calibre players, and with a supporting cast like Parker, Van der Vaart and King, it seemed like all we could hope for was avoiding another thrashing.

This was made all the more likely by Wenger's continued defensive woes, reduced as he was to partnering Per Mertersacker with Alex Song at centre back, flanked by Gibbs and Sagna; the youngster Francis Coquelin deputised in defensive midfield, accompanied by Ramsey and Arteta further forward. Gervinho, Van Persie and Walcott completed the outfield. A decent side but hardly one expected to leave White Hart Lane with points. So it proved as first Van der Vaart gave them the lead with five minutes to go in the first half before Kyle Walker nullified Ramsey's equaliser to hand Redknapp a 2-1 win.

While a Spurs third looked likelier than an Arsenal equaliser, prior to the final ten minutes the game had been fairly level. Both sides exploited each others weaknesses: Arsenal used the numerical superiority of a three man midfield to build attacks patiently and dominate possesion while Tottenham looked to break downfield quickly and hit Arsenal on the counter. The problem with the Gunners trying a patient build up is that in the wake of Fabregas' departure, there's much less likelihood that someone in midfield will play that final killer ball to release one of the strikers. Ramsey is a solid passer but lacks incisiveness; Arteta has more cut and thrust about him but seems to lack the confidence to try and play with the amount of creativity expected of him, preferring to pass sideways and backwards over trying to pick holes in the opposition's defence. Subsequently they saw a lot of the ball had little to show for it. Gervinho had the chance of the half but he wastefully sidefooted wide after Van Persie's pull back and Walcott came close with a curling left shot, but Spurs looked more dangerous going forward and probably deserved their lead, even though Van der Vaart did handle whilst controlling the ball, and might have been sent off for his celebrtation.

Arsenal started the second half brightly and levelled the score when the marauding Alex Song whipped a low cross across the six yard box and for a while it looked like we might travel home with a point, until a a speculative drive from 25 odd yards swerved horribly to deceive Szczesny, who probably should have done better. There was to be no equaliser this time, and Arsenal now lie 15th with seven points from seven games.

What's to be done? Well not a whole lot now that the transfer window has shut. Vermaelen is slated to return after the international break and he'll add some much needed strength to the back line, which unfortunately will be cancelled out by the loss of Sagna for 3 months. Hopefully Arteta will grow into his role as de facto number 10 and continue build a relationship with Van Persie, and Gervinho should continue to adjust to the English game. Losing Robin would undoubtedly put paid to any notion we have of finishing in the top four but the Dutchman looks fit and healthy (thus far). Wenger must teach this side to win though - there's still an unshakeable fragility about them and it's up to the manager to instill some confidence into the squad.

Meanwhile Roberto Mancini continues to throw his petro-dollars around like an investment banker at a strip club - that analogy does a dis-service to strippers however, many of whom don't whore themselves out like erstwhile gooners Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy have. Now the Italian manager has been flashing his 'come-hither' stare at Van Persie, Arsenal's only top player left after the Italian spent the summer stripping the club of our other assets. Piss off Mancini. You have strikers coming out the ying yang, so many in fact, that you can release Craig Bellamy on a free - on a free Mancini - and loan Adebayor to a potential rival for Champion's League. Go away and gut the squad of some other once great team, you scarf-wearing disgrace to football.

So you remember football right? 22 men on a square patch of grass kicking a coloured sphere into nets while toga-clad spectators scream and bay for blood? Well apparently it's back, which is good news for everyone except Arsenal fans.

For those of us who are paid up members of Arsene Wenger's red and white army, it's been a mixed bag so far. First there was the disappointing and infuriating draw up in Newcastle, then the succesful but undeniably nervy win against Udinese, followed by last weekend's hard-luck loss to Liverpool. 1 scored, 2 conceded and 2 red cards. Hardly bursting out of the blocks are our lads from North London. Furthermore, we've seen the departure of one of the most creative and talented central midfielders in the league in Cesc Fabregas, and there remains the distinct possibility that one of last season's best players, Samir Nasri, will soon be off to Manchester City to join erstwhile first choice left back Gael Clichy. Who has arrived to replace two of the most important members of our squad (and Clichy) you ask? Why, 19 year old Costa Rican striker Joel Campbell of course, not to mention 18 year old winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and 19 year old right back Carl Jenkinson. The only summer signing thus far who is in a position to lay claim to a starting spot is Ivorian winger Gervinho, who arrived from French champions Lille for the princely sum of 12 million Euros.

What are the implications for the team of the loss of these high profile members from the squad? Well if the first few games are anything to go by, extensive. A midfield of Song, Ramsey and Rosicky (Wilshere is not yet fit to play) struggled to create anything at Newcastle, and the front three looked isolated. As the game progressed there was increasingly little movement in the centre of the field and players were consistently caught in possession simply because there was no one to pass to. Against Udinese it was much the same story: the same midfield started strongly but struggled to deal with a team who pressed them high up the pitch, and when Walcott scored after four minutes the game became an exercise in not conceding rather than adding to the lead.

In some respects the loss against Liverpool was actually the most promising. Defensively we were solid for most of the game, despite the youngster Jenkinson making his debut at right back while Sagna covered for the injured Gibbs on the left; Koscielny was also forced off with back spasms during the first half and was replaced by youngster Ignasi Miquel, but the Spaniard looked composed. Even more satisfyingly, Thomas Vermaelen, who might as well be a new signing considering the amount he played last season, had ponytailed ponce Andy Carroll safely tucked away in his pocket all game, dealing comfortably with countless balls played downfield or into the box. Excitable young midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, who was deputising for Alex Song (retrospective 3 game ban for his stamp on Joey 'I'll stub a cigar out on a youth team player's eye but if slapped will roll around on the floor like someone's thrown acid in my face' Barton) looked like solid cover and was playing well until his deserved red card in the second half.

Even more pleasingly Wenger took a gamble on starting Samir Nasri and it paid off - the wantaway Frenchman showed real impetus and desire in taking the game to Liverpool and prior to Frimpong's second booking it was Arsenal who seemed the more likely to score. The red card was undeniably a game changer though, and a Liverpool goal seemed increasingly inevitable; in the end it was Aaron Ramsey who put the ball into the goal, albeit the wrong one, and the game was sewn up when Luis Suarez turned the ball into an unguarded net shortly afterwards.

It was a game which Arsenal probably didn't deserve to lose and while the pressure continues to mount on Wenger, we hope he'll feel buoyed by what he saw, and indeed heard; the only deregotory chant directed at him during the game was quickly drowned out by the rest of the stadium, and a few big signings before the transfer window snaps shut will at least convince doubters that the manager is doing everything he can to keep the team competitive. A creative central midfielder is a must, and whilst the central defensive pairing of Vermaelen and Koscielny looks solid, cover in the shape of the injured Djourou and the walking liability that is Sebastian Squirrelaci is insufficent, so a centre back should probably be on the shopping list. If Bendtner goes too then a decent striker (preferably one over 20 years old) will be needed. Above all Arsenal could use a player with a bit of experience in high-pressure situations, a calm head to counter balance the exuberance of youth.

Arsenal travel to Udinese on Wednesday to fight for their right to party in the premier European club competition this season; Gervinho and Song, both serving bans in domestic competitons will at least be fit, whilst Van Persie will return from his suspension left over from last season. The main point of interest will be Nasri; the way it's shaping up, if he plays, he's staying, no longer eligible to appear in Europe for his prospective pay-masters, Manchester City; if he's benched, the deal's probably still on. Watch this space.

As Arsene Wenger trudged across the desolate, trophyless wasteland of North London, he fondly recalled lifting the FA Cup some 6 years ago; how shiny it had looked, its weight in his hands, and how reflected in its surface was the beaming face of the Frenchman himself. Now the face that gazed back at him from the trophy's relfection was a mocking one, sneering at his own recent accomplishments, or lack thereof. In the distance however, there was a twinkling light - surely not the fabled Carling Cup, the holy grail of domestic competitions? Indeed it was, and what's more, only the brawny and witless players of Birmingham City lay between Arsene and glory.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the trophy proved naught more than a mirage: Arsenal succeeded only in maintaining their outstanding run of losing in finals (this was the third since 2005) and so we must wait at least another 3 months before ending this barren spell. That said, as disappointing as it was to lose another final, especially to those leg-breakers from the Midlands, is anyone really that bothered? It's always easy to say after going out of a competition that you weren't really that bothered about winning it anyway - fortunately, some of us have it in writing from before Arsenal even reached the final. Here's what I said on the 23rd of January:

'Frankly I'd prefer to finish second than win the Carling Cup, which is more joke than trophy.'

I meant that, and I still stand by it.

The one truly irritating aspect of the whole affair, putting to one side the media's obsession with being unable to talk about Arsenal without mentioning the '6 years without a trophy' thing, is that losing to Birmingham was another stark reminder of the Gunner's ridiculously poor mentality when it comes to big matches. Why are we so consistently fragile? Why is no one prepared to rally the troops and instill come confidence in everyone on the pitch when they need it most? With a few key exceptions (like the Barcelona game) watching Arsenal when the pressure's on is an unbelieveably trying experience, because it's begun to seem like an inevitability that the players will be unable to cope with it. This was the case again on Sunday when the vastly superior Arsenal players looked completely out of their depth against a distinctly average Birmingham side who they'd already beaten home and away in the league.

It should be noted that Wenger was without both Fabregas and Walcott for the tie, two players who could conceivably have made a world of difference; without Cesc, our talented midfield looks disjointed and short on ideas, in much the same way that our attack was blunted by the loss of Van Persie last season. Walcott's presence meanwhile would have forced the Birmingham back line to play deeper to prevent balls over the top, thus either forcing the entire team to play deeper, effectively nullifying the threat of man-mountain Nikola Zigic, or opening up a gap between defence and midfield which then could have been exploited by the Arsenal. That said, there should be enough talent in this squad to allow for injuries to key players, but it never quite works that way.

Equally frustrating to watch is our persistent inability to deal with big centre forwards, who continue to terrorise our defence week after week. Other teams seem to deal with them with consumate ease - Zigic, Carew, Sidibe - players like this rarely break into double figures for the season, largely because they're technically piss-poor, and they only really threaten from set-pieces. When Birmingham took the lead via the head of Zigic on Sunday, what could we do but shrug our shoulders and say: "Well that was always going to happen"? A corner to the edge of the area, headed back towards goal, then nodded over the helpless keeper by the 6ft 8" striker. Even the most talentless hack in all of North London could have written this script.

Arsenal's riposte was of course a thing of beauty: a swift counter-attack ended in a super strike from Wilshere which cannoned back off the bar. The ball eventually found it's way to Arshavin though, and after accelerating past a Birmingham defender he lofted the ball towards Van Persie who volleyed into the corner. Sublime stuff all round, but the striker, who was born of a Dutch mother and a sheet of glass, took a knock during the goal, and will now miss the Barca game. Brilliant. He lasted until half way through the second half, but without him or Fabregas, the creative spark was completely gone from the entire team. With only occasional flurries of attacking intent from Arsenal, and only hopeful balls downfield from Birmingham, the game seemed to be meandering towards extra-time. Surely only a monumental piece of skill, or an equally monumental cock-up from either defence would end this game during the regulation 90. Take a wild guess at which one happened. And which defence was involved. Yep and yep. Sczensy and Koscielny both went for the same ball, and with both trying to avoid getting in the other's way, the ball broke loose to Obefemi Martins to tap in. Maybe the most disappointing aspect of the whole afternoon was how unsurprised I was by how things had turned out. If Paul the psychic octopus had told me before the game that Birmingham were a dead cert to win it 2-1, I think I could probably have told you who was going to score, when they were going to score, and how they were going to score with near 100% accuracy.

Still, no use getting too glum over what is almost definitely the least respected piece of silverware anywhere in the world. Could the loss have long term implications for the rest of the season though? Well it could stiffen our lads' resolve to win something even bigger - the Champions League perhaps. Or maybe it'll destroy them mentally, and we'll be lucky to win a trophy ever again. Could go either way really.

The latest news on Van Persie is that he's out for at least three weeks, which means he'll miss the Barca game. What slim hope we had of progressing from that tie is all but extinguised. The good news (no, really, there's honestly some good news) is that Man Utd lost at Stamford Bridge tonight - should Arsenal win their next league game, they'll be just a point off the leaders. I've read the script though, and it looks like we're set to come agonisingly close to pipping Utd to the league title, only for Almunia to literally and inexplicably hurl the ball into his own net in the last game of the season, sealing a last minute loss and another trophyless season. Still...there's always next season...

Modern football is often derided as a soulless money-spinning venture, one which sucks money out of fans' pockets to line those of chairmen and players alike; this may be true, but when you've just watched your side come from behind to beat one of the best teams ever to play the game, well, you can't help but feel priviliged even to have been witness to the event. Wednesday night at the Emirates will live long in the memory as one of Arsenal's truly great European nights, up there with the Gunner's 1-0 win against Parma in the 1994 Cup Winner's Cup Final, or the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Villareal when Lehmann's penalty save minutes from the end ensured progression to the final.

Last year when the two teams met in the quarter-final, the game was billed as the definitive clash between the two greatest proponents of attacking football in modern European football, and whilst the game was certainly an exciting one, Arsenal didn't even come close to matching Barcelona in terms of skill, guile, movement and passing and were completely outplayed for the vast majority of the game. The Gunners had given Barca too much respect, it was said, and the game was too open. This is largely true, although somewhat overlooked was the fact that Arsenal were also suffering an injury crisis - only 4 players who started in last season's 2-2 draw would start last night's tie too. This season Wenger was simply able to choose a much better first XI.

Szczesny has rightly earned his place in goal with a string of confident performances, whilst Koscielny and Djourou look increasingly impressive as a centre defensive partnership in the continued absence of Thomas Vermaelen. Jack Wilshere, who this time least year was out on loan at Bolton has become an incredibly important player for Arsenal in the middle, and Wenger also had the luxury of starting Van Persie, who, following surgery to put him back together after his fall off that wall, has been in unbelievable form, and now has something like 12 goals in 10 games since his return. Fabregas, Song, Clichy, Eboue, Walcott and Nasri made up the rest of the team, so all in all, it was a much improved side which walked out onto the Emirates turf this time around.

The improvement in quality was instantly noticeable - Arsenal began pressing Barcelona high up the pitch, and were rewarded with several misplaced passes from the visitors. There was further encouragment when the first chance of the night fell to Van Persie. Walcott cut inside to find Fabregas on the edge of the area and his deft chip fell to the Dutchman, but his half volley was from a narrow angle and Victor Valdes was able to block it behind for a corner. There was to be no repeat of Barca's relentless onslaught last season that saw Manuel Almunia make more than a few spectacular saves in the early stages, but the visitors did carve out a great opportunity when Iniesta released Messi, the little Argentine waiting and waiting for the goalie to go to ground before dinking the ball over him, only to see it roll the wrong side of the post. Messi would try another audacious chip, this one falling well short of the target however, allowing Szczesny to safely gather before Arsenal broke at pace, Van Persie denied a free header from Fabregas' cross only by a diving intervention from Eric Abidal.

Like last year Barcelona would be the ones to take the lead however. David Villa, drafted in to replace the Milan bound Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was just onside when he ran onto Messi's through ball, and the Spaniard finished through the legs of Szczesny. Villa almost turned provider minutes later but Pedro could only shoot straight at the keeper from the striker's cross. Arsenal responded well though, and perhaps should have grabbed an equaliser when Van Persie received the ball just inside the box but, on his favoured left foot, he sliced his effort wide.

Messi would have a goal disallowed unfairly before half time but the sides went in at the break with Arsenal 1-0 down, both teams ruing several missed chances. The second half would start in much the same way that the first ended, with Barca on top but Arsenal always looking to break. Wilshere in particular was a vital presence in the centre of the pitch. The youngster always wanted the ball regardless of how tightly he was being marked, and rarely failed to pick out another Arsenal player when in possession.

Messi would again come close but could only fire into the side netting from a tight angle, but Arsenal increased their pressure at the other end with the introduction of Andrey Arshavin at the expense of Alex Song. Song played an extremely important role in restricting the freedom of the Barcelona midfielders, but the Cameroonian, already booked in the first half, looked like he might be heading for a second yellow. Fortunately his withdrawl coincided with that of David Villa, replaced by midfielder Seydou Keita, a change which suggested that Barca were happy to soak up pressure for the remainder of the game.

It was a tactic which allowed Arsenal to score twice late on in this fixture last season, and quite incredibly the same thing happened again. Firsy Clichy found Van Persie with a wonderfully weighted through ball, and with Valdes clearly expecting a cross to be driven across the six yard box, the striker fired in a shot between goalkeeper and post to level the scores. Five minutes later a Barcelona attack broke down when Koscielny tackled Messi on the edge of the area - the ball found its way to Bendtner who was able to find Wilshere in midfield, who quickly played it forward to Fabregas. The midfielder took a touch before pinging a ball beyond the defence for Nasri to race onto; the Frenchman looked certain to shoot, but he held the ball up just long enough for Arshavin to appear on the edge of the box, and the eponymous Russian made no mistake with Nasri's pullback, bending it beyond the wrong-footed Valdes. 5 passes, 17 seconds, 2-1 Arsenal.

The atmosphere inside the Emirates, which had been electric for most of the second half, reached fever pitch. It was a turnaround which far surpassed that of Newcastle; this was not 11 versus 10, there were no dodgy penalties, this was sheer determination and skill against the best team in the world, no less. This wasn't Arsenal beating Barca at their own game either, as some journalists have suggested - this was Arsenal playing the way they have done since 1996 when Arsene Wenger took charge. This is our game, and we're damn good at it - just ask Barcelona.

Arsenal must now travel to the Nou Camp knowing that their opponents can and will throw everything at them for ninety minutes. If the Gunners are to stand any chance of progression then they'll need to play as well if not better than they did at the Emirates. They should be buoyed by the knowledge that this Barcelona team is not invincible. Perhaps more importantly they will face a Barca side without their first choice central defensive partnership: Puyol looks set to miss out with injury, whilst Piqué picked up a booking that rules him out of the second leg.

A thrashing in the second leg might go some way to sullying the memory of last night's game, but a respectable defeat, or, however unlikely, a draw or victory, will ensure that the 2-1 win over Barcelona will be remembered fondly for some time to come. Truly one of the great European nights at the Arsenal.

Arsenal's record in their last seven games makes pretty good reading:

Played 6, won 6.

Simple as that. 3 league games, 2 FA cup games and 1 league cup game. The gunners remain the only team really between Man Utd and an outrageous 19th Premier League title, are through to the fifth round of the FA cup (when they'll meet Leyton Orient who are 54 places below them, all the way down in League 1) and will play Birmingham in the league cup final on the 27th February. Not bad, right? There's also the small matter of a last sixteen tie against Barcelona too.

In those six games, Arsenal have also scored an impressive 16 goals, whilst conceding just 3. Bizarrely, it's still difficult to think of this excellent series of results as putting a run together and buliding momentum because Arsenal have the capacity to implode at absolutely any point - it's this unpredictability and fragility that has really characterised our team in recent seasons. Is there more about us this season though? Well yeah, probably. If the last two games are anything to go by, then this team is pumped and ready to win some silverware. Twice the gunners have been up against it, and twice they've rallied to grab really important wins.

Wenger understandably decided to rest a couple of key players in the home tie against Huddersfield; none of Djourou, Sagna, Clichy, Fabregas, Wilshere, Van Persie or Song started, but it looked as though the gamble would pay off when Bendtner, with the help of a delflection, put Arsenal ahead after twenty two minutes. 1-0 up against lower league opposition at home - how were the gunners going to screw this up? Squillaci had the answer: get too square to a striker running at full pelt, be forced into pulling him over as he skipped past and through on goal and then get sent off. Text book stuff from the Frenchman.

Arsenal held on for twenty minutes after the restart but the pressure began to tell, and eventually someone (I won't pretend to remember who; I can't imagine he'll be seen at the Emirates ever again to be honest) got up well and planted a header past Almunia into the goal.

With the midfield looking sluggish and gifting possesion away it was up to Francesc Fabregas to sort things out, and he entered the fray shortly after the equaliser. The introduction of the Spaniard turned the game on its head once again. With a bit more composure in the middle of the park, Arsenal were able to push for a much needed winner (the possibility of a replay at Huddersfield now looming dangerously on the horizon). Bendtner conspired to squander several great chances, but the Dane made amends by tumbling under a challenge in the box to win a slightly soft penalty. Fabregas stepped up a dispatched it, and Arsenal held on to stay in the cup for another round. Inspiring stuff from the 10 men to retake the lead, and hold it, despite fielding largely a second string team.

Perhaps more important for the season was the performance against Everton at the Emirates earlier this week. A game fraught with controversy saw Arsenal go behind after 24 minutes to a goal from Louis Saha, despite the fact that the striker was comfortably a yard offside. No matter through, said the linesman, I thought he took it well, so the goal stands. Poor officiating all round, and the home side looked suitably shell shocked for the rest of the half.

A lively atmosphere helped the gunners raise their game in the second half however, and after 70 minutes a pass from Fabregas, via the head of an Everton player, found Arshavin, and the resurgent Russian volleyed in the equaliser. Arsenal didn't have long to wait for the 'go-ahead' goal either, Koscielny finding space in the box to head home a Van Persie corner. The Gunners then held on to take all three points and keep the pressure on Utd.

I feel suggesting that the kind of spirit on display is characteristic of title winners would make me sound like a bit of a broken record - comments of that nature in the past have usually been followed by a humilating defeat at the hands of a title rival or relegation candidate. So I won't say that this time - I'll merely remark that Arsenal look strong mentally at the moment. Which is good, obviously.

Two things have struck me this week:

1. A lot's been made of Fabregas' alleged comments to the officials at half time during the Everton match; the midfielder supposedly yelled something along the lines of "How much are you being paid?" in the direction of the referee. Everton manager Dasvid Moyes reckon Fabregas should have been sent off, and articles discussing the incident have also referenced past instances of petualnce on the part of Fabregas. Good I say. People are always saying we're a soft touch - maybe it's about time we had someone who'll manipulate referees and get in the opposition's face. Besides, where are the articles about Sir Wayne of Rooney screaming profanities in the faces of officials week in, week out? What do you mean there aren't any? Are you trying to suggest that the British press is a bit Xenophobic? And that if Fabregas was English, we'd just be hearing about his spirit and determination and Passion with a capital P? Yeah, I think I am.

2. When the press aren't criticising Arsenal for being sneaky foreign swine, they're saying that we're defensively inept. Our centrebacks are rubbish, and we can't deal with set pieces. Well maybe they're right, I mean, we have conceded 22 goals in 24 games. Meanwhile Manchester United have conceded 21. As have City. And Chelsea. Spurs have conceded 26 fer christs's sake. We've been missing our first choice centreback all season and we've still only conceded one more goal than the best defence(s) in the league, so cut us a break, won't you?

Newcastle away on the weekend, and Wenger will have to do without Samir Nasri. The influential Frenchman limped off against Huddersfield after chasing a through ball, and it looks like he's going to miss some key ties. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.