Some games leave you feeling elated, some games leave you feeling relieved. A sense of injustice can stay with you for months, even years after a match has finished (Thierry Henry would do well to stay out of Ireland for the rest of his life, unless he likes 'random' cavity searches at customs). Some games leave you feeling such despondency that you start to wonder whether it's all worth it.

Some games just leave you numb. Arsenal vs. Chelsea was one such game. By the time Didier Drogba's 86th minute free kick found the back of the net, all you could do was admire his technique, and put to the back of your mind the fact that it was the third goal Chelsea had scored. With no reply. At the Emirates. So lacklustre was Arsenal's peformance that it was difficult to feel anything really. Wenger points to an Arshavin goal which was disallowed early in the second half, a goal that could have changed things dramatically, but away from the media spotlight he'd do well to address his own team's failings, which were many.

Arsenal started reasonably brightly, but possesion did not convert to chances. Chelsea soaked up the early pressure with consummate ease, and it wasn't long before they were able to start asking questions of the Gunner's defence. No one really had any answers to Drogba's power or Anelka's ingenuity, and Chelsea's first two goals were absolute gifts from the home side. Both came about through crosses from Ashley Cole out on the left (as much as it pains me to say it, he was one of the best players on the pitch, in spite of the the hostile atmosphere), who was given far too much space by Sagna. The first was stabbed home by Drogba, inexplicably left free in the six yard box, the second was laughably turned home by Vermaelen who, to be fair, would have done extremly well to do anything but score an own goal given the quality of the cross.

Wenger introduced the completely ineffective Theo Walcott at the start of the second half, but in spite of his bufoonery on the right wing there might have been a ray of hope, had the referee not adjudged Eduardo's foot to be high when he basically kicked the ball out of Cech's hands. If the ensuing goal had stood, Arsenal would have had the foothold in the game they so desperately needed, and I wouldn't have minded so much that I'd spilled my pint when I leapt up to celebrate it.

The decision was probably a fair one though, and it's awfully telling that a correctly ruled out goal was Wenger's focus in the post-match conference. Whether it was a tactic employed to deflect attention from his under-performing team, or whether he genuinely believed it was a fair goal, the real story he needs to look at is that Arsenal managed just 5 shots in the entire game.

That's not shot on target. Just shots. Five of them. In 90 minutes.

If your team's tactic is essentially, if you score 2 goals we'll score 5, then you better make damn sure your star striker doesn't get crocked, otherwise you're just left with a defence that leaks like a papier-maché prophylactic.

It's nearly impossible to overstate the impact that Van Persie's injury will have on this team. His injury is season-ending for himself and Arsenal. The Dutchman was at the hub of one of the most lethal strike forces in Europe, and without that brain to issue commands, limbs just seem to be flailing wildly, like a drunk uncle dancing at a wedding. There's no incisiveness, no spark, no flair. There's no one to play in the middle of a front three either, at least until Bendtner returns, so Wenger might have to overhaul his tactics if he wants to see his team, who had previously been averaging three goals a game, end this run of two games without scoring.

As far as I'm concerned, Van Persie's injury has effectively killed off any chance Arsenal had of challenging for major honours this year. He was so incredibly important to the team, and unless someone can step up and assert their authority on an offense that looks completely lost, Arsenal are going to struggle at both ends of the pitch for months to come.

Short one this week, I'm feeling ill.

Arsenal played Wolves on the weekend, and, as at Fulham earlier in the season, barely even got into third gear. However, instead of fending off attacks and holding onto a 1-0 lead, the gunners instead won the game 4-1, Fabregas and Arshavin grabbing one apiece and the Wolves defence obligingly giving up two own goals. A late consolation robbed the defence of a clean sheet, but only Almunia seemed at all bothered.

Controversial, I know, but honestly, I think I might have been happier with another scrappy 1-0.

Arsenal are currently top of the form table, taking 16 points from a possible 18 in their last 6 games. Another resounding victory has, perhaps for the first time this season, led to journalists seriously pondering an Arsenal title challenge. "What's wrong with that you moron? And what's wrong with 4-1?" I hear you ask. You may be right, I'm probably being ridiculous, but as soon as people start asking: "Can Arsenal challenge for the title this year?", I start envisioning broken legs and centre backs sobbing in the centre circle. Of course Gallas is a couple of years older now, so if and when Arsenal do piss away whatever chance they have of winning the league he might not throw quite as big a tantrum.

In a way, I'd almost be happier if we were coasting along without all the pizazz of scoring 7 goals a game or whatever the average is now. I feel we'd stand a better chance of just sitting off Chelsea and Utd before kicking into 5th gear around Febuary and flying to the top of the table. I'm a moron, I heard you the first time, and I know I have to accept that Arsenal are playing the best football in the country (/Europe?) right now, and I should just be content. However, I think it's the right of every gooner out there to expect Arsenal to orchestrate an extraordinary cock up at any moment, god knows it's happened before, and it always seems much more likely to happen when the team is bearing the burden of expectation.

The team's a little older this team, and hopefully a little wiser. Maybe the inexperience of chucking away a potential eight point lead in 2008 will prove invaluble in the run in this time round. Maybe the away fixture at Birmingham in March will be the point when Arsenal stamp their authority on the title race instead of Martin Taylor stamping on Eduardo's ankle. Maybe Eduardo will score the winner.

Now the journalists have got me believing we can do it. Which is just what I feared.

So, another premier league weekend, another load of talking points. A loss for Phil Brown at Hull means it won't be long before he can spend weekends working on his perma-tan instead of pretending to manage a football team. A loss for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool means...well, nothing really, he's got tenure, or so it seems. There were nine red cards too which just goes to show nothing at all.


Arsenal entertained another non-entity, some team from a couple of miles away. Barnet, maybe. I forget. Anyway, it was far more comfortable than the 3-0 scoreline would have you believe. Suggestions that Barnet have a much better squad than Arsenal were made to look very silly indeed.


I jest, it was of course the North London derby, the 162nd one at that, and it was little Robbie Keane who tried to claim that Tottenham are not only a match for Arsenal, but even have more strength in depth. Point well made Robbie. Good thing you put in the kind of performance to back up such a bold assertion. It's just a shame that Arsenal were much, much better, and that you and your team were in fact rubbish.


Tottenham's long held belief that a place in the top four is tantalisingly close was dealt another blow early Saturday afternoon by a team who are, at least at home, flying. Spurs have been beaten by Chelsea, Manchester United and now Arsenal (they did beat Liverpool, but then so did Sunderland), conceding 9 and scoring 1. They haven't won away at any of those four clubs since 1993. In their defence, Lennon, Modric, Defoe and Woodgate, possibly their four best players, were ineligible through suspension and injury, but surely this allowed Arsenal to test Keane's belief that Tottenham have a better squad. Harry Redknapp was able to call on players like Jenas and er, Bentley, the latter's return to his former club marred by the fact that he did nothing except hoof the ball up to Crouch every time it came near him. Thank you David for reminding us all just why Arsene was happy to let you leave.


I shouldn't overstate Tottenham's incompetence. For 42 minutes everything went to plan for the men in white. Arsenal's attacks were largely ineffective, and Spurs soaked up most of the pressure exerted on them. There were just two notable chances. Song denied Robbie Keane at one end with a great last ditch tackle (Song was great by the way, really calm in the middle and performed both his and Diaby's duties with consumate ease). Then Cesc Fabregas steered Arshavin's deflected shot goalwards, and just as the ball seemed certain to find the back of the net Gomes made a fine one handed save to keep it out. The first half seemed destined to end goaless; but a quick throw from Sagna down by the corner flag was returned to him and he was given the space to smash a good cross right into the danger area. Van Persie (who else?) was on hand to get in front of Ledley King and squeeze it past Gomes. Great technique from the Dutchman, who is finally and deservedly being mentioned in the same breath as Rooney, Torres and Drogba as one of the great premier league strikers.


If the first goal caught Tottenham napping, the second one caught them with their pants down, and gave them a kick up the arse for good measure. If you've not seen it, I suggest you go watch it now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPAvxAgr-aU
You don't score goals like that unless you really really want to, and Fabregas clearly has that desire and conviction so often lacking from this team in past seasons. Two sucker punches from Arsenal, and two fingers to Tottenham.


It didn't get much better for Spurs either. Everyone stopped when Eduardo got taken out next to the touchline, but Sagna was the first to react to Mark Clattenburg's clever advantage and another good delivery (he must have been practicing) wasn't dealt with by keeper or defender allowing Van Persie to tap into an empty net. Woeful defending. You almost felt sorry for them. Almost.


It could have been worse, as chances were created and wasted. In the end Tottenham were lucky to escape a thrashing. The gap between Arsenal and Tottenham might not be as big as it once was, but based on this evidence, Redknapp's men are not ready to bridge it just yet.


Arsenal rumble on though, a midweek win against AZ should all but secure a berth in the next round of the Champions League and going into this weekend's game in Wolverhampton the team should be brimming with confidence. Tottenham, on the other hand, might just have a large, Fabregas shaped dent in theirs.

West Ham United 2 - 2 Arsenal

It's not easy being an Arsenal fan, as this press release from Wrigley will verify: http://www.wrigley.com/uk/press/news-details.aspx?id=1381

For those who haven't read it (most, I would assume), Wrigleys (the chewing gum manufacturer), in conjunction with some nondescript 'scientists', has compiled a league table of heart rates for fans of premier league teams. Suffice if to say that there is little or no scientific merit or credibilty in Wrigley's league table, but Arsenal's fans have been placed in second and if my heart rate last Sunday is anything to go by then this should come as no surprise (at least to me).

Arsenal had won their last four league games going into the match at Upton Park, as well as 3 in the Champions league and Carling Cup leading up to the game at Alkmaar. Of those seven games, I would suggest that in only one (4-0 against Wigan at the Emirates) did Arsenal look truly assured. Hubris, inexperience, a lack of confidence or a sense of entitlement have all been offered as potential reasons for this. Regardless, on the pitch it has meant that each game has been extremely hard work and rarely have Arsenal looked comfortable.

A game like the one on Sunday was almost inevitable. Arsenal went to East London to face a team languishing in the relegation zone, low on confidence and looking for a result to kick start their season. The Hammers started brightly and were making Arsenal work hard without creating any real chances when Arsenal were able to make good use of a rare spell of possesion. After a neat one-two, Sagna was given enough room to whip a delightful cross into the the 6 yard box (there's a first time for everything) and a miscommunication between keeper and defencer resulted in Robert Green palming the ball into the path of the onrushing Van Persie who stuck it away. The gunners had a foothold in the game, and capitalised from more sloppy defending when Gallas nodded in a corner ten minutes from the break.

Call me what you will, genius, cynic, or just canny observer of footballing trends, but in my (rapidly beating) heart I knew that even at 2-0 and with West Ham struggling to create anything, it would just take just one second, one slip, one lapse in concentration and they'd be back in contention. In the end they were given a boost in the most irritating way; Alessandro Diamanti, a regular diamond geezer (sorry), tried to bend a free kick around the wall, only to see Vito Mannone push the ball straight onto Carlton Cole's head, much like Green did with Van Persie's goal earlier. Suddenly Arsenal went from a team completely in control to a team very much on the back foot. West Ham were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, but were still struggling to carve out good opportunities. There was a decent penalty shout when Scott Parker went down in the box but it was waved away; not so when Song clumsily kicked Carlton Cole in the back of the ankle several minutes later, and Diamanti duly tucked the spot kick away, the flash git (sorry). Even when Parker was sent off for two bookable offenses with five minutes to go West Ham still looked more likely to grab a winner.

The signs were there against Blackburn, again against Birmingham and it became clear in Alkmaar that Arsenal cannot close out games out the moment. It's difficult to pin down a reason. The centreback partnership of Gallas and Vermaelen seems to get better every game. Song and Diaby look more and more confident shielding the back four, and the full backs look less jittery. Why then, does this team look constantly as though they are about to throw games away needlessly? Why are we shipping goals like never before? Canny as I may be, in all honesty I'm finding it difficult to explain. Maybe it is an issue of confidence or inexperience, but the problem seems to run deeper than that. With a tricky run of games coming up, including Spurs and Chelsea at home and Sunderland away let's hope Wenger gets to the bottom of this before I do, or a season that seemed to be trundling along nicely might just come off the rails. Or my heart might just explode, whichever comes first.

Birmingham. Famous for Birmingham City Football Club. And Aston Villa. And...well not a whole lot else (as far as I‘m aware), so the boys from the blue half of the city were no doubt keen to make an impression on the Emirates crowd by ending Arsenal's 100% home record. In the end though, the visitors were outclassed, and their new owner, the Hong Kong Billionaire Carson Yeung, will have been given a pretty clear idea just how much work will have to go into this team before they can truly play with the big boys.

Two goals, two minutes apart, another one five minutes from the end (with one Bowyer strike in between, just to keep things interesting) were enough to secure all three points. Arsenal’s goals were all well taken: the game was only fifteen minutes old when Van Persie controlled Alex Song’s pass and, turning his man he angled a sharp drive low into the far corner. Shortly after Eboué managed to release Rosicky down the wing who then squared the ball across the edge of the six yard area, and there was little else Diaby could do other than to smash the ball into the roof of the net. Arsenal’s third showed just why Wenger paid £16,000,000 for Arshavin. Just when Birmingham seemed to be threatening an equaliser, Mannone claimed a cross and rolled the ball to Fabregas who was able to turn and run into acres of space. Striding purposefully down the pitch he played the ball into Arshavin’s feet, just outside the area. The little Russian took full advantage of the room afforded him by the defenders, and nonchalantly rolled curled the ball into the far corner. Job done.

Not since Henry has Wenger has such a clinical finisher of counter attacking moves. The threat Arsenal used to carry from defending set pieces box was phenomenal. One minute they would be camped in their own box as the ball was lumped in, the next they’d be down the other end of the pitch finishing off another lightning quick move. It was football Blitzkrieg. Whilst this capability hadn’t been eroded entirely by the departure of players like Overmars, Anelka, Pires or Henry, there was no one that could be relied upon to take these sort of chances when they were presented with them. Arshavin can and will stick most chances away, and Arsenal can once again view the counter attack as another weapon in their…er….armoury.

Arsenal have set two records thus far this season: they have scored 27 goals after only 8 games, more than any other team in the history of the premier league at this stage. However, they have also conceded 11, the most conceded by an Arsenal team after this number of games. The two facts are probably not unrelated. Song and Diaby were both excellent in disrupting Birmingham’s flow, and at no point when Arsenal had 11 men behind the ball was there a cause for concern, because it became clear that wouldn’t be long before a pass was intercepted or a tackle made. It was when Arsenal did not have numbers back that doubts started to creep in, as the disinclination for tracking back shared by some Arsenal players was plain for all to see. Rosicky can be forgiven for not running the length of the pitch every time the ball is lost, his return from a prolonged absence was probably hastened by the loss of Walcott and Nasri, and his fitness might still be an issue; but Arshavin has no such excuse. Granted he’s not a teenager anymore, but 28 is the new 25. And given that he was playing down the left in front of the inexperienced Gibbs there was really no excuse. To be fair to the lad he made more of an effort as the game progressed, but it could have been a case of too little too late if Birmingham has taken their chances. As soon as Wenger reminds some of these players that the game doesn’t stop when the ball is with the other team, defensively we might look a little more assured.

On a lighter note, the beach ball that sunk Liverpool on the weekend ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sur49i4QPo ) was part of the Liverpool FC beach set, and having been marked down from half price before the game it has probably been removed from the club shop all together to deter giddy Manchester United fans from littering the pitch with them at Anfield next weekend.

Edit: as predicted... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/20/liverpool-sunderland-premier-league

Monsieur, with this sublime attacking football you are really spoiling us.

Apologies in advance, miscalculations with train times have seen me miss the game and technological problems have ruined all prior attempts to write up this week's game. So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a cursory glance at last weekends match.

A bullish Blackburn team lead by Sam Allardyce came to the Emirates yesterday, and - on the weekend where Arsene Wenger celebrated becoming Arsenal's longest serving manager - they did everything in their power to cut short the celebrations. Instead they were forcibly ejected from the party with their tails between their legs, and Wenger was able to reflect on his thirteen years in charge with a great deal of pleasure after a breath-taking exhibition of football the way he wants it to be played.

Arsenal's peformance (at least going forward) exhibited the hallmarks of a classic Wenger team; quick, incisive passing, wonderful skill and clinical finishing were all on display, and the result was 6 sublime goals from 6 different scorers (Vermaelen, Van Persie, Arshavin, Fabregas, Walcott and Bendtner). Cesc Fabregas was unsurprisingly involved in 5 of them, scoring one and creating the other four. On scoring his goal he made a point of running over to the part of the stand where he almost certainly knew Thierry Henry to be (in North London to congratulate Wenger perhaps, or maybe just move into the newly completed Highbury complex) and practically kissed the badge right off his shirt. A real show of loyalty for a player routinely dogged by rumours about a transfer back to Barca, his boyhood team. It's a commonly held belief that Cesc will be on his way to sunny Spain at the end of this season, but if he's going to do that every week then it'll be much easier to convince ourselves that he has no intention of leaving (right up until he actually does it next summer).

The only sour note on an otherwise perfect afternoon was yet another exposition of Arsenal's defensive frailties. They may not seem so important on occasions like these, but if Arsenal truly believe they can win the title, the defence simply must stop shipping goals. Vermaelen's height (5ft11") isn't generally a factor when he throws himself into every aerial battle with such gusto, but when he's up against players 5 inches taller than him (Nzonzi, the scorer of Blackburn's first goal) it's going to cause problems. Still, if he's going to score a cracking 25 yard thunderbolt every time he's beaten in the air then fair play to him. (Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry). Clichy and Sagna look out of sorts too, and the only explanation I can come up with is that they're finding it difficult to adapt to adapt to Arsenal's new 4-3-3 formation. I’m confident that the great footballing sage that is Arsenal Wenger will take all these issues into account, and maybe against stiffer opposition we'll see Arsenal adopt a less attacking style. Well...stranger things have happened.

Not since the Spartans at Thermopylae have the Greeks offered up such stiff defence in the face of overwhelming superiority. Olympiakos came to the Emirates this Tuesday night with the intention of playing out a stalemate, so as to take a point with back to Athens, but in the end it turned out to be history repeating itself as Arsenal were able to break down their stubborn resistance and end the evening with all three points: to the victor, the spoils.

The Greek side had clearly done their homework, and the way they set out was reminiscent of the tactics employed by almost every other team to come to Islington; men strung out across the midfield to stifle Arsenal's passing game, and a lone striker to lead any counter attacks that might arise. Their plan seemed to be working too. Fabregas, Arshavin and Rosicky all came close, Fabregas sweet volley which connected with the crossbar was the standout effort, but as the evening wore on, the game seemed more and more likely to be header for a draw.

It was Wenger's ability to call on a wealth of talent from his bench that was the tipping point. Vela and Eduardo would walk into most premiership teams, and their made their presence felt almost instantly: Eduardo latched onto a clever through ball from Fabregas, and was able to hold off a defender before squaring for Van Persie to sweep it into the net.

With Olympiakos strectched as they pushed for an equaliser, it was only a matter of time before Arsenal added another goal. Arshavin was at least a yard offside when he impudently backheeled into the net, but it was no less than the team's performance merited. I may be guilty of saying this every time Arsenal grab a late goal against a very defensive side, but it seems like this is the sort of game that we might have struggled to win in previous seasons. Sometimes that late goal just wouldn't materialise, and we'd have to settle fo a draw. Early indications suggest that this season will be different, as our cutting edge just keeps getting sharper. And with Nasri and Walcott still to come back, things can only get better....right?