The star men were Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner, who shrugged off an erratic weekend performance against Burnley to register his first hat-trick for the club.

The Danish striker took full advantage of some terrific Arshavin’s lead-up work to shoot our boys into a 2-0 first-half lead before completing his trio from the penalty spot after substitute Emmanuel Eboue was pulled down in the area.

In between Bendtner’s second and third goals came an amazing strike from Nasri which put the tie to bed at a time when Porto were threatening most. Picking the ball up on right-hand side of the pitch the Frenchman bobbed and weaved past four defenders before slamming his shot in from an exceptionally tight angle.

A better goal has not been scored by an Arsenal player this season.

Nasri was given a huge opportunity in the role he craves ahead of Alex Song and Abou Diaby as the advanced midfielder in Cesc Fabregas’ absence and responded with a terrific performance. At times you couldn’t tell whether it was him or the captain controlling the game, sliding passes around nonchalantly and most importantly impacting on the score with a couple of pre-assists and a majestic goal.

Arsenal v Porto photo compilation by photographer Ryu Voelkel

His performance was a reminder of what he is capable of when played in his best position and made sure that the captain’s absence was not felt. He seems to be finding form at the right time after breaking his leg in pre-season and his last two games will surely give the manager the confidence to rely more heavily on Nasri in the remaining weeks of the campaign as Cesc’s fitness is carefully nurtured.

Shortly after Nasri’s wonder goal came a terrific breakaway effort created by Arshavin and completed by Eboue. It was effectively the Russian’s third assist of the evening and he was another that shone bright, producing some dazzling dribbling to torment Porto’s right-back time and time again. He showed no ill-effects from his recent hamstring injury and linked well with Nasri and Bendtner all night.

Then there was Bendtner.

On one hand there doesn’t seem much point embellishing on a hat-trick which was completed via two open-goal tap-ins and a penalty kick. But the fact that Bendtner ended the game with the match ball tucked under his arm was testament to two of his best characteristics as a player: his unerring self-confidence and the unique ability to be in the right place at the right time.

There’s no denying that last night should have been the Dane’s second hat-trick of the week rather than the first, but the fact that we can even say that shows what he is bringing to the team at the moment.

During the difficult winter period where Arshavin was asked to play up front for several games on the trot we produced some good results but were not playing good football or creating very many chances. Now, with Bendtner back in the side, we quite simply look awesome in attack. Whether he is scoring goals or not the fact is that we are playing better as a unit and a lot of that comes down to his presence in attack.

Sol Campbell returned to the side to partner Thomas Vermaelen at the back and both defenders had strong games. They were supported well by Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna too, who should also be applauded for the quality of their crossing on the night. So often we are critical of the wing-backs inability to deliver in dangerous balls into the area but there were no such problems against Porto.

Alex Song showed we he is just as important to the side as Cesc Fabregas with another typically dominant performance in the middle of the park, aided well by Diaby who held his position well and was disciplined enough to let Nasri do most of the attacking. On the right was Rosicky whose good performance was somewhat undermined by the great displays around him.

While it’s important to keep a sense of perspective after a performance and result like this – we haven’t won anything yet, this was only Porto, there’s a long way to go etc – I don’t think that perspective should get in the way of enjoying a terrific night for the club.

As supporters of this club we are continually spoilt with astonishingly attractive and attacking football and on nights like these it is worthwhile just sitting back and enjoying the positive energy that is pinging about just now.

We’re into the last eight of the competition yet again and regardless of who draw in the next round, we’ve reiterated our standing as one of the very best clubs in Europe.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s terrific 5-0 defeat of FC Porto by leaving a comment.

Yet in some ways a struggle rather than a breezy victory was just the right preparation for the crucial European with Porto on Tuesday. It was also a poignant reminder that if the team with the worst away record in the Premier League can still cause us some trouble, so will every one of the remaining nine clubs that stand between us and the title.

The reasons for our Saturday afternoon struggles were essentially twofold: Nicklas Bendtner’s wastefulness and Cesc Fabregas’ hamstring tweak.

Bendtner’s misses seemed to get worse as they afternoon wore on, tallying not one, not two, but five. He missed in every possible manner: dwelling too long on an early through-pass by Fabregas and failing to get enough purchase on a Theo Walcott dragback in the first half, heading wide from six yards, skying a volley high over the bar and dragging another Walcott cross wide in the second.

It was genuinely hilarious stuff, even with the game so tight.

Before any of Bendtner’s misses the captain had put us in front, capitalising on a jaw-droppingly good pass by Samir Nasri to slide home the opener.

His troublesome hamstring forced him to leave the pitch shortly after though and the team took some time to adjust to his absence. In the end Nasri and Tomas Rosicky stepped in admirably to fill the captain’s void with the Frenchman in particular producing an energetic and responsible performance to keep the creative flow ticking in around the 18-yard box.

When David Nugent punished some really poor defending to grab Burnley an undeserved equaliser the game’s outstanding player made his mark. Cutting in from the right where he had terrorised Burnley all game, Theo Walcott used his pace to find the space to slot home a delicious curler.

Spurred on by the ridiculous criticism of his midweek performance for England, Walcott responded  in the best possible way, with a performance full of pace and purpose and perhaps most importantly, end product. His goal is the easiest part of his performance to praise but a number of his final balls, usually wasted by Bendtner, that will also encourage Arsenal fans.

Decision-making and the final ball are usually Walcott’s biggest weaknesses but there simply were no such problems today.

At 2-1 we always looked winners and eventually managed to find the killer third goal through substitute Andrey Arshavin, who found the bottom corner of the net and celebrated in style.

While the margin of victory was somewhat disappointing I feel this was a decent performance by the team and a number of individual players in particular.

As I touched on earlier, Nasri is starting to play the really good football that we all know he is capable of while Rosicky’s continued impact on the team has been extremely encouraging. With Fabregas’ hamstring likely to require some nursing between now and the end of the season to ensure he is able to play in the biggest games, Nasri and Rosicky will have big parts to play in the games where we are expected to win.

On the left, Gael Clichy seems to have overcome his little blip while Manuel Almunia, although relatively untested, appears to have regained his confidence in the knowledge that there will be no more Manchester Uniteds or Chelseas this season. Meanwhile Walcott has something to build on while Emmanuel Eboue’s continued excellence from defence means our right side has some real verve and quality about it at the moment.

It may only have been Burnley but a number of the areas that appeared to be potential weak points are sorting themselves out and it bodes extremely well for the run-in.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s 3-1 in over Burnley by leaving a comment.

The game

While the strongest memory of this win will no doubt be the injury to Aaron Ramsey, there is a growing feeling that we might soon look back on this game as the pivotal moment in our unlikely title charge.

After going behind to a goal scored from Stoke’s first throw-in of the match, I had a sinking feeling that we might not be able to overturn the deficit and come away with the three points required to close the gap on Chelsea at the top. When Stoke continued to push for ten minutes after their goal I started to wonder first how we were going to get our rhythm back and second, how we were going to score.

The answer was with the type of goal that only Nicklas Bendtner can score, a towering header from a superb Cesc Fabregas cross. It was the best headed goal I have seen this season and proved to be the catalyst for a superb team performance. From that moment we seized control of the game, moved the ball efficiently and create chances, all the while preventing Stoke from taking one of their trademark throw-ins for almost an hour.

But then Ramsey had his leg broken.

The reactions of our players were justifiably intense and all too familiar. This really was Eduardo all over again and considering the timing of the injury and the way in which we crumbled at Birmingham two seasons ago, I didn’t expect us to go on and win the game. I really didn’t.

Once Ramsey left the pitch on a stretcher and the stadium in an ambulance the match continued, essentially at half-speed. Out passing rhythm had been severely retarded as the attacking players instinctual runs into space were replaced by paralysed half-efforts. In short, it didn’t look like we would get a goal.

But slowly and surely our rhythm returned. Fabregas was at the heart of everything and when Eduardo had an extraordinary opportunity to win the game in headline-grabbing style, he poked wide. It was a huge chance and as he lay on his back reflecting on the miss I felt it might be the last good one we would get in the game.

Remarkably we continued to push and were rewarded with a second consecutive penalty, correctly awarded against Stoke’s goalscorer for handball. Only he knows what he was doing with his hand stuck out that far and although it was quite clearly ball-to-hand, the decision was spot on.

I celebrated the penalty award with more gusto than I’ve celebrated most goals this season, before I realised that the score was still 1-1. I also realised, as Fabregas stood over the ball, that Sorensen had saved his kick from twelve yards earlier in the season.

I was 90% sure Fabregas would do his usual thing and 95% sure that Sorensen would dive the right way. Cesc did, Sorensen got a hand on it but it nestled in the net. 2-1, an unbelievable moment in our season and all of a sudden it looked like we had completed the most courageous of tasks.

The third goal from Vermaelen sealed the victory and gave the boys the opportunity to enjoy their achievement. If the celebrations after Cesc’s goal were full of passion and relief, the celebrations after Vermaelen’s were full of pride. The sight of Vermaelen pumping his fists in typical hardman fashion as a joyous huddle formed around him, complete with Sol Campbell, one leg raised screaming into the away support, is one that I will remember for a very long time.

At the end of the game Gael Clichy and the captain pulled the team together in an Invincible-like huddle. The knew the importance of what they had done and were aware of the effort it took. They had stolen a victory, against the odds in many respects, under the same circumstances that saw us lose the title two years earlier and in the process putting them within three points of the league leaders.

All in all, a fabulous win.

Player performances

I don’t usually do individual performance reviews but I really feel it is justified after such a terrific team effort. Usually there are two or three or even four or five players that stand-out but in this case virtually every one of the eleven who started the match deserve special praise.

Manuel Almunia did a good job in goals, doing what he could against Delap’s throw-ins and was in no way responsible for the goals. He was always quick to get the counter-attacks going when he could as well, often seeking out the cleverly-utilised Emmanuel Eboue as a speedy outlet.

Sol Campbell and Thomas Vermaelen were both colossal at the back, providing excellent physical presence as well as invaluable mental strength. Vermaelen’s response to Ramsey’s injury was the most distressing of the Arsenal players on the pitch, perhaps because he had not experienced it before, but he calmed down quickly and produced a superb effort to score the third goal.

Meanwhile Campbell, in one game, has justified Arsene Wenger’s decision to resign him to the club. He was brave and powerful but like Vermaelen, excelled even more in the leadership and inspiration department. His anger after the Ramsey incident may have swayed the red card in our favour while his celebration at the end said it all. He bleeds red and white and his drive is certainly wearing off on the players around him.

Sagna had an efficient game while Gael Clichy enjoyed an excellent return to form. Many people, myself included, have been worried about his performances since returning from injury but this was vintage Clichy, driving forward when possible and using his speed to great effect in mopping up at the back. What’s more, like the central defenders, his leadership qualities were to the fore, giving support to Vermaelen after the injury and getting quite vocal to ensure the team remained focus.

Alex Song seemed to switch on after the first goal and from that moment was superb. He did his job perfectly and even got forward a number of times, providing Bendtner with the pass that setup the penalty and cleverly feeding Eduardo for his late chance. The yellow card that he received was nonsense and will see him miss the next two games.

Alongside Song was the unfortunate Aaron Ramsey and the irreplaceable Cesc Fabregas. Ramsey was having a good game before he was taken out, providing great drive and purpose from the central areas. His loss will be a big one not only in the long-term but also in short-term, as Ramsey was playing consistently well and really starting to make his mark on the team.

Cesc meanwhile was the best player on the pitch, setting up the first and third goals, scoring the crucial penalty and providing several moments of inspirational leadership. This was the individual performance of season and if we go on to win the title we will all look back on his effort with immense respect. A jaw-dropping effort by a stunning player.

Up front Bendtner got his second goal in two games and proved a handful all day. I’ve said to a couple of people that I really feel he could do a Freddie Ljungberg from 2001/02 and score ten league goals before the end of the season to push us over the line. His goal could not have been scored by any other player in the squad and his general willingness to get involved makes the players around him improve.

On the wings Samir Nasri had a great game, proving a perfect pivot for the likes of Clichy and Fabregas to work off, while Eboue repaid the manager’s faith in starting him by delivering an immense performance. In many ways Eboue played like Diaby, pushing into the space behind Bendtner and driving at the defenders, but it was clear that his primary purpose against Stoke was to provide us with a counter-attacking outlet. Every player looked for him on the break and he didn’t let them down, controlling the ball well under pressure and consistently turning defence into attack by winning a throw-in or a free-kick.

So all in all, a great team performance. Every single player played well under pressure and they thoroughly deserved the victory.

Ramsey’s injury

I can’t really put it any better than Arseblogger already has. His take on things is absolutely spot on and you can read more here if you want.

League chances

We are in a terrific position to win the title, it’s as simple as that. If the bottle we showed at Stoke can be consistently replicated throughout the remainder of the season then I believe we will win it. In fact, looking at the table and the fixtures and galvanising effect that the injury to Ramsey appears to have had on the players, I’d have us as favourites.

Not that I’m getting ahead of myself, of course.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s remarkable win over Stoke by leaving a comment.

It took until the 90th minute for Cesc Fabregas to put the game to bed after Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark. But it should have been done and dusted by that point with a host of chances going begging from the likes of Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky.

That it should have been a far more comfortable afternoon for our boys didn’t change the fact that Sunderland also had chances. Good chances, too.

The returning Manuel Almunia made two excellent blocks on Frazier Campbell and especially Darren Bent, while lanky striker Kenwyn Jones wasted a clear-cut chance by shooting wide in the first half.

For us to have so much ball and still give away three one-on-ones was disappointing but indicative of the disruptive nature of Sol Campbell’s absence and Mikael Silvestre’s return to the team. While his commitment cannot be faulted, Silvestre’s lack of pace meant that as long as the scored stay at 1-0, Sunderland were always in it.

After hitting the bar through Bendtner and creating a couple of other chances, our opening goal came from a superb assist from the best player on the day. Emmanuel Eboue, brought into the team in place of Bacary Sagna to provide more attacking thrust, drove forward from his position at right-back and drew three players before feeding Bendtner with an unmissable opportunity.

It wasn’t the first time Eboue would get forward with purpose and he was supported well on the right by a bubbly if inconsistent Theo Walcott. His brain doesn’t seem capable of keeping up with his feet just yet but this was something of a return to form.

Other strong performances on the day came from Aaron Ramsey, Samir Nasri and the increasingly vital Alex Song.

The team’s only defensive midfielder dominated the centre of the pitch all day while Nasri played with far more purpose than in recent weeks. Meanwhile Ramsey showed why he should remain ahead of Denilson in the midfield pecking order with a performance of determination and desire. He might only be 18 but the presence he exerts is that of a 25-year-old.

The final word goes to the captain who both won and converted the penalty that sealed the game.

Cesc seemed despondent after the midweek loss to Porto but showed again that he is the main man in this team, grabbing the ball once he was fouled and making sure of the points. That he had the confidence to step up after missing our only other penalty this season, against Stoke, just shows what a composed and responsible leader he has become.

So another three points gathered and with United losing to Everton and Chelsea hosting Manchester City next weekend we remain well and truly in it.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Sunderland by leaving a comment.

After a very tough run of games that has seemingly knocked the confidence out of players and saw the English media right us off as title contenders, the 1-0 win over Liverpool means we’re back in it.

Except that we were never out of it.

I said before the Aston Villa game that I felt we would be a decent chance for the title if we could end these four games around five or six points behind the league leaders. Chelsea’s unsurprising loss to Everton and Manchester United’s draw at Villa Park means we have achieved that mark.

With just a gap of six points to make up and a favourable run of fixtures to come means I genuinely feel there is cause for optimism in what Arsenal may still achieve this season.

Regarding the Liverpool win, the thing that impressed me most was the level of patience and self-control that our boys managed to achieve.

Worried about the threat of the Liverpool counter-attack, Arsene Wenger clearly instructed the team to play more conservatively and work themselves into the game. An opening half of missed passes and lacklustre movement proved an unwelcome side-effect of those instructions, but the payoff was that Liverpool never threatened.

Samir Nasri’s concussion did not help proceedings as his ten-minute period of grogginess denied our team balance until his replacement by Tomas Rosicky. Our two best opportunities of the opening half where a characteristically wild strike by Nicklas Bendtner and a scuffed effort by Cesc Fabregas. Meanwhile Liverpool were restricted to one Maxi Rodriguez shot.

The second half was something of a different story as Liverpool and our boys traded blows.

Lucas had an early sighter before William Gallas denied David Ngog with the best Arsenal tackle of the season. Tracking back from Liverpool’s only successful counter-attack of the evening, Gallas produced a last-ditch sliding effort to stop Ngog after the French striker had wriggled free of Thomas Vermaelen.

It was inspirational stuff from Arsenal’s best player of the match and almost inspired a goal at the other end. Andrey Arshavin, who had an otherwise quiet game, fed Rosicky with an excellent through-ball but the Czech winger was caught in two minds over whether to shoot or pass to Bendtner in the middle, eventually causing him to mis-control at the vital moment.

It was Nasri against Chelsea all over again but thankfully it didn’t cost us.

Pepe Reina made a save from Bendtner after a typically blustering run before the Dane was booked for diving just outside the area. It was uncharacteristic of a player who has shown to be one of the most honest out there and although the decision was spot on, you have to wonder what stopped referee Howard Webb from dishing out the same punishment to Steven Gerrard for two acts of simulation that were just as bad.

The final twenty minutes saw a flurry of action: the winning goal, a terrific save by Manuel Almunia and a controversial handball by Fabregas in the dying moments that saw us run out with the three points.

Unbelievably the winning goal came from the head of Abou Diaby.

Bendtner and Rosicky combined well before the Czech man sent in our first good cross in the last 6 months to leave a perfectly-placed Diaby with the simple job of powering home. It was a great goal – the sort that I feel Arsenal supporters enjoy the same way that Stoke fans love it when their team manages to score after some nice passing – and was only bettered by the celebration, which saw Diaby mobbed by teammates Theo Walcott and Fabregas.

Almunia’s contribution to the night came soon after as he superbly tipped a Ryan Babel fizzer onto the bar. He’s come in for a lot of criticism in recent weeks but in my opinion had a strong game tonight, handling the penalty area situations well and producing this crucial save.

With the clock ticking down and our boys seconds away from a vital win, Gerrard got away with a dive in a move that saw Dirk Kuyt fouled. Gerrard took the free-kick, Fabregas blocked it with his hand. The Arsenal captain was on a yellow at that point and was fortunate not to be sent off, but in the end the referee waved play-on before blowing the final whistle seconds later.

Arsenal 1, Liverpool 0. Beautiful.

I mentioned before that Gallas was my Man of the Match but credit must also go to Bendtner and Diaby as well as the manager for his team selections and tactics. It’s clear that the two tallest players in our squad give our play much more variety and we looked a far danger proposition in attack than in the previous two games without giving away too much at the back.

Alex Song stuck to his role of shielding the back four and produced a much improved performance. Fabregas had an off-game but got a lot of support from his midfield partners, surprise starter Emmanuel Eboue had a good game at right-back while Rosicky was a handful after replacing Nasri.

This was a game won more in the mind than the body and our players need to be commended. They played a patient, intelligent possession game that reaped dividends the longer the game wore on and responded admirably to two crushing defeats that surely must have dented their confidence.

It was a surprisingly good end to a difficult period of four matches that ultimately still mean we’re in with a genuine title chance.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Liverpool by leaving a comment.

Didier Drogba predictably got both goals, punishing two pieces of slack defending by Gael Clichy.

The first saw Clichy leave his position on the far post for no apparent reason, allowing Drogba free reign to smack home John Terry’s header. Had the Frenchman stayed put he would have had the relatively comfortable job of pumping the ball clear of danger before Drogba was allowed to arrive on the scene.

The second was even worse as Clichy zig-zagged bizarrely while tracking back on a Chelsea breakaway, confusing Thomas Vermaelen and allowing Drogba space on the right side of the penalty area. In an attempt to make up for the error Clichy was beaten far too easily by the Chelsea man, once again selling the well-positioned Vermaelen short and allowing Drogba the space to hammer the ball home from close range.

It was amateur defending from a usually reliable player that has been in terrible form since his return from injury.

In between those goals Andrey Arshavin had a volley superbly saved from Petr Cech and once it was 2-0 in my mind there was only ever going to be one result. We passed and passed and passed the ball without ever really threatening Cech again from open play, his only other save of note coming from Cesc Fabregas’ low free-kick on 70 minutes.

Drogba was denied a hat-trick at the end when his excellent free-kick hit the bar but it ended 2-0, a scoreline that leaves Arsenal languishing off the top of the table by no less than nine points.

So what to make of another horrible result that has seen us lose twice to both our major title rivals?

Well, for one, I don’t think that Wenger really wanted to win this game. I mean, I’m sure he wanted to win the game but he certainly didn’t do everything in his power to get the three points.

If this was an FA Cup final, a Champions League final or the last game of the season, I am convinced that Nicklas Bendtner would have started. As it was I think Wenger weighed up the difference in quality between Chelsea and our opponents on Wednesday Liverpool, the run-in of the three title rivals and the fact that Bendtner’s groin is not yet at 100% and made a calculated decision to essentially throw the game.

Here is a comment I made following our 3-0 loss to Chelsea in November:

“We could play this Chelsea team ten times without van Persie or Bendtner spearheading the attack and I don’t think we would beat them once. Their defence is just too strong and physical and unfortunately we did not have the right players available to allow a genuine chance of winning the match.”

By not playing Bendtner from the start last night I feel that Wenger took away any realistic chance of winning. He took the safe bet of ensuring arguably our most important player for the run-in, our one out-and-out striker, did not suffer a re-occurrence of his injury in a fixture that on paper looked exceptionally difficult to win. I feel he did that because he backs this team, with Bendtner in it, to beat Liverpool on Wednesday and put together a good enough run of results to pose a real threat in the title race.

Because despite claims to the contrary, we are still well and truly in this title race. Nine points seems a lot – but the fixtures don’t lie. It might not be fashionable to win the league after losing all four games to the other two best sides in the country, conceding ten goals and scoring just two in the process, but all that matters is who sits atop the table at the end of the season. Much as the last two games have hurt our pride, it’s really not over just yet.

Having said that, I’m not kidding myself here, it’s not going to be easy. There are serious problems in the team that need to be addressed if we are to post another good run of results.

Our general crossing is woeful, our runs into the box to get on the end of the crosses are non-existant and our attacking threat from set-pieces has completely deteriorated since we lost Robin van Persie to injury.

Certain players are simply not performing up to scratch and that there are still far too many individual defensive errors being committed.

It’s inexcusable and it has to change. But whether it does or not is the big question.

Liverpool are up next in a game that we simply have to win to retain a realistic hope of winning the title. Best we forget about this one as soon as possible.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea by leaving a comment.

I’ll run through the good before I get onto the bad on what was a dreadful afternoon at The Emirates.

First things first I thought our energy and effort was good, we created enough chances to score a few goals and our physical effort on the 50/50 balls was admirable. 

Andrey Arshavin was purposeful and dangerous, Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song gave it their all in the middle of the park while William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen’s effort meant they did not deserve to concede three goals.

However, our gameplan was suicide. 

Open, ultra-attacking football against the country’s best exponents of the counter-attacking game? Are you freaking kidding me? Did Arsene Wenger forget about last year’s 3-1 loss on the same ground in the Champions League final?

It is a harsh and simple truth that Wenger’s insistence on playing open football against Manchester United does not work.

Sure we’ve won games but when we do it is by the skin of our teeth. Last season’s 2-1 win at the Emirates is a good example, as are the 2-1 wins home and away in the first year at The Emirates. Games that were a knife edge all the way and where luck and one moment of brilliance were the deciding factors.

On the other hand when we lose, we get slaughtered. 3-1 yesterday, 4-1 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-final and the 4-0 loss in the FA Cup the season before. 

The gamble Wenger takes when he plays open football against United is on our attackers taking more of their chances than their opponents. Recent history tells us that it is not a smart gamble, that United’s biggest weapon is their ability to make the most of their opportunities and the only time we’ve enjoyed success is when they’ve been profligate.

The most shocking thing is that Wenger has shown us he is aware of this.

He sent out a perfectly-balanced team to play a slow-paced possession game at Old Trafford earlier in the season and only a generous referee and Abou Diaby’s brain explosion stopped us from going home with the points. He also went for a similar tactic when Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal beat United at Old Trafford in 2006.

Yesterday we lost because Wenger again gambled that we would take our chances better than United. Yet again we didn’t and yet again we were destroyed. It’s becoming all to familiar and something needs to be done.

I also thought the manager’s team selection left a lot to be desired. 

The inclusion of Denilson ahead of Aaron Ramsey effectively left us with a less attacking team than the one that so nearly won at Old Trafford earlier in the season. Yet he sent out this group of players with the mission of attacking much more willfully. It made no sense.

Aaron Ramsey is a player that has confidence in abundance and an attacking threat that is still hard to predict and counteract. He could have been our Diaby, our wild-card. His presence would have moved Fabregas back into the battling midfielder position that he appears to thrive in most. Instead Wenger went with Denilson, a player that was predictably invisible in attack and gift-wrapping United with their second and third goals.

Denilson’s effort to prevent Wayne Rooney from slotting home United’s second goal was a disgrace. He had a twenty yard head-start on the striker yet a lack of awareness and sheer laziness saw that margin gobbled up. When you compare Denilson’s effort with that of Vermaelen and Clichy, who tore back with immense speed and desire, it is almost embarrassing.

It is the sort of defending that is inexcusable in any game against any team. Against Manchester United’s counter-attacking expertise it is borderline insanity. Denilson should be dropped for a couple of games to make an example to the other players that this sort of thing is absolutely unacceptable. It cannot happen if we want to win league titles.

To compound the manager’s error with the starting team was his lack of proactivity with the substitutes when we were 2-0 down. At half-time Wenger needed to make a statement of intent: Nicklas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey needed to come on. 

Instead, he obviously considered that we were creating chances and that we just needed to convert one to get back in the game. Trouble was, so was United. Predictably the scored a third on the break.

From that point, just as with Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning counter-attack goal in the Champions League, the game was over. The rest didn’t matter. We continued to put in the effort and the hardest man in Premiership football even got a goal. But it didn’t matter one bit.

I realise this is just one game but I’m really getting sick of losing to United.

They don’t have superior players. They don’t have an untouchable player like Ronaldo anymore (talk of Rooney destroying us is absolutely ridiculous) and they’re not unbeatable. But as long as Wenger continues to play open football then Alex Ferguson’s counter-attacking team is going to beat us more times then they lose.

In terms of the bigger picture the season is far from over but we desperately need to get a result at Stamford Bridge now. Otherwise just like last season, all our eggs will be in the Champions League basket.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s 3-1 loss to United by leaving a comment.

A draw was probably the right result. The general feeling was that Aston Villa posed more of a threat but the statistics show they only managed one shot on target. While Martin O’Neill will be kicking himself that Stewart Downing didn’t show more courage when heading wide in the second half yet Arsene Wenger will be cursing his luck that neither Cesc Fabregas nor Tomas Rosicky were able to avoid the woodwork.

It’s so far so good with regards to the signing of Sol Campbell. The big man was called upon for the second week in a row after Thomas Vermaelen’s injury and was arguably the outstanding defender on the pitch, throwing his body around in a typically brutish manner. His communication with William Gallas was good and the other players clearly respect him – the big question now is whether his body will hold up playing a number of games on the trot.

Vermaelen’s injury, meanwhile, is as unlikely as it is frustrating. If scans reveal a suspected fracture of the tibula he will be the fourth player after Samir Nasri, Denilson and Kieran Gibbs to fracture a bone this season. When you throw in Eduardo’s ugly break a couple of seasons ago and Robin van Persie’s bizarre ankle problem it really does bring to light how unfortunate we continue to be with injuries.

Denilson was the worst player on the pitch against Villa and should Alex Song return against Manchester United then the manager should really consider dropping the Brazilian to the bench. Despite working hard he offered ineffective protection for the defence, inexplicably gave the ball away at dangerous moments and offered nothing going forward. While Aaron Ramsey was far from perfect he exudes a confidence that Denilson simply doesn’t have and he should join Song and Cesc Fabregas in the midfield on Sunday.

We looked at our best last night when winning possession on the edge of our own area and breaking forward with pace. It was clearly the gameplan employed by Wenger as Villa gained more and more of the ball and almost paid dividends twice when first Cesc Fabregas then Tomas Rosicky hit the bar. Fabregas’ run and shot was a reminder of the career-best form he is in at the moment while Rosicky’s unlucky effort came after a sensational bit of dribbling by Andrey Arshavin. Big players so often win the big games and our two biggest attackers so nearly delivered on the back of a couple of classy individual performances.

While Arshavin and Fabregas were our best attackers against Villa, Nicklas Bendtner was arguably our most effective. Replacing the injured Eduardo on 60 minutes the big Dane gave a stark reminder of just the sort of player we have been missing up front. He won headers, threw his body against Richard Dunne and James Collins and provided a focal point that allowed Fabregas and Co to impose themselves more on the game as it wore on. On another day Bendtner may have scored twice and – fitness aside – his impressive cameo and Eduardo’s muscle tear should see him earn a start on the weekend.

Manchester United at home on Sunday night has now become our biggest game of the season. Win it and we get three points and the necessary momentum back to put up a genuine fight against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Lose it and our uphill battle becomes very steep indeed. United will have momentum of their own after beating Manchester City in a Carling Cup thriller so it’s going to take an epic team performance to get the result we require.

Thoughts?

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After starting with a mix of youth and experience and battling back to level the game at 1-1, Arsene Wenger made the changes that I expected to help us push on and win the game. Andrey Arshavin, Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey joined Cesc Fabregas, Denilson and Carlos Vela on the pitch to create a front six good enough to get the goal we needed.

It wasn’t to be however, as Mamady Sidibe raced down the flank to cross for Fuller to head home.

It would be easy to say that we lost this game because we started with an inexperienced team containing the likes of Francois Coquelin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Craig Eastmond in key positions but the truth is that Stoke produced their moment of real quality when we had our best team on the park. As such, we shouldn’t make excuses.

There isn’t a defender in the league who could have prevented Fuller from getting of Sidibe’s inch-perfect cross, nor a goalkeeper of stopping his header. It was a tremendously precise goal which effectively decided the tie and sometimes you just have to accept that these things happen in football games. You just can’t win them all.

The game panned out in a fairly typical manner with Stoke causing the most trouble with the aerial threat provided by both Rory Delap’s throw-ins and some excellent crossing from the wide areas. Meanwhile we struggled to find our desired passing rhythm as Theo Walcott and Vela struggled to assert themselves, Coquelin seemed overawed by the occasion and Thomas’ over-enthusiasm saw him wander too far from his central striker duties.

That Stoke scored from their first attack, their first Delap throw-in, didn’t help. Lukasz Fabianski’s ill-conceived attempt to catch the ball on his chest rather than punching it clear with his arms extended allowed Fuller to nip in and the Jamaican striker’s header bundled in off the crossbar. It wasn’t the start we’d hoped for.

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Our boys had recently come from behind to beat Liverpool, West Ham and Bolton and also struck late to salvage a draw with Everton, so there was no real reason for panic. We gradually took control of the game despite Stoke’s ever-present set-piece threat and just like at Bolton, pulled back a crucial goal just before half-time when Fabregas teed up Denilson to scuff home a shot from the edge of the area.

The goal seemed to give our team confidence and we emerged from the break in a far more relaxed manner, spreading the passes and generally keeping possession well. However, we had nothing to show in the final third for our efforts except for a Fabregas shot comfortably tipped over by Thomas Sorensen.

When the triple-substitution was made I was confident that we would go on to win the game. But it simply didn’t pan out that way as Fuller scored again before Dean Whitehead added a killer third with five minutes to play.

I was extremely disappointed to go out of the Cup but I see no real reason to be too critical of the team or the manager for the result. Wenger put out a team with enough quality to win the game while resting enough players to keep things fresh for the epic run of games coming up.

The effort and desire was there, the quality was undoubtedly lacking in patches, yet after getting ourselves in a good position to win the game we were undone by a quality goal. That’s all there is to it, really.

In terms of individual performances I feel that Sol Campbell’s commanding return merited a mention while Armand Traore’s attacking from deep on the left provided our best outlet over the 90 minutes. Mikael Silvestre sacrificed his body for the cause while Thomas’ overall effort was promising despite a lack of positional discipline.

Meanwhile Denilson, Vela and Walcott all disappointed while Fabianski endured a mixed evening between the sticks. At fault for the first goal, he responded well to generally dominate his area before making a couple of handling errors late on in the game.

I feel his performance – under tough conditions – was better than many people will give him credit for, yet he will need to iron out the kinks in his game before he is called up to replace Manuel Almunia. Considering the FA Cup is his best chance for minutes Fabianski will be as disappointed as anyone that we’ve been knocked out.

So another chance for a trophy in 2009/10 is gone but with an exciting quartet of games against Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool coming up that may soon be forgotten.

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Arsenal are top of the league and after coming from two goals down to win by two we thoroughly deserve it.

Going into the game it looked something of a formality that we would end the day on top of the table. But a half an hour into the match it appeared an unlikely outcome.

Arsenal played a strong and experienced team from the start but scrappy defending allowed Bolton to score twice, first through Gary Cahill and then through Matthew Taylor via the penalty spot. Both were the sort of concessions that will need to be eradicated before the big boys come to town but on this occasion they provided the starting point for a monumental comeback by our boys.

Bolton stacked men behind the ball for the rest of the half in the hope that they would go into the break two clear. They came ever so close but were unstuck by a moment of Tomas Rosicky magic.

Receiving a pass from the irresistible Cesc Fabregas, Rosicky ghosted into the penalty area before smacking home at Jussi Jaaskelainen’s near post. The beauty in this goal lay both in Fabregas’ ability to sneak out a pass and Rosicky’s ability to let loose a shot mid-stride to completely surprise the goalkeeper. It was a truly wonderful goal and hopefully the sort of which we may see more of as the Czech man regains the levels of performance that we all know he is capable of.

The goal before half-time absolutely changed the game. It gave us a huge boost of confidence going into the break and undoubtedly planted a seed of doubt in the minds of the Bolton players. Indeed, we may have even gone in equal at the break when Fabregas had a curling shot saved by the goalkeeper.

It was equal soon after the break in somewhat controversial circumstances.

William Gallas and Steven Davies both challenged for a ball in the middle of the pitch and while Gallas scuttled off to pick up the loose ball, the Bolton man lay prone on the turf. Gallas ignored the man down and pushed forward to help out with the attack, eventually allowing captain Cesc to waltz into the penalty area and fire home a lovely finish.

The crowd went mad with delight while the Bolton players and staff went mad at the referee.

The fallout from this incident has been absolutely ridiculous. New Bolton manager Owen Coyle called it an “assault” while the pundit covering the stream I was watching was having a minor fit about the “bad foul” that Gallas committed. For me it was nothing more that a 50-50 challenge and both players got the ball – something you can clearly see from the way the ball spins away after they make contact. Although Gallas came from the higher position and certainly caught Davies, you can see from the way that his leg snaps back from the challenge that he had absolutely no intention to hurt the Bolton player.

Had I been referee I probably would have called it a foul, but with Alan Wiley deciding it wasn’t we had every right to play on. Anyone who disagrees only needs to watch the Denilson incident against Everton a couple of games ago. It’s the referee’s job to stop play, he didn’t, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t play on. End of story.

From 2-2 you could sense that Arsenal were going to complete the comeback and they did just that when Thomas Vermaelen scored a sensational third goal. Abou Diaby challenged for the ball from a corner by Fabregas, it fell to Vermaelen and the Belgian produced the sort of technique most centre-backs can only dream about to half-volley the ball in off the post. While the fans went mental he celebrated in typical Vermaelen style, all fist pumps and pure passion.

With the top of the league in sight we should have taken the lead soon after only for Fabregas to be denied a clear penalty for the third time in two games. Regardless of whether the ball was going out of play Jaaskelainen made a lot of contact with Cesc and compared to the penalty that Wayne Rooney won against us at Old Trafford, this was a no-brainer.

In the end it didn’t matter but I have to say I’m getting fairly sick of being denied clear penalties. We’ve won just one all season and had numerous others disallowed (I can could five off the top of my head). Yes Eduardo dived earlier in the season but the consequences of that incident are beginning to get ridiculous.

We attacked relatively strongly for the remainder of the game and eventually got the goal to send us to the top of the table through Andrey Arshavin. The Russian exchanged passes with Eduardo before dinking a shot past the Jaaskelainen. He could have made it five later too but had a shot blocked by the goalkeeper with substitute Theo Walcott perhaps better placed to finish.

While there were undoubtedly flaws in our performance today the overwhelming message to take home once again is that this team have character and attitude that we didn’t perhaps believe we had before the start of the season. In short, this group of players appear to have grown a pair.

In terms of individual performances I thought Fabregas, Vermaelen and Eduardo stood out today. Fabregas for the obvious reasons (dominated the game, made our team tick, scored a goal, a constant threat etc etc etc), Vermaelen because of his unbelievable commitment and no-nonsense attitude and Eduardo because he never stopped moving up front. The three of them made the players around them play better and in the end were largely responsible for our comeback.

Nothing more to say really except WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!

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