Three goals in seven second half minutes gave Arsenal fans the comeback they were all craving for and the team a trip to the north east to look forward to for the 5th round of the FA Cup.

It was the kind of schizo self-sabotaging performance we are not strangers to from the Arsenal but thankfully that summary only applies to the first half as the team came out assured with an enterprising second half show.

Other than Fabianski in goal it was as strong a fit starting 11 as we could have fielded and from the off we kept hold of possession well. Yet we never really looked like threatening and the first 30 minutes were pretty subdued aside from a stinging Vermaelen free kick and a shanked Walcott effort from inside the box.

In the meantime Villa looked disinterested with attacking and were quite happy to watch us knocking the ball around them in safe areas while they waited for their chance. Their opportunity came twice and they ruthlessly took both, one from a simple short corner headed home by Dunn, the other a good finish by Bent from an acute angle as he latched onto a through ball on the 45th minute. We may have seen most of the ball but we went in for half time reeling from two sucker punches.

I don’t know what was said/eaten/thrown at the team during the interval but it worked. We started with much the same emphasis on possession but this time we were turning it into some dangerous chances and Mertersacke’s header was cleared off the line from an early corner. Oxlade-Chamberlain was jabbing his way down the wing showing the kind of directness we’ve lacked at times while the movement off the ball from most of the forward players increased, and eventually brought around the seven minute turnaround. In a nutty nutshell, it went like this: two confidently dispatched Van Persie penalties came either side of a Walcott goal courtesy of a rebounded clearance that went in off his shoulder after he wriggled his way into the six yard box from the byline. It wasn’t pretty but who cares. If we’d lost by two penalties and a shoulder spectacular there’d be no sympathy for us from the critics, so I don’t see why there should be any grumbles when we win by such means.

Liverpool got a similar goal when they beat us at home this season so it was nice to see the comedy goal karma come back round in our favour for once.

Robin scores his first penalty with ease.

After we took the lead we looked comfortable in possession which was a good sign considering our tendency toward meltdown in the latter stages of critical games. Arteta made his injury comeback and excellently recycled the ball time after time, even slipping Henry through shortly after he came on, but his touch was poor so there was to be no Thierry magic in this round of the FA Cup.

In other good news it was great to see Henry on the bench talking to the younger players. At the Leeds game the camera showed him regaling Walcott, hopefully inspiring with tales of Champions League finals and league titles. Today he was smiling and chatting with Szczesny. Lord knows what advice he was giving the young Polekeeper–perhaps Irish fans will think it’s something to do with his handling–but I always like to see happy players and any words of wisdom he can impart to the team than all the better. I hate it when the camera pans to the bench and we are greeted by a silent row of emotionless faces while Wenger assassinates his latest Evian bottle.

All in all, a good day to be a Gooner, and as frustrating as it was to concede two sloppy goals at least we saw some resilience from the team, a spirit summed up best by kel’s comment in the previous post’s thread: “So at last we show some BALLS!!!!!!”

Well said.

And finally, a big welcome back to Bacary Sagna, man we’ve missed him.

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That was amazing.

The movement, the control, the finish. The exaggerated sulks, the slow-motion running, the memorable celebration.

It was like he never left.

If you’re going to use the 34-year-old’s goal as evidence that Chamakh/Arshavin/[insert attacker here] isn’t up to it, that it shows what this squad currently lack, I don’t begrudge you.

But I do feel sorry for you.

If you couldn’t enjoy the simple joy of Thierry Henry’s winning goal, you should give up on football.

Monday night wasn’t about the mind, about solving problems or technical analysis. It was about the heart.

Thank you, Thierry, for another unforgettable moment.

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Thierry Henry is back at Arsenal.

The legend — and I don’t use that word lightly, even if I once jokingly referred to Emmanuel Eboue in the same way — has signed a short-term loan deal to help our squad cover their arses while Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh duck off to Africa.

It’s unreal, isn’t it? As much love as he has for Arsenal and as much as I have stated I would love to see him manage the club one day, I never considered he’d pull on a red and white playing shirt again.

Not that I’m not loving it, of course.

Sentimental idealisations aside, I think it’s actually a fairly sensible move to bring in an experienced striker to take the burden of Robin van Persie and provide us with some quality off the bench.

Henry’s blistering pace may have slowed over the last few years but his instinctual knack for finding the back of the net has not, as the following video shows.

Not to mention the man is an absolute legend in the eyes of the fans, a legend of the game in general and a hero in the eyes of certain squad members. As such, his presence will also be felt around the club.

Henry’s little adventure kicks off in the FA Cup against Leeds United tonight, a match that Wenger has confirmed he will start. Judging from comments from the manager it will be a rather mixed side.

I’m looking forward to it and not just because of Titi’s return.

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Another very decent week has come to a close for the Arsenal.

A comfortable, controlled win over Dortmund in mid-week secured safe passage to the second round of the Champions League — in top spot to boot! — and a determined fight-back against Fulham saw us grab a draw in the Premier League.

It would be rather greedy to complain about the performance of the lads against Fulham given the way this group have pulled themselves out of the mud in recent times to produce a very good run of results.

After five straight wins in the Premier League there was always likely to be a little blip around the corner. It came on the weekend against a Fulham team that played to the best of their ability and took advantage of the lack of energy that often infects teams the game following a European outing.

For much of the first half we were clearly stronger than Fulham, Aaron Ramsey in particular wasted a couple of great chances, but our opponents settled into their organised approach and were difficult to break down as the game wore on.

Even so, their goal came as an enormous surprise. After a sustained period of defending Fulham broke forward and John Arne Riise, who had barely crossed the halfway line, came haring into the penalty area. His presence cause a problem and Thomas Vermaelen stubbed the ball passed Wojciech Szczesny.

On first view it looked like a combination of Riise and Bobby Zamora forced the ball home but on a second watch it became clear just how bad an error Vermaelen had made. He didn’t have a particularly good game, the Belgian, often attempting to nip in to prevent Zamora retaining position and just as often getting his judgment wrong.

But if there is one thing you can always count on from Vermaelen it is his spirit and willingness to take responsibility and give everything he has to right the wrongs of a mistake. He did just that with eight minutes to go, racing into the box to power home a header from a superb Theo Walcott cross to level the scores.

Vermaelen’s willingness to accept responsibility for his mistake and then do something to fix it was wonderful to watch. It is why he is one of the most respected and important members of this Arsenal squad and why the fans love him so much.

It is worth pointing out too that a number of our defensive players have responded well to individual mistakes over the past weeks, even the past year. Per Mertesacker was barely fazed by the little blunder that saw Norwich take the lead last weekend while Wojciech Szczesny never shows any signs of Almunia or Fabianski-like jitters when he performs below his best. Even Laurent Koscielny, who could have been ruined by last year’s Carling Cup final mix-up, is a player that simply shrugs off any little error he makes the moment it is done.

I think it shows that, defensively at least, we are close to obtaining the mental strength that the manager has often spoken about. Look at the Chelsea result, where two goals were scored after Juan Mata’s belter made it 3-3 with ten minutes to go. Look at our positive result against Dortmund after their attacking start put us under sustained pressure. These are definitely good signs.

While the winning goal never came I think we can be proud of the effort our boys put in. We may have lacked a little bit of spark until the injection of Gervinho and Abou Diaby (can you believe it!?) in the final half-hour but game to game a clear spine is forming which means a place in the top four remains a good bet.

To finish off on a rather sad note today I just want to recognise the death of Welsh manager Gary Speed. He died at the age of just 42 on Sunday and, as the player with the most appearances in Premier League history and a reputation as real footballing role model, will be sorely missed. I wish his family and friends all the best.

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I know Robin van Persie scored his 456th goal in 432 games and it’s easy to label us a one-man team, particularly in an attacking sense, but Saturday’s come-from-behind victory showed once again that this clearly isn’t the case.

We all know what the giant brain head man Gervinho is capable of and he had a typically bright, energetic game down the left — but what to make of Theo Walcott’s resurgence? There has always been an unrecognised consistency to the Englishman as a contributor, only injury has interrupted regular goal-scoring and goal-providing contributions from being fully appreciated, but Walcott has undoubtedly taken his game up another notch in recent weeks.

It seems that since the moment that little Theo popped up off the turf at Stamford Bridge, gave the proverbial F-YOU to the Chelsea defence and slammed the ball past Petr Cech his confidence has soared. He’s ripping apart mediocre left-backs with consummate ease at the moment and that has added an exciting third element to an already well-functioning attack.

The departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri forced a re-think in Arsene Wenger’s approach and the move towards van Persie being supported by two speedsters on the flanks has been a success. It’s taken some time to bed in but the win over Norwich, which saw our front three create a bucket-load of chances between them, showed that things have clicked.

It’s just as well too because Per Mertesacker’s mistake showed we still have problems to iron out at the other end of the pitch. To be fair to the big German though, his mistake was more a product of over-confidence (and the small matter of a fairly blatant foul being committed) rather than one of incompetence, and his experience allowed him to move on from the incident without a hitch.

In an interesting move Wenger chose to play Laurent Koscielny at right-back to accommodate for Mertesacker’s return to the centre of the defence. It will be interesting to see whether he keeps the Frenchman there against Dortmund in mid-week, a game that Mertesacker will surely start, or whether Johan Djourou will get a run-out.

It’s rather a good time to be an Arsenal fan though, isn’t it? Five wins from five in the Premier League, a resurgence that has seen us rise from 17th on the table (gahhh!) to equal 4th (yay!) in a couple of months and some good football being played to boot. Expectations have been checked and it’s making for some wonderful evenings of football.

On another topic, you’ve probably noticed that my contributions to the blog have been mediocre and inconsistent of late, a product of my return to Australia and a hefty workload I now have as a result of becoming a full-time freelancer. You’re also probably a little peeved by the prevalence of the weekly betting articles that are helping me earn a little bit of money on the blog.

I’ll go into it in more detail later in the week, but I want to assure you that I’m making moves to rectify this situation, including bringing in somebody to permanently help me out with the content and community management on the blog. That should mean the content goes up, the betting articles are a little less dominant, and everybody is happier.

Cheers all, speak with you in the comments.

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We are starting to gel.

After overcoming the doom and gloom of a terrible start to the season we’ve produced three good results in a row — starting with the thrilling 5-3 victory over Chelsea that ranks up there as one of the most entertaining games of Arsene Wenger’s fifteen years in charge.

As plaudits were thrown the captain’s way for  our defence received rather less adulation. Yet, arguably with more luck than skill, they responded with a clean sheet in a goalless  stalemate against Marseille to inch a step closer to Champions League qualification.

A fine week was capped off on Saturday with our most comprehensive performance and result of the season: a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

This was the first time this season, indeed, for as long as I can remember, that we have avoided breaking a sweat to knock off an opponent. It was also the first time that our team has looked like a real team.

If the Chelsea result showed that our pacey attacking unit, featuring the incomparable Robin van Persie supported by speedsters Gervinho and Theo Walcott, is undoubtedly working, the comprehensive dismantling of West Brom suggests the rest of the team are not far behind.

It was always going to take some time for our new boys to settle into the Arsenal way but the signs are there that they have.

Per Mertesacker has installed more calm in the side than many recognise, whilst Mikel Arteta’s assured control and passing has allowed Aaron Ramsey to regain form as our most attacking midfield player.

Then there is Andre Santos.

The common assertion regarding the Brazilian is that he can’t really defend. While that might technically correct his languid and unpredictable style, of which his purposeful forays forward are a major feature, are giving opposition wide-players a hell of a lot more to think about than in the days of Gael Clichy.

The irony with Santos’ style of play is that it fools the opposition into thinking he can be attacked, in turn opening up space for Gervinho and Co to exploit further up the pitch. Chelsea fell into that trap, getting change out of Santos on occasion, but they sacrificed their defensive stability as a result and conceded five.

On the other side of the back four Carl Jenkinson is making strides forward as well. He is growing in confidence, chooses his moments to attack intelligently and is an exceptionally hard-worker, particularly endearing qualities in a team that has in the past been susceptible to having too many lax moments.

While the defence is not yet perfect the gelling of our new players has put control back in our hands and that of the manager. Early in the season we were a team with no plan, no players and no confidence. Now we have a system again and it shows.

We will not win every game this season and we will not win the league. But little-by-little we are restoring our reputation as a heavyweight in the English game.

Given our position earlier on in the season that is something to be admired.

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Arsenal’s return to prominence continues after they saw off Stoke City 3-1 in a tense encounter at the Emirates stadium.  Gervinho and Peter Crouch exchanged blows for either side before Robin van Persie stole all three points for the Londoners late on with a brace as they maintain their excellent form to rise to 7th in the Premier League table. Arsenal statistics don’t tell the full story as the 13-time league winners eventually and deservedly beat their battle-hardened opponents.

Gervinho scored one and assisted two

Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho both missed decent opportunities to break the deadlock in the game but shortly before the half hour mark, the latter made amends for his earlier miss. The ingenious scooped pass of Aaron Ramsey over the away side’s static defence found the Ivorian attacker and he slipped his shot beneath the body of Asmir Begovic to make the score 1-0.

However minutes later, the home side were stunned into silence as the Potters scored against the run of play. Andre Santos switched off as Tony Pulis’ side took a free-kick and Crouch tapped in Jonathan Walters knock-down to equalise the captivating encounter.

Robin van Persie proved to be the match-winner yet again

Despite the concession of a fortuitous goal, Arsenal remained calm and continued to dominate the game either side of the break but they simply couldn’t unlock a resolute Stoke rearguard again. However once the ineffective Chamakh was replaced by man of the moment van Persie, a new confidence was instilled within the Arsenal team.

It did not take long for the in-form Netherlands strike to make an impact as within seven minutes of his introduction to the game, he nosed Arsene Wenger’s men ahead. Gervinho’s awkward dribble ended up with the ex-Lille winger on the byline and his pullback was met by the club captain who nicked his shot in at the near post.

Van Persie made the three points safe with a few minutes to spare as Gervinho was the architect of Stoke’s downfall once again. The African star’s mazy run down the left channel culminated in him again pulling the ball back to be met by the Dutchman, who got just enough on his shot to sneak it past the unlucky Begovic.

Arsene Wenger was delighted with his side

The win was the North Londoner’s third in just seven days as they continue their rehabilitation after a horrific start to the season. Sitting in 7^th place, they are six points off Newcastle United who occupy the coveted final Champions League spot in 4^th as the collection of deadline day signings made by Arsene Wenger finally begin to gel.

Check out WhoScored.com for more detailed match reports and football statistics.

I’m in a loopy mood after a crazy Sunday of football, so don’t be surprised if that comes across in the rest of the post. Just look at the headline, for goodness sakes.

First things first, let’s talk about our game.

A 3-1 win against Stoke, our sixth home win in a row and we’re up to seventh on the table. A couple of weeks ago we were 16th and in all sorts of bother, so that is improvement that cannot be denied.

Our cobbled-together defence is looking a little better with each outing as Koscielny and Mertesacker acclimatise to each other and Santos works hard to fit in. Koscielny, for the third game in a row, was excellent.

There were clear similarities with last week’s win at Sunderland against Stoke. We scored a good opening goal, played some very decent football and then conceded out of nowhere. Then we ambled along for half an hour, producing very little quality until a late Robin van Persie goal (or two, in this case) made the difference.

His seventh league goal of the season will give our captain the plaudits again but I thought Gervinho was our outstanding player on show. His pace and movement, both with the ball and without it, was excellent and he was constantly thinking, something you should probably expect from a man with a brain head thing as big as his.

The Brain has married the searing pace of Theo Walcott with the trickery of Andrey Arshavin and has become our most important support-striker in a short space of time. His directness is refreshing and he has made an obvious connection with van Persie and that bodes well for the rest of the season.

Further back I thought Alex Song took responsibility in his first ever start as a captain, driving on from deep when the game became too static. He misplaced passes in an attempt to be positive but his willingness to take control was more than encouraging.

A fine evening became an excellent late-night for me in Australia after I tuned into a recorded telecast of Manchester City’s assassination of city rivals United. Their 6-1 defeat was just as shocking as our 8-2 loss, even moreso if you consider the quality of the team United had on the park, and for a person like me, who absolutely hates the red team, it was pretty damn sweet.

Then came Chelsea. A 1-0 loss, two red cards and several yellows means that we will face their team without Didier Drogba, Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole missing through suspension. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Glorious.

This was probably the first weekend this season that was just plain fun for us Arsenal supporters. Let’s enjoy it!

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Where would we be without Robin van Persie this season, eh?

The captain was the dominant force against Sunderland, combining class and a devastating ability to find the back of the net to score both goals in a 2-1 win.

It begs the question: is there a better player in the Premier League at the moment?

Aside from the 23 goals he has scored in his last 27 starts, including five from eight already this season — an outstanding return for a team that has won so few games in that time — he has lead from the front and focused an otherwise scattered attacking unit.

On Sunday he received support from Theo Walcott and Gervinho, as well as Tomas Rosicky from the advanced midfield position, and by all accounts they functioned well in the opening half-hour.

I say “by all accounts” because a mix-up in the TV schedule saw me absent-mindedly muddle through the last half-hour of West Brom’s 2-0 win over Wolves rather than flick over to the team I know and love.

The score of 1-0 made me happy and the commentators spoke of Arsenal domination, but that soon changed. Old boy Sebastian Larsson, one of the real good guys in the Premier League, netted a superb free-kick.

That there will be probably not be a better-taken free-kick this season — van Persie’s winner included — will be no consolation to Wojciech Szczesny, who despite his superb form between the sticks this season, has looked weak against the dead ball.

At 1-1 whatever confidence the commentary team had remarked that we owned had been sold to the Northen side. They threatened twice more and we looked precariously-placed at the break.

There was a lot of huffing and puffing that followed but precious little quality. Our team still looks like a collection of players rather than an actual team, a worrying sight for a club that puts as much emphasis on cohesion and understanding as Arsenal do.

The sight of Rosicky playing at pace was refreshing, as was Carl Jenkinson’s old-school dash-and-cross routine that is becoming his trademark. Per Mertesacker was assured, Alex Song was dominant but aside from a couple of half-chances their admirable defensive work appeared to be for nought.

Until van Persie did his thing, of course.

It’s been a while since the captain has delivered from a free-kick and in that sense, he owed us one. The relief was palpable in the stadium (and in my chest) when it hit the back of the net but the three points that followed is just what we need.

I woke up the following day to watch some decent highlights of the opening half-hour and only then did I see van Persie’s outrageous Bergkamp impersonation.

Thanks for that, Robin. Keep it up.

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A lot of people, myself included, believed that with five signings made and good results achieved against Swansea and Dortmund, our boys had turned the corner after the mauling at Old Trafford.

Well if they did, it seems they stumbled down the deepest, darkest, dirtiest dead-end alley one could possibly imagine.

The defending in yesterday’s 4-3 defeat to Blackburn was, as Alan Jacobs from The Run of Play put it, “shambolic”:

“Four [goals conceded] to Blackburn—Blackburn—though Arsenal’s defenders managed two of those themselves. It seems that no matter who Arsène Wenger puts in his back four, the selected players are immediately deprived of even the most basic powers of spatial awareness. I suspect that the team doctors, when they examine the newly signed, are using some hypersophisticated technique for removing the exteroceptive faculties. The Daily Mail ought to look into this.”

It is difficult to draw any serious conclusions about exactly what is going wrong with our team at the moment — a need to integrate new players, a lack of collective confidence or some other third, fourth or fifth suggestion could be to blame. That something is wrong is undeniable.

When you see Johan Djourou, the calmest of calm of our defenders, making simple mistakes at the frequency that he did yesterday, it is hard to fathom. When you see Alex Song bundles home the tamest of free kicks into the wrong net, it is hard to deny.

Here’s Jacobs’ again:

“The strangest and worst moment of all came early in the second half, with Arsenal leading 2-1. Mauro Formica stood over a free kick for Blackburn a couple of yards outside the area on the right wing, and lofted a chip so gentle that, had it landed on a butterfly, it would have done little damage. But it did not land on a butterfly. It landed on the knee of Alex Song, who seemed to have no idea that a game was being played in his vicinity, and rolled peaceably into the net. No Blackburn player was in the neighborhood.”

Diaby did something similar at Old Trafford a few seasons ago, you might remember.

It is difficult, after this loss, to deny the conclusion that our ambitions as supporters for this season need to be checked.

However unlikely a league title success was to be achieved against club’s that throw their money around like Chelsea and the Manchesters City and United, that chance is realistically gone. Four points from five games, including three defeats, is not the start of a team that will be champions.

I will not lose belief in this team or the man who so passionately wants us to find success. I can’t.

But I am a little worried.

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