Lauren's off: where does this leave our full-backs?

Yes, he of the 10,000 mile death-stare has gone to play 'abroad' [as Sol thinks at least] at Portsmouth. It does seem a bit odd that Arsene so hastily shipped him off after Ralph was within days of a return to the first team after a year on the sidelines. One can only conclude that Arsene thinks that he'll never be the player he was before the injury, or that in keeping Ralph he could impede the development of Justin Hoyte and Eboue.

The latter would seem to be the case given some of Arsene's recent comments. Indeed it seems incredible that Justin has gone from a player who many thought had no real future at the club, to perhaps becoming our first choice right back. Whilst Eboue undoubtedly has the edge on Justin in terms of attacking flair, he remains painfully suspect at the back. Like Gael, he too often lets the ball float over his head to players on the wing behind him, or lets players behind him cut in to score. Moreover, his theatrics are becoming an embarrasment to the club. Arsene has publicly voiced his displeasure at Eboue's diving and play-acting, and even his team-mates seemed to give him short-shrift during his confrontations in the Spud derby.

Could Justin, therefore, be first choice right back? Perhaps. He has definitely shown signs of improvement over recent weeks - including a very Lauren-esque death stare against Tugay in the Blackburn match last week -but he struggles when getting forward.

A combination of Justin and Eboue's plus points would therefore possibly create an ideal right-back; individually, neither of them are anywhere near the finished article. Personally, I would have liked Arsene to have retained Lauren to oversee Justin and Manu's development for the rest of the season at least. I'd definitely have preferred Lauren's experience for a few more months than the paltry sum we'll receive from Portsmouth.

The question remains therefore: will Justin or Manu really make the grade? And how long should we wait until we find out. Similar questions could be asked about the ability of Clichy to really become a permanent replacement for Cashley. I do worry that, at least at present, we have 3 full-backs who would all be excellent cover, but don't warrant starting positions. Could a case be made for recalling Kerry Gilbert, or does his future lie elsewhere? Hopefully, they'll all prove me wrong.

To finish, a picture that says everything about Lauren's commitment to the Arsenal. Goonerboy, obviously, does not condone violence on the football pitch. But United? at OT? That game, along with the 0-0 v madrid recently, were surely two of the greatest 0-0s of all time. It was worth the fines and suspensions. Thanks and so long Ralphy.

Transfer window round up: Lauren, Freddie, loanees, Beckham.

Busy times for Goonerboy this week, as the post Christmas malaise of returning to work fully hit home. Hence the lack of posts, which I shall try to rectify this week.

It's been a good week for the club, with our youth system received a stunning vindication in the 6-3 crushing of Liverpool at Anfield. I wasn't able to watch the game, and turned on the BBC website at half-time to find we were 4-1 up. A pleasant surprise I have to say. From accounts I've heard, almost everyone played well - notably Baptista, who is beginning to re-earn his 'Beast' sobriquet, Aliadiere, and (who would have thought it) Alex Song. Liverpool didn't put out a full strength team, but the likes of Gerrard, Garcia, Bellamy, Fowler and Alonso were present so they can hardly say they were understrength in comparison to us. Indeed, it was interesting to note how ineffective Gerrard was, who I think has become a typical English player: arrogant, and unwilling to do the gritty midfield duties, forcing Benitez to play two defensive midfielders next to him as he plays Roy of the Rovers.

Anway, Aliadiere's fantastic performance was surely only a stay of execution regarding his transfer. He stated after the game that he wants to 'stay and fight for his place' but I don' think he's being realistic. We now have four top quality strikers in front of him: Henry, Adeabayor, van Persie and Baptista, with Bendtner and Walcott waiting in the wings. He's not good enough to displace those 6, so, unless he's content with being a peripheral squad player, he should leave.

One man who almost certainly will leave by February is Lauren. A great shame, I feel, as he was usually a rock at right-back, and also physically stood up for the team, something we've missed over the last year. I think Arsene must believe that Ralphy won't ever fully recover from his injury, and, due to his age, selling him now makes sense, albeit in a fairly ruthless way. I'm still not convinced we have another quality in our full back positions, however.

A player who should leave is Freddie, but I think he won't go til the summer, when a move would be better for both player and club. He can't cut it anymore, but unless we get someone of the likes of Ribery in, we need him as cover. Arsene must, however, not see him as a first XI player anymore.

In the Friday press conference, Arsene also confirmed that Larsson would be leaving - a shame, but I don't think he'd make it for us - and that Muamba and Bendtner would return. It'll be interesting to see whether the latter pair get a run in the first team, because they've been very good for Birmingham.

Finally, a word about Beckham. He was, once, a good player, and, from dead balls, he still is. However, like Michael Owen, you get the feeling with Beckham that he was a young player that people thought would become a true great, but instead was merely rather good. It's a shame that he's decided to go to America, because the move, surely, is not about football. To suggest that you can just get in a few big players and change American attitudes towards football - I was appalled he was calling it 'soccer' - is incorrect. American's like american football, american baseball and american basketball. There is, as I know from my blog stats, a sizeable minority who do like football - and I applaud them for their good taste - but bringing over Beckham won't be the start of a societal change of attitudes towards football. I think there's a lot more dignity in seeing out your career as a sub in the Bernabeu, or even as a starter for a lesser premiership club, than playing in a half-empty pitch in a far away country for shed-loads of cash. But being a sub isn't good for brand Beckham - how will he become an even bigger celebrity? The move sums up everything that is wrong with modern football to me.

Half an hour til Blackburn - let's hope we can continue our good run of form.

Arsenal show themselves to be a big game team at Anfield.

If it's one thing that's become abundantly clear over the last twelve months, it's that our current bunch of players do have the ability to step up and perform on the real big game occasions. We showed this in the Champions League against Madrid and Juventus, but also in the final when, considering we only had ten men, we were within a whisker of winning. More recently, our victory at Old Trafford, our draw at Stamford bridge and our home performance against Liverpool have shown we can beat the top teams. Indeed, it's been our inability to grind out performances against the teams below us in the league which have ruled us out of contention this year - something that is hopefully in the process of being remedied. Whether it's because the 'big' teams play more openly against us I don't know, but we have to find a way to beat the 'park the bus' teams.

It's been a long time since Liverpool have been beaten at Anfield; and they would have been even more up for the game considering they're holders of the cup. Thankfully, 'tinkerman' Benitez left Bellamy on the bench, a player who might have caused us some real problems. Conversely, Wenger got his tactics spot on, playing not so much a 4-4-2 as a 4-2-2-2, with Gilberto and Flamini playing as defensive midfielders, and Hleb and Rosicky roaming around in front, rather than playing as anything approaching conventional wingers.

Whisper it quietly, but today, and only today, the suspension of Fabregas may have helped. His suspension precluded Wenger from playing the Rosicky-Hleb-Fabregas midfield which has over-elaborated play so much of late. Instead, Flamini came in and had an absolute, if understated, blinder. Flamini and Gilberto were so good that they practically nullified Gerrard and Alonso - no mean feat. Perhaps there's a case for saying only two of Fab, Hleb and Tom should play if we're only going to play four in midfield? Either way, with Diaby also soon to re-emerge, I would question the logic in purchasing another central midfielder.

Beside them, Hleb and Rosicky were excellent. It's funny watching pundits, because they never directly say how good a player Hleb is. They always lump into 'Arsenal's style of play', which does him a disservice as he was instrumental in the first goal. Moreover, he tackles very well in midfield, and also very rarely gives the ball away when he's on his game like today. I wish he could gain a little more consistency, because when he's on song, he's one of the best players in Europe. It was wonderful to see Tom score two fantastic goals, both of which were long overdue. He has the ability to get the 10-15 goals a season we need to make more of a challenge for the league next year. Like Hleb, consistency is the key.

There were a few edgy moments, notably after the Liverpool goal, but its a credit to the team that they held on. And to see Thierry score his trademark 'run the length of the pitch' goal after we held out so well just about made my week. Despite having a quiet game, make no mistake, he's back. A word also for Phil Senderos who was excellent, winning the headers which most of our other defenders struggle with.

Sometimes on here - like after our defeat at Sheffield - I post a rant. After this game I hope it's clear why: the potential and the quality that the team demonstrates in games like today needs to be shown more often, because if we can find consistency, even in only one competition, we will win silverware this season.

What is the point of Arsenal's loan system? And other transfer thoughts

It seems that Anthony Stokes is on his way out of the Emirates. Not that he was ever really in of course, but after his blistering form in the SPL, you might have thought he'd have been given half a chance at the Grove. Especially as he can't be any worse than Jeremie 'where's the barn door' Aliadiere. The SPL is no match for the Premiership, but it's no worse than the Championship - where the bulk of our other loanees are. And surely his value can't fall so much in half a season that he isn't worth keeping for at least that period of time. The mooted £2.7 million is a decent price, but it seems an unnecessary sale.

With Stokes gone, Larrson and Lupoli practically out the door, and Bendtner and Muamba by no means guaranteed a future if and when they return, the question must be begged: what is the point of our loan system?

Is it to give promising youngsters a chance at first team football, in order to assist their development into our first team? Or is it just a 'try before you buy' situation - a shop window for their quality so we can get a decent price? I was always of the impression it was the former situation, but, given the events of late, I'm inclined to think its the latter. It's notable that youngsters such as Walcott and Fabregas - who obviously have the quality and who Wenger has clear faith in - are retained by Arsenal in order to oversee their progress. I think from now on, I'm going to view loans as almost invariable precursors to sales, a situation I hadn't fully accepted until now.

If we are to believe Arsene then no-one will be arriving any time soon. But it's fun to speculate. And that wry Alsace smile of his can be taken in a number of ways.

If ANR [back on www.anr.uk.com at the moment] are to be believed, Nigel Reo-Coker could be on his way. I'm not sure I fully do believe them, and do we really need another central-midfielder? Especially a sulky one who's likely to cost upwards of £12 million?

The same prima-donna behaviour puts me off buying Buffon. He's a fine keeper, but can the Emirates, large as it is, contain his ego? I'd much rather us try and buy one of Scott Carson, Ben Foster, or Craig Gordon, who have all been oustanding, if young, and who all know the English game.

The other players I'd like to see the club buy are Ribery and Gareth Bale. We need more options at left back, and a winger who can get goals - if Ribery can play on the left, it would be a done deal for me.

I expect us to buy no-one and that may be, even with a weak squad, the best way forward. Perhaps some consistency until the summer will help to separate the wheat from the chaff in the squad. I do remember Arsene saying he'd buy no-one last year as well though...

An embarrassing, disgraceful defeat to end the year.

Unlike the Premiership, Goonerboy decided to have a bit of a Christmas break - hence the lack of posts of late. But after a performance like that, comments are mandatory.

What an abject performance. Spineless, bloated, over-elaborate rubbish. I'm not sure if our players realised it, but trying to play one-touch football on a first world war-esque quagmire doesn't work. Especially when you have players of the touch of Baptista and Aliadiere playing.

Yes we had injuries. But so did Sheffield. And moreover we had the entirety of the summer to create a squad which could compete when these injuries occurred, and Arsene/the Board didn't get enough quantity of quality in. When you're down to the last ten minutes of a game you're scrapping desperately to win in wet southern Yorkshire, you don't want an 19 year old debutant to come on; although at least Denilson actually bothered to put a shot in on goal and at least try to test the outfield player that Sheff had been forced to put between the sticks.

What were our players thinking when Kenny went off injured? It would seem not, 'lets not get some quick shots in on goal to try and catch out a player who isn't a goalkeeper'. They seemed more along the lines of, lets try and play one-touch along the penalty box-line, let the Sheff players get back in depth, and then lose the ball. I'm not one of those people who normally scream 'Shooooot' every time we over-elaborate our play, but the match was crying out for some incisiveness today that we seemed incapable of producing.

There were more than a few culprits for our malaise, and names should be named.

Tomas Rosicky was over-elaborater in chief. After a stunning early goal in the season, all my fears about him being played out of position, and needing time to acclimatise to the Premiership have come to pass. He's good enough, but he's not a left winger, and he needs to simplify things sometimes. Why can' Arsene buy players and play them were they want to be played? Is it so much to be asked?

Jeremie Aliadiere is not good enough to play for us, nor will he become so. His first touch was dire, and he didn't really look a threat. Van Persie can do everything Aliadiere does with considerably more skill and aplomb. To have Bendtner out on loan when we're crying out for a half decent striker is madness.

Julio Baptista seemed to think you get five minutes before a challenge in the Premiership. He grew considerably during the match today, but what was he doing stuck out on the left wing? Again, he's a central player, played out of position, acclimatising to the premiership. He should be running directly at people, down the middle. And speeding up his thought to action process considerably.

Justin Hoyte is not good enough. His positioning is poor, he doesn't get forward, he gives the ball away cheaply. I know Eboue and Lauren are injured, but Eboue isn't good enough either, and loaning out Kerry Gilbert seems almost capricious in the circumstances. We need a new right back.

Gael Clichy was better but we need another left back. Knowing Arsene, it'll be Gareth Bale, but we need someone now as well as for the future.

The rest didn't cover themselves in glory but wern't awful. Kolo is beginning to worry me at centre back; he sometimes really does look like a midfielder playing in defence, relying on his recovery speed too much. RvP's petulance was annoying but I'd be frustrated to play to in a team like the one Arsene put out today. Flamini was anonymous which was unacceptable given the opposition.

The cold, hard fact-of-the-matter is that we couldn't beat a stand in keeper playing for a bottom four side today. That is not good enough and something must change more profoundly than just waiting for injured players to come back. Our squad, once the bones are picked away, is too light-weight, too many youngsters of unproven ability. Sure we've scrapped wins against Watford and Wigan away recently, but we're in fifth, 17 points off the top and I foresee a desperate struggle for a Champions League place yet again materialising. I expected a little more than that this year.

In defence of the flag ban.

There's been a lot of anger about the flag ban coming from several Arsenal related websites. The general consensus has been: 'it's political correctness gone mad', or something along those lines, and also an opportunity for rival fans to criticise us for not being an English club.

Now, I've made my views on Arsenal and foreign players know before, and, while I can understand the anger of many fans, I also feel there has been a great deal of unwarranted over-reaction to the club's policy.

The club didn't ban all flags because it hates fun, or because of some warped puritanical PC mindset. It did so because certain supporters had put up flags in the ground which could be very easily taken to be of a politically inflammatory nature, and which could have unnecessarily soured the match day atmosphere at the ground. I actually saw, I think, the flag that led to the ban: a Turkish Cypriot flag which was unveiled at a home match this season. The issue of the political ownership of Cyprus is one that has led to warfare between Turkey and Greece: I don't really think its fair, as some have argued, to say that those who complained should, essentially, just get over it because it's not that big a deal. It is, and we should respect the feelings of those involved.

So what does the club do, especially when it was undoubtedly mindful of the large Greek, Cypriot and Turkish communities that live in North London and support Arsenal? Does it ban the Turkish Cypriot flag and anger those of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot origin? Does it ban just Cypriot related flags and possibly anger all Greek, Cypriot and Turkish Arsenal fans? Does it ban Turkish flags or Greek flags? Where would the spiral end? Why not all flags of a 'politically sensitive' nature? I can't think of many flags that don't potentially fit that criteria. I wonder what the reaction would be if I brought a German flag to our games to support Jens, who has, of course, been labelled a Nazi by opposition fans on numerous occasions just because of his nationality.

Thus, the blanket ban on flags could be considered an over-reaction, but its the most politically sensible thing to do.

I would also ask those who bring flags to the games, does it really offend you so greatly not to be able to take a national symbol to a club which, I would hope, prides itself on its multi-national flavour? Arsene doesn't judge a player by his passport, and neither do I. If you take an England flag to a game, does that mean you, albeit only tacitly, support our English players a little bit more? And if not, then why nationalise your support? Wouldn't it be nicer if we could carry banners and items of support into the stadium, that just showed our support for the club, without, I would suggest, needless national connotations?

There is a time for signs of nationalism in football: it's called international football. If you want to wave your flag around do it then. I support the English football team, but, personally, I don't really enjoy the nationalistic baiting and stereotyping that goes along with the international game.

The bottom line is, we don't need flags in the stadium. They don't show our support for the club in any greater way than a non-nationalised Arsenal supporters' item. One of the most beautiful things about our club, for me, is that it transcends national boundaries. We are an English club, due to our location, heritage and ownership; but we have supporters around the world, many of whom support Arsenal with as much passion as those born in North London do.

Why, when we've all come together to support our team, must we find ways of re-dividing ourselves due to some supposedly overwhelming desire to wave a flag? I think a ban is a bit harsh - decidedly authoritarian - but I agree with the sentiment behind it. Arsenal football club is not a nation-state: it's more and better than that.

A disappointing weekend of sport shudders to a halt.

Firstly, the Portsmouth game, or, as it could be known, 'Jeremie Aliadiere's last game for Arsenal', at least in the Premiership. I didn't actually think he was that bad, especially as RvP showed no desire to work with him at all. But Arsene's decision to haul him off after 55 minutes is probably the end for old Jezzer.

In the first half, we were flat, insipid and uncreative. There was no movement or urgency; our defence was often shambolic. Portsmouth, inevitably, nicked a goal just before the end of the half and we probably deserved it. Two men almost came to blows in front of me as the teams walked off - one had booed and the other confronted him. It was that type of performance. To cap it all, I'd somehow conspired to pay £7.30 for a pint of lager and a rather average pie in the build up to the game. Not good.

Nothing really changed after break. Panic continued to ensue in defence, and with Portsmouth's chipped second goal, the writing seemed to be on the wall. It took Adebayor's arrival to inspire a comeback, and the big man scored a terrific goal and helped set up a second. Why, precisely, he was rested is a mystery to me. He's young and in form: don't play him in the Carling Cup if he needs a rest. It has to go down as a selection error by Arsene. Subsequently, Hleb, Walcott and RvP all had chances to win the game but spurned them. Watching Chelsea twice come from behind to win, away at Everton, painfully emphasised the gap between us and them.

A few positives can be gleaned from the game. Clichy seems to be improving; Gilberto continues to inspire; Adebayor is rapidly becoming a colossal, vital figure; we can fight-back. Maybe with Rosicky, Henry and Gallas we'll push onto win games like the one on Saturday; maybe not.

However causes for concern also continue to manifest themselves. Hleb is a constant source of invention, but noticeably slows play when he receives the ball. Walcott at times looked very much a young boy playing with men. Fabregas was effectively, and worryingly, marked out the game. Eboue is, I hate to say it, looking like he's not good enough defensively. Arsene didn't help matters by being consigned to the stands, a matter Goodplaya has thoughtfully analysed.

So, again another performance which inspires hope and anguish in almost equal measure. Is progress still being made?

The other disappointment this weekend occured at about 5am GMT on the other side of the world, as England's cricketers meekly handed back the Ashes. I could write a lengthy diatribe on this matter, but its bile would probably dissolve your screen. Let's hope to see an improvement, from both England and Arsenal, in a few day's time.

Are Arsenal becoming a second half team?

During the glory years of the Wenger reign Arsenal were rather simple. We sprinted out the blocks, landed a series of blows on our opposition, and tried to knock them out quickly; a bit like a boxer who tries to KO his opponent within three rounds.

Nowadays we're more likely to gain a victory on points after a twelve-round slog-fest. The result is the same, but it's not always easy to watch. And the master of this new strategy is, ostensibly, Emmanuel Adebayor, who is fast becoming the king of the 80 minute goal - partially because he usually needs about 2-3 warm up chances before he slots one home.

I didn't watch the entire game last night; by the sounds of things I should be grateful. I haven't read a good word about the first half performance, and it seems that it took the indignity of a Emile Heskey near-miss to wake us up from our malaise. I could only start watching at around the late 50 minute mark, and one of the first things I saw was Adebayor spurn a pretty gilt-edged opportunity, set up by Theo. The game afterward was pretty scrappy. Baptista almost scored with a cheeky, if wonderfully struck, free-kick; Jens spilled a chance, albeit one far harder than Robben's, and was saved by Kolo; Adebayor missed another opportunity. We looked a bit blunt. At one point, Freddie was put through on the left. Instead of smashing the ball first time - as you know he would have done 2-3 years ago - he took a touch, over-complicated things and the opportunity was wasted. It seemed to sum up our approach in attack.

But then little Cesc came on and changed the game, putting in a wonderful tackle to win the ball, before floating over a beautiful route-one ball that Adebayor managed to control and poke through Kirkland's legs.

It seemed that we might just have been worth the win; but only just. The negative tone of the usually upbeat Arseblog surprised me but it doesn't seem like his comments were wholly unjustifiable.

However he was wrong to state that we wouldn't have won a game like that a year ago just because we won 3-2 up there last year. Last night's performance was ugly, and full of points we could criticise. But the fact remains that, without three vital players, and players who needed to be rested, we held things together and got a result that keeps us up in third. By December last year, we were in near free-fall in the league and, to me, the fact we did get a result shows we are slowly improving.

We need to improve our first half performances, because - with a few notable exceptions this season - its been our lethargy out of the blocks which has led to difficult games. But, I'm still encouraged that we can battle for 90 minutes, and pull a result out on a December night in the Northwest. What's important now is that we build on this result, tell Eboue to concentrate more, and, though I hate to say it, think about our long-term goalkeeping plans.

Arsenal earn a point, and prove several, over at the Bridge.

A great result today on the back of a great performance. Indeed, had it not been for, surely, a contender for goal of the season, and a hideous foul before hand, we could be celebrating one of the best wins in the club's recent history.

I had been nervous before the game. I felt we were on to a hiding without the experience and ability of Kolo, Henry, Rosicky and Gallas. But a lot of young players stood up today and were counted, and that can only bode well for the future. It seems that our current youngsters are good enough to win the title, especially if we can keep them together and continue their progression together, but it may not be this year, or even next.

My main concern after the Porto game was that we would play too deep and invite Chelsea pressure onto us. That, and the fact that Chelsea would have too much power in their midfield for us to deal with. To get the result we did entailed a towering performance from Gilberto, who looked every inch Club Captain today - not just in his performance, but in his general conduct, notably trying to calm down several inflamed situations. He does a, at times, simple job, but he did it exceptionally today; his ability to break up and redistribute play was key to our midfield bearing a near onslaught at times.

Flamini took his goal well, but was largely anonymous otherwise. For me, this is a good thing - it showed he was sticking to a simpler task of assisting Gilberto, rather than attempting the more grandiose manoeuvres that he can struggle with. I'm still unsure as to whether he can step up and become a really integral player to the team, but if he keeps on scoring vital goals, and making vital deflections, he can surely only press his claim more compellingly.

The rest of the midfield was also excellent. Hleb caused Chelsea all sorts of problems, even if he did blaze over a glorious opportunity to win the game; Fabregas's continued gravitas and maturity is nothing short of stunning; van Persie has increasingly impressed me of late with his all round contribution to our performances, especially when being asked to play out of position on the left. Adebayor led the line very well, yet could have done with a little more assistance. I think he looks far more convincing as the 1 in a 4-5-1 than Henry, and he seems to be more of a threat to defences than he was even at the start of the season.

The defence also did well. Djourou continues to impress, and Clichy also had a very decent game. Eboue had a fairly decent game, but was caught out ball-watching on occasion, allowing the ball to float over his head to a player he hadn't noticed. It was encouraging to see Phil take on Drogba and not be overawed, but his lack of pace, and general edginess was a concern at times. Djourou has to start in front of him if there's a choice between the two.

And as for Jens... a superb save from Robben was counterbalanced by an awful flap at a corner, and a near fatal error in the 94th minute. The skin of Mathieu Flamini's studs saved him on the second occasion. Jens needs to eradicate these little niggling errors that he seems to be making at the moment. And as for the Drogba incident...I was glad to see the referee only book the two of them for their outrageous 'handbags at five paces' moment.

The game was a fascinating encounter, the first half going to Chelsea, the second a clear-cut score-draw. After we'd managed to stem the tide from the first half - and survived Lampard's numerous attempts to find the deflections that seemingly only he can find - I always fancied us to push on and take something from the game. And when we scored, I honestly thought we would win. I'm more than happy with the point as it is, as I think it proves a lot about the bottle and potential of our fledgling side.

As for Ashley, do we really need to talk about him? He pouted, fouled, and played reasonably, if, it must be said, without ever looking considerably better than Clichy. It was a bit like seeing an ex with a new boyfriend, when he strode out against us: it was a bit odd, it hurt a little, but the reasons for the separation were so compelling that ultimately it didn't bother me too much. His fevered ego seems to have found its El Dorado in West London and I'm happy to leave it at that. We miss him a player, maybe, but certainly not as a person, and if Clichy can continue his progression, we hopefully won't miss him as a player for too much longer.

Chel$ea's general conduct probably won them no new friends: Drogba's hideous diving, the swarms of Chel$ea players around the referee when he dared book Ashley for an awful foul on Hleb. Indeed, its games like today when you realise that money can buy you success, but not respect or class. And I'd like to think that a team with an average age of 23 won a lot more of that today than their opponents, and, in doing so, again emphasised the extremely bright future that our club is hopefully heading towards.

Pragmatism and professionalism leads to progression

Not the most exciting of games yesterday, it has to be said. Not quite ‘backs to the wall’ stuff as even Porto eased off considerably towards the end. The last twenty minutes reminded me a little of that controversial match between Austria and Germany in the 1982 world cup. However, in our case, it was a proper match for the vast majority of the game, Porto coming painfully close to scoring before both teams eased off at the end.

As it transpired, Hamburg beat Moscow anyway, so all the moments of near panic during the game were unnecessary. I’d fancied Hamburg to get at least a draw due to the fact they’d taken no points from their previous 5 games, and I couldn’t see them losing all six matches.

Our performance reminded me more of our displays in the 2005 cup final, or the second leg at Villareal. As in those situations, our tactics were ruthlessly pragmatic, and just about did enough to get us a result. I would hope Arsene only uses these tactics sparingly, as it was like Russian roulette at times when Porto got forward, my fears mounting that they might nick a goal for which we would have little answer. We defended in almost calamitous depth, with a negligible attacking outlet. Adey tried to run the line, but he was hopelessly isolated; a situation that was predictable from the moment Msr Flamini and not RvP too the field. It also makes our distaste of teams pragmatically playing defensive football against us a little empty, but then again I’d rather we played like that every once in a while and got a result, than delicately knocked the ball about and got punished. A bit more doggedness in that mould might prevent any more away defeats this year.

Aside from his one mistake that almost cost us a goal – and being a defender that’s no trifling matter – I was again impressed by Djourou. He looked, generally, very composed on the ball, and had the ability to run the ball from defence. He looks far more comfortable than Senderos when he plays, and I would say he should be our third choice centre-back henceforth. Indeed, the major blow from the game last night was Djourou’s injury, which may preclude his involvement on Sunday. I foresee a centreback combination of Senderos and, knowing Arsene, Flamini…

Fab worked tirelessly, but was not at his dictatorial best, Hleb was a little ponderous and unable to really get things going, while Freddie’s ability to beat defenders continues to lie in Highgate cemetery. Clichy had a fairly good game; Eboue has the concentration of a five year old, but did just about enough to not get punished.

But, most importantly, we’re through. Out of the teams we could face, Lille, Eindhoven and Celtic would probably be the preferred options, although I would by no means discount us beating anyone given our performances last year. Perhaps we need to play the big European teams, who’ll play in an open style, to motivate the team sufficiently. Indeed, it is a fear of mine that there our a few players in the team who only really play to the top of their ability in the big matches.

So far my two predictions for the three games this week have materialised: a win vs Spuds, a draw in Porto. The eternal pessimist in me is expecting a defeat on Sunday, especially as we only have one centre-back who, er, has ‘struggled’ against Drogba in the past. But who knows. It might be different this time?

The Thierry Henry 'situation', part 2.

I was, perhaps, a little hasty yesterday to write that there was 'no' Thierry situation. I hadn't watched the post-match interview with Wenger, and, I have to admit, he did seem rather frosty when talking about the incident with Thierry.

However, I feel vindicated that, generally, this incident has been blown out of proportion. It seems that Arsene has probably told Thierry two things today: one for definite, the other, I hope.

Firstly, he would have told Thierry that it is he who decides who plays in the games. Thierry might have desperately wanted to play on Saturday, and his wobbly shows his commitment to the club, but doing it so publicly makes him a) look like a bit of a prima-donna and b) questions Arsene's authority. Thierry clearly hasn't been at his best this season, but he hasn't been rubbish either, as some fans with extremely short memories are claiming. A fully fit Thierry can do things for us that no other player can: he was the extra 5% that won the game in Madrid, or got the draw against Spurs last year. It has been interesting to see us play some great football without him this year, but let's not go too far and say he's past it. He needs a rest - not just to recover from the injury, but in general, after playing nearly 60 games in a calender year. He had a rest due to niggling injuries about this time last season, and came back re-energised for the second half of the season. I hope that happens again.

Secondly, I hope Arsene told Thierry not to question him in public, i.e. not to flatly contradict Arsene's statements on our transfer policy in the forthcoming window. I know Thierry wants what's best for the club - not just himself - but he, more than anyone, should trust Arsene's judgement. Indeed, I do wish he'd get rid of that column altogether in the Sun.

There's been a lot of rubbish printed about the whole affair. I hope this is the end of it. I certainly think that Arsene is trying to make a point to Thierry that he is not more important the team/club by, hopefully, getting some good results this month, but to suggest this is the start of some lengthy Vieira-esque 'end of the affair' between Thierry and Arsene and Arsenal is wrong.

It's been good to see that the most judicious pieces on the situation have come from fellow Arsenal bloggers. I point you to the, always superb, Arseblog, Gunnerblog and Goodplaya.

This, on the other hand, angered me. To suggest that Thierry had no right to be on the pitch at the end is nonsense. He's the club's captain. Read what Emmanuel Adebayor had to say about Thierry's involvement on Saturday. Quite the opposite.

So, Arsene has probably laid down the law today to Thierry; perhaps, even told him some uncomfortable home truths about who exactly is boss. But, I don't think there's much more to it than that.

The importance of scoring first; the Thierry 'situation', or lack thereof.

A great, great win yesterday; one the club badly needed after a depressing succession of defeats.
The match hammered home the importance of getting the first goal to our style of play. Teams play cagily even at 0-0 when they're at the Emirates, but if we keep on gifting opponents a head-start it allows them to play even more defensively, making our task even harder. Indeed, Sp*rs should have gone one up yesterday. Malbranque's chance in the 11th minute was their 'welcome to Ashburton, have the first goal on us' opportunity and they should have scored. When they missed, I sensed things might go our way afterwards.

There was an element of luck in all three of our goals, but our victory was very much deserved. Frankly, we played Sp*rs off the park, and made them look average. It was great to see such a battling, yet skilful performance, one we need to see more often this season. The only real negatives to be drawn from the game were the injuries to Rosicky and RvP, Rosicky probably now out for the Porto game as a consequence. I thought he struggled a bit during the game, and faffed around on the ball a bit too much. I was disappointed with Eboue's theatrics, which are endearing him to no-one. Also, I thought Arsene could have used his subs a little earlier: if you're coasting at 3-0, why not give Theo 20 minutes instead of 5?

Aside from these relatively forced whinges, the rest of the team was outstanding. Jens spilled the ball when he perhaps should have caught it, but was solid otherwise. It was quite amusing to see Kolo berate him for his mistake as well. Kolo and Djourou were rock solid, and Kolo seemed to be everywhere, putting several important challenges in. For me, Djourou should now be third choice centre-back. He looks a lot more composed at the back than Senderos and more comfortable on the ball. Clichy put in a good performance as well, largely nullifying Sp*rs' main threat - Aaron lennon - which is no mean feat, and getting forward impressively.

In midfield, Freddie put in his best performance for a long time. He battled and tackled well - which is what we can still expect from him - but it was nice to see him actually beat his marker a few times. He looked a threat, but we can still improve on him. Gilberto and Fabregas were outstanding, in markedly different ways : Gilberto broke up any sp*rs possession superbly; Fabregas distributed it in a consistently threatening manner. It was great to see Gilbs dispatch the two penalties with such aplomb, and he really rose to his role as captain. Fab was so dominant in midfield that he basically dictated the game. Indeed, the only means by which the 'Zokora is the new Vieira' comparison was valid, was by the way Fab completely took him out the game - much like when Paddy came over with Juve.

RvP had a great game, playing intelligently and unselfishly. It's been great to see him steadily improve over the last few weeks: I always felt he had the talent to be a great player, but its nice to see him thinking a bit more about his team-play. I do hope he didn't handle on purpose, however, because that's not how I want to see Arsenal players behave.

But, my man of the match has to be the Togolese goal-machine that is Manu Adebayor. Silencing, yet again, his myriad critics, the big man put in a colossal display, not just finishing his chance superbly, but leading the line in a wonderfully authoritative manner. Some people have forgotten that Manu is only 21, and I think over the course of the next two years he could develop into a truly potent centre-forward. Now, if he could just replicate this form against some of the lesser teams...

The atmosphere inside the stadium was also wonderful. Really loud, constant singing, and a real sense of jubilation and pride. People have complained about the lack of atmosphere in the Emirates, but we showed what type of atmosphere can be produced in the ground - an atmosphere which I'm sure influenced the result. We need to try and re-create that atmosphere more often, just like the team needs to re-produce that type of performance on a more regular basis if we want to take anything from this season.

Finally, a word on the Thierry 'situation'. For a man supposedly suffering from a rift with the club, he did a wonderful job of 'hiding' it. He was in the tunnel before the game, pumping up the players; Adebayor, in a touching moment, ran to acknowledge him after his goal; he celebrated with the team on the field after the game. There may well have been an argument in training, but I hope there was - it shows Thierry's desire and passion for our club. He's frustrated because he knows just what the Arsenal-Spurs game means to Arsenal fans. I think he was also frustrated because he realises that trying to plough on and play with an injury has not been a great idea. I expect he'll miss the Chelsea game to try and rest up properly. The journalists who have hyped up the 'rift' are the same ones who confidently predicted TH's departure to Barca throughout all of last season. They're probably still smarting from that, or they've realised what great copy Thierry is - either way, they're peddling a misleading story.

I expect Baptista to come in for Tomas on Wednesday, a game that's really important to the immediate future of the club. It's not a '£40 million' game, but exiting at this stage would be a real blow after all our progress in the competition this year. I'm confident we can get a result out there.

Til later. Gb.

Unreplaced invincibles lie at the heart of Arsenal's malaise.

It looks like we might be in for a long season. A lot of us may have thought that last season was a 'transition year' but its shaping up to being the beginning of a more prolonged period of change and, hopefully, progress. And at the moment its hard to know whether our league form has now, unquestionably, hit the bottom of the trough, or whether the nadir of our current woes still lies in the future.

The heart of the problem is, actually, rather straightforward: we've lost a great team and haven't yet created a new one. The greater difficulty is knowing whether we're on the right track to a brighter future; whether the players we have at the moment really have the potential to win trophies and become a new golden generation, or if they're, actually, a rather mediocre lot.

Arsene has got lost a lot of top players in the last two years. Vieira, Edu, Pires, Campbell, Bergkamp, Cole and Reyes have all left, while Freddie is so far gone that its no longer worth considering him as a player who can really contribute to the team.

Arsene can't really be blamed for letting these players go. Bobby, Sol, Dennis and even Vieira were either over the hill or not cutting it anymore; Jose, Edu and Cashley had to be let go. Yet who has replaced them? That is the crux of our current problems. Quality has left and its not clear whether it's been replaced.

We now have a midfield without any physicality. Hleb, Rosicky, Fab and Gilbs do make tackles and win the ball, but they're artistic players at heart. They don't have the rugged power of a Vieira, or even the less refined, but necessary bite of a Grimandi or Parlour. And, crucially, none of these artistic players are great goalscorers. A fundamental problem we have at present is that we do not have goalscoring midfielders: we need a new Bobby or Marcy Overmars, and I don't think Hleb or Rosicky will get the goals we need; which is not to say they are not fantastic players. We've effectively lost players who contributed 20-30 goals a year, and they haven't been replaced.

We now have players such as Flamini and Song genuinely competing for places in midfield, and that's unacceptable. Neither have the passing or tackling ability to warrant a place. Diaby can't get back soon enough - because he offers genuine hope - but what are we to make of Baptisa - A 'beast' who has been consistently muscled off the ball in the games he's played thusfar? We've been so accustomed to mediocrity that Gilberto has established himself as a senior player and an automatic starter, instead of someone who should be fighting for his place.

Clichy may get better but he's not as good as Cole, and, take a deep breath, we miss a player of Cashley's quality on the left. I detest Cashley's antics and what he did to our club, but we're crying out for a decent left-back. Both Che£sea and ManU have two. Traore, to me, has looked far more impressive in his few outings, but he's painfully young. A purchase needs to be made.

Moreover, Baptista - who plays where? - 'replaced' Reyes, depriving of us of more options on the left. We have no left wing at the moment, and its hurting us. I'm sure that part of the reason we're playing 4-5-1, and forcing RvP to play out of position is because of this deficiency.

And on to Dennis. Dennis is, more than anyone, a genuinely one-off talent - but we need a player to link attack and defence in that style, because Henry's suffering from having to drop back and get balls that would have been played through to him in the past. He's also suffering, from the lack of a left-wing. He's the best player I've seen at our club, but if he's not contributing, he's not contributing, and we need more options up-front. Moreover, I firmly believe that Jens should be made captain in order to keep Thierry, and the rest of the team on its toes.

We weren't out muscled by Fulham yesterday; we were outplayed. There's a difference. To complain of offside decisions when we already two goals down is almost facetious, and even Arsene must know that we're simply not good enough at the moment. Our problems start at the back and our defence needs tightening up. To concede first in so many games is unacceptable. We look shaky almost every time an attack come at us, even with Gallas, one of the few players who've replaced an invincible such as Campbell in terms of class and ability.

But what to do? People are screaming out for us to buy, but with Diaby and Lauren coming back, and hopefully Baptista finally coming in to form, I'm not expecting Arsene to buy in January. The calls for him to go are ludicrous because I think he's genuinely being let down by players. Last night he fielded a poor team, but the three huge games coming up were clearly weighing on his mind. If we have another poor season, I think only then will the chequebook genuinely come out, but not before. I have the feeling we may have to endure another hard season, in order that Arsene can finally start to separate the wheat from the chaff, and continue his re-building process.

My one piece of advice to Arsene: buy a thug. Buy a new Grimandi. Buy someone to protect your artists, to give our team some respect among our opponents. After all, all artists need their patrons, as it were.

Dig in - this season may not be pleasant. A third place finish will be an achievement , but one, due to the general mediocrity of teams aside from ManU and Che£sea, which is probably achievable. A win against the Spuds would be a good, and almost mandatory, start.

Another trip to Bolton, another defeat.

How achingly predictable. We go to Bolton and lose; Anelka not only breaks his duck, but knocks two past us. When you see him finish in such a composed fashion and you, as I did, go on youtube and watch him in his pomp for us, it makes you think how good a player he could have been. He's a superb player at literally about 50-60% of his full capacity. If he'd fully applied himself, and not surrounded himself with greedy family members, he could have been one of the all time great European players.

Some conclusions can be drawn from the game. Firstly, Freddie and his future. Or, the lack of. A winger who cannot beat his player and cross, who cannot score, and who cannot beat his marker for pace is, by definition, not good enough. He's still good for work-rate and snapping at the heels of defenders, but he's not a real threat, and I can't see him significantly contributing to any future success for us. He's been a great servant, but its time to go.

Secondly, we have to do more with possession. We had about 68% of possession today, yet couldn't turn it into goals. It took a driving run from Gilberto to get us a goal, and I can't help but think that we look a little toothless. It seems almost capricious to have players like Bendtner on loan who are scoring for fun - or at least really troubling defenders - while we only seem to have one real striker available in Thierry's and RvP's absence. Perhaps we need a poacher up front, but maybe RvP already fills this position.

A few positives can perhaps be gleaned from the performance. It was not, at least, the abject surrender that has come to characterise so many of our trips up north. We lacked a bit in physicality in midfield, but Bolton didn't dominate us. Also, luck seemed against us. On another day Davies would have been sent off, Anelka would have been ruled offside and one of our three shots that hit the bar would have gone in. And Theo, I think, put in another good performance. He's still, clearly, learning his trade - yet he at least looks like he could do something, that he might be a threat.

The performance of Flamini was a cause for continuing consternation, however. He simply doesn't do enough in midfield. He has a high work-rate, but that's not enough. He doesn't have the range of passing, or tackling, to justify a central midfield birth, and I'm counting the days until a, hopefully fully recovered, Diaby returns. Also, we still have no left wing. I worry that a lot of us have invested our hopes in Clichy, partly because we want to spite Cashley. But, perhaps its time to admit that we miss a quality left-back, and an out and out left winger who can beat people, either by cutting inside or outside his defender.

A few weeks ago, I wrote in the aftermath of our devastating performance at Reading that Arsenal could win the title. I always felt, however, that Bolton away would be a real test of our ambitions - even a draw would have shown a real improvement on last season. As it is, we've lost, but with a marginally better performance than last season. Perhaps our expectations for the league this year should be just that: marginally better than last year. A comfortable fourth, or, at a push, third. I can't shake the feeling that while we have a good team, its still not certain whether it will become a great one. Its certainly a long way from the vintage of 2004.


Indeed, its not been a good weekend for Goonerboy and sport. The England cricket team comes second in my affections after Arsenal, and they are currently in the process of being slowly slaughtered by an Australian team practically foaming in the mouth in their desire for revenge after last year's glorious summer. As an aside, an interesting comparison: Flintoff and Henry. The best player in their respective teams, but not their team's best captain? Here's hoping England can bat out the match...I hear a thunder storm is predicted for tomorrow afternoon...

A poor win, but some reasons for optimism

The first half last night was as poor as any performance I've seen by us this season or last season. Henry meandered up front; the defence failed to deal with Hamburg's only real attack; the midfield was static and ineffectual, Hleb [outstanding again] occasionally booed for daring to be inventive.

Van der Vaart's goal was almost comically inevitable. First half? Check. Arsenal defender's backing off? Check. A sublime finish? check. You have to hand it to the likes of Villa, Boro, Everton and now Hamburg: they take their chance. Indeed what Van der Vaart is doing anywhere near that Hamburg side is a mystery. He's a very good player and should move on forthwith.

An extremely dour and flat first half ended with more than a few boos around me. The focus for much of the flak was Flamini who had an 'indifferent' game. The Gilberto role doesn't require a great level of inventiveness, but it does need a greater degree of tidiness and a wider range of passing than Flamini brought to it. The debate over whether he's good enough to play centre-midfield will undoubtedly continue, but I would have to say that I'm one of the doubters.

Arsene, predictably, brought no substitutes on at half-time. But he did, for once, make a significant and positive change, re-shaping the team into a far more effective 4-4-2. Freddie looked far more comfortable on the wing; even if he's clearly lost the ability to beat players, his work-rate means he continues to be a worthwhile squad member. Whether he's anything more than that is questionable.

The change of formation also allowed Van Persie to move up front, on the right hand side. He looked instantly more comfortable, and even a little liberated, and he took his goal with aplomb. But he was worrying inconsistent last night, often wasteful in possession. He's beginning to infuriate me: his goal-scoring potential means he can't really be left out, but his all-round play is too often not good enough, something that can be said whatever position he's put in.

Clichy also concerns me. The major question is, obviously, is he good enough? He looked naive on several occasions last night - both in attack and defence. With the sale of Cole, Pires and Reyes, and the emergence of Hleb and Eboue we've gone from a team with no right-side and a strong left-side, to the opposite. It still seems unclear, even with Rosicky in the mix, who is going to provide the penetration on the left that we used to enjoy.

The other big worry last night was Thierry, who looked painfully out of sorts. Indeed, the near death of our left side may have a lot to do with Thierry's dip in form. He says he's missing Highbury, but he's also missing Reyes, Pires and even Cole. I was disappointed that his performance descended into a degree of simulation last night, even if his booking was a farce. Still, we won in Zagreb without him, and in Manchester, and I think we just about have enough to get a draw out in Porto.

The main, perhaps overwhelming positive from last night was another storming performance by little Theo. There are calls for him to start, but at the moment bringing him on as an impact sub in the last thirty minutes might be the best role for him. What struck me most was not just his speed, but his technical ability. He did a few lovely turns with the ball, and his passing was incisive and shorn of the over-complication that blights some of our build-up play. Moreover, most of the Arsenal squad would have passed to Thierry for the third goal, not Baptista, despite The Beast's superior positioning. It would be no bad thing if some of our other players drew themselves out of Henry's thrall in this manner.

As for the Beast himself - a great goal to cap a great move, but he appeared surprisingly lightweight on the ball. That has to improve by, er, Saturday at Bolton if he's going to really earn his sobriquet any time soon.

In terms of our Champions' League campaign it was a good win, but the performance only came alive in the last twenty minutes or so. And while it was great that we came from 1-0 down to get a draw, let's not kid ourselves: Hamburg were a poor team; one at Sheff Utd's, not Everton's level.

Still, Bolton to look forward to, eh?

Defensive mistakes, not profligate finishing, are hurting Arsenal this season.

I've been away in Scotland for a few days. Hence the lack of posts for a while, and my absence at the Emirates on Saturday. It appears, however, that I didn't miss much. I'm still so grateful for my season ticket that I cherish every occasion I go, but our home form this season is rapidly becoming a farce. Its either 1-1 or a reasonably comfortable victory, and its the painful draws that are seemingly becoming more prevalent. The key seems to be the first goal. We've given away cheap goals to teams, allowing them to sit back and defend for the rest of the game. We can moan about it, but Georgie G used to do it every week with us not that long ago.

The most galling thing for me is that these teams seem to be scoring with their only shot on goal. Everton, Boro, Newcastle, and to a lesser extent Boro, had one, perhaps two, shots on target yet took their chance with aplomb. We play pinball for 90 minutes and scrape late, tense equalisers, the last two of which haven't come from open play. There remains a horrible, insidious feeling that we could concede at virtually any time, and then spend the rest of the game frustrated. We need to cut out these early-ish goals. If that happens, teams will open up eventually if its 0-0, much more so than if its 1-0 to them.

Tomorrow's game is a big one for our season - a complete, stone-cold must win. Wenger's been criticised for not starting Henry, but you can't play him - and expect a decent performance - for 90 minutes 3 times in 6 days. Blame Domenech. I do. A draw vs Newcastle and a win against Hamburg is preferable than vice-versa, so Arsene was just thinking ahead. A Thierry-less Arsenal do look toothless, however, possibly because Arsene is persisting with RvP on the left-wing, rather than letting him play up front on the right, possibly in front of Hleb. I think we need to consider giving Aliadiere more of a chance, especially if Bendtner now seems set on staying at Brummie-ville all season. I can't really comment on his performance as I didn't see much of it, but it also seems that the Julio 'I am superman!' Baptista myth may have, temporarily, come to a halt. I think he should be a good player for the club, but he had his own song before he'd played more than 20 minutes for the club. I also think that none of us really know where he's meant to be playing.

With Gallas ruled out today 'for a few weeks' - I've already heard that its until Christmas - our task of keeping in touching distance of ManU and Che£sea is harder still. We've got Bolton on Saturday to look forward to as well. But I would end by suggesting that our problems this season stem from conceding sloppy goals. Our attack has been profligate, but the job for our forwards has been made harder by our defence letting in really, really soft goals and allowing teams to defend in depth. Our priority for the next few games should be to keep things tight at the back, which will make scoring goals easier. Because I can't take another 1-1 frustration-fest.

Moving moments at the Grove: Arsenal 3 Liverpool 0

An excellent win yesterday. I thought Liverpool came out well in the first half, and caused us a few problems with their movement, but by the second half - and the important second goal - it was one of those blissful games where you could relax and enjoy the team comprehensively outplay one of the 'big four'.

And there was, for me, several genuinely moving moments in the game, which I thought I'd try and base this post around - at least one of which came from the opposing fans.

Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, the game kicked off with a minute's silence, given it was rememberance day, an act flawlessly observed by both sets of fans. Seeing 60,000 people all in silence, over an issue that actually warrants a silence is always rather moving, and it did put the importance of the game - and football - into context.

I have to admit to being worried when I saw Almunia and the Flamster in the tunnel, but both acquitted themselves: Almunia solidly, and Flamini excellently. Indeed, Flamini's presence in the midfield brought some much needed simplicity to our passing. In some respects, having three players of such technical ability as Hleb, Rosicky, and Fabregas, perhaps lends the team to over-playing a bit, and Flamini was excellent as a solid, and sometimes spectacular midfield presence, a stepping stone between Gilberto and Hleb/Fab. Perhaps there is a role in midfield for Flamini and also, perhaps, the old debate about not being able to play Pires and Ljunberg together will resurface with Hleb and Rosicky.

Flamini's gutsy goal rounded off an excellent move, sparked by Hleb's constant incisiveness and ingenuity on the ball. The passion of Flamini's celebration was great to see, and one can only hope the FA ends the farce of booking players for celebrating their goals. When you consider Carragher got off with a warning after scything down Van Persie, booking players for petty offences has to stop.

Hleb was, again, outstanding yesterday. Every time he picked up the ball he seemed to beat a player, if not two. His final ball was at times a little astray, but he caused the Liverpool defence and midfield no end of trouble. I would say he is now clearly one of most creative and dangerous players, and has been for some time. Especially when he's got Eboue behind/in front of him. It was a joy to see Eboue back, and it emphasised how much we'd missed him. I almost felt embarrassed for Gonzalez, such was Eboue's dominance, and he was superb getting forward as well.

In fact the whole back four played well. Clichy looked excellent getting forward and at the back, and Gallas's energy and general classiness kept Liverpool quiet going forward. His goal has to go down as one of the most shocking examples of marking I've seen from a top-level English team though. And it was Gallas who provided a great moment at the end, coming to the corner of the North and west stands and clapping the fans who'd stayed til the end. The, surely soon to be legendary, fist pump was brought out again, and it meant a lot to see the players give the fans some credit. I thought the atmosphere was better yesterday, despite a rather quiet first half.

But my MOTM has to be 'king' Kolo Toure who was outstanding. He never stopped running for the 90 minutes, making superb defensive challenges, and a goal that smacked of Adams in '98. Thierry also had a good, if interesting, game. Van Persie seemed to want to play in the areas Thierry has traditionally occupied on the left, so Henry took to just running about like a mad-man, contributing anywhere he could. There was one point when he sprinted back to tackle Kuyt or Crouch, and his credentials as Captain were emphasised. He does need a goal though. And finally, RvP, who also played well, showing his un-selfish side with a fine pass to Kolo for the second goal. I do worry, however, how he and Thierry can both play together in the long-run, without one of them making significant sacrifices to the type of game they want to play, such are the similarities in the positions they tend to take during attacks.

We shouldn't get too carried away. It was very much a game yesterday, as with all our home games this season, in which the first goal was crucial to the rest of the match. If Liverpool had scored it, they would have undoubtedly put 11 behind the ball. Especially because they looked poor yesterday. I don't know what Zenden is doing in their squad, and they seemed to have stocked up on rather average players - Crouch, Pennant, Bellamy, Gonazalez. They also missed Sissoko, badly, and Gerrard had a bit of a sulky game. Beating them is an excellent result, but the contentions of many that Liverpool would challenge for the title looks to have been a pipe-dream. It was 3-0 yesterday, but it should have been more, and Liverpool were also lucky to finish the game with 11 players.

But, a word of praise for some of the Liverpool fans. By even the 70th minute, it was clear that their team weren't going to take anything from the game, and many starting packing up and going home: their European cup banner had been taken down a long time before Gallas's goal. But, in the 9oth minute, when their team were 3-0 down and hopelessly out of the game, I saw the remaining couple of hundred Liverpool fans - in what was by then a very empty stand - raise their scarves and sing 'You'll never walk alone'. I was, I have to admit, rather moved by that exhibition of pride and almost irrational support for their club, and those fans that stayed and sung deserved far better than the crap their team had churned out. I also thought we could have perhaps let them sing it once without the, admittedly amusing, 'sign on, sign on...' riposte. Heh.

So a good win, and one we should build on next week against Newcastle. We have the acid test of Bolton away after that though, before we get too ahead of ourselves.

Adebayor comes up trumps again, Wenger stays silent

Good win last night. Everton basically put out their first XI, so for our young guns to go up there and get a result is great. Especially after Everton's 11 men behind the ball antics at the Grove. I didn't see the game, as it seems to have not been shown anywhere, and have only seen precisely 1 minute and 30 seconds of the game via Youtube highlights. From all accounts- and I point you towards Goodplaya.com for this - Flamini had a good game, having a smart shot pushed away by Howard. Walcott also continues to come tantalisingly close to his first Arsenal goal, blazing the ball over the bar when he perhaps should have hit the target.

The sending off seemed a little harsh to me. Graham Poll is currently, ostensibly, running a one-man crusade to get players to not just respect, but fear referees, and if McFadden was sent off just for calling him a 'cheat' in the heat of the moment that's a bit much. For those of you with longer memories, Poll didn't even book Rooney for his memorable explosion of expletives at Highbury in 2004. Consistency, eh?

He did rightly turn down a penalty claim, however, when Andy 'I don't dive but I still win 900 penalties a season' Johnson went down in the box. A tangle of legs, nothing more. Playa reported that Big Phil was a little shaky last night, which adds to my worries about his consistency and his ability to deal with certain types of forwards. Still, Arsene wouldn't have given him the no.6 shirt if he didn't envisage Phil having a long future at the club, so I'm willing to trust Arsene on this one. Aliadiere also played well, but one wonders whether he's just treading water before a move in January. It'll be interesting to see if he's on the subs bench for Sunday.

And just when it appeared the game was heading to extra-time, the big-man strikes again. Reviled by many at the beginning of the season, even booed at times, Adey is quickly becoming a really strong part of the squad, and pushing for a regular starting place. I think he contributes a lot to the team, and that he is also Thierry's preferred starting partner. However, I can see, after playing 90 minutes last night, RvP getting the nod for Sunday. But my opinion is that if we support him, and try and forget some of his rather glaring misses, Adey should continue to improve.

Finally, Arsene has remained silent. He must be plotting something. Possibly a massive powerpoint presentation for his press conference on Friday, where he justifies, step-by-step, his actions on Sunday. Heh.

Til later.

Farce and mountains of frustration at Upton Park: where do Arsenal go from here?

Four moments of farce, at least:

1) After a lovely one-two Hleb is played into the box. Spector doesn't foul him, he scythes down Alex, crashing into his ankles, whilst getting the tiniest flick of the ball. Stone-wall penalty. And Spector, already on a yellow, should have been off. But no. No penalty, 11 vs 11, play continues.

2) Kolo scores. He smashes a rasping effort from about forty yards, which slams off the post and in. Everyone in the pub starts celebrating. Except the players aren't. The ball has hit off the back of the post holding the net up, having gone wide by a fraction.

3) Flamini is brought on to shore up the midfield. Again.

4) Marlon Harewood scores and Arsene virtually has a fight with Pardew. I was seething when they scored because I could see it coming: Harewood had already had one clear-cut opportunity stopped by a great save from Jens, and Clichy's marking at the back post is still, often, a little shabby. Its too early to tell why Arsene did what he did, and whilst in many ways I'd love to see him lay out Pardew it's not on. Pardew probably had been goading Arsene at times during the game, and Arsene was no doubt seething from the penalty decision, but its no excuse. Arsene had to be physically restrained, and also started pushing the fourth official about. I was, to be frank, a little shocked.

And we all know the real reason Arsene almost punched Pardew: a rubbish performance. Flabby, overindulgent, and, frankly, not good enough. We all know, and most other Premiership watchers do as well, that we play, on our day, the best football in the league, perhaps in Europe. And its here the free-form jazz analogy that I used before is applicable. At our best -Reading, Old Trafford etc. - we're like John Coltrane, effortlessly ripping through scales of beautiful free-flowing music. At our worst, we're Jazz Club from The Fast Show: bloated, over-complex and perhaps even pretentious.

We need to start scoring scrappy goals; we need an out and out goal scorer that Thierry can link up with up-front. What we don't need is more passing. The passing is fine, the passing is great, but we need to vary the play, mix it up a bit. I'm not defending the morons who shout 'shoot', but with the possession we're having, and the opportunities we either create or should be creating, something isn't clicking in the final third and it needs to be sorted out.

Because we wern't playing an 'eleven-man' defence team today: West Ham came out and played us, and it was an open, exciting game. Yet when our counter attacks started, we were ponderous. Fabregas often took too long on the ball; Rosicky couldn't seem to find a killer ball; Hleb - who is being unfairly substituted too often at the moment - was better, but too often tried to play a 'thread the needle' ball through four defenders, instead of a simple lay-off. Henry was maddening. He seems to be in a bit of a malaise at the moment, perhaps stemming from his role as a leader of the forward line, which he is not taking to on a regular basis. I would have to say, however, that I thought Van Persie played well; his increased passing and distribution was noticeable, and he seemed one of the few midfielders/forwards really fighting for the win. I would hope that the coin thrower is discovered, as well.

The only real positive was a generally good performance from the back-line, and the return of Eboue. Eboue immediately made an impact when he was moved back to right-back, overlapping and causing danger on the right. Hoyte has been good there, but doesn't have the ball skills to be a threat going forward. Kolo was awesome, while Jens, Gallas and Clichy all had good games. My main concern about Clichy is his sometimes sloppy marking at the back post from crosses - something that could cost us more goals.

The most depressing thing about today is the knowledge that Che£sea would have won that match. We don't have their ruthlessness and its costing us games. And if we can't win away matches in London, how our are we going to win matches up North?

Anyway, there goes my relaxed Sunday afternoon.

Thoughts about Moscow after five-a-side football

So, today at work was the big game: one side of the office vs. the other. Only the crème de la crème were selected. Or those who could be bothered to turn up. Needless to say, Goonerboy's side triumphed. Yet, on this extremely cold evening, some very broad comparisons with the game last night struck me.

I started by drifting around up-front and, in the course of the game, had around 10-12 shots on goal. I scored one. The keeper saved half, I hit the post twice; the ball did everything apart from go in. One chance when a not very fast Goonerboy had somehow skinned his marker, then flashed a shot across the goal only to see it bounce off the inside of the post seemed to sum up my performance. Some days you just can't get a goal. It wasn't until the last goal of the game that I finally put one in [I nutmegged the keeper. Heh.]

And, so it was for Arsenal last night. Except a, er, slightly higher level of football. We were totally, almost embarrassingly dominant. We carved through a very good Muscovite defence time and again. But the ball just wouldn't go in. Fab and Rosicky missed open goals; RvP had a header than even I expected him to put in; Gilbs forced a terrific save from the Moscow keeper; Thierry had two or three chances that he would normally slot home. I, personally, don't think we over-complicated matters; on another day we would have won 4-0. It wasn't the same as the, say Boro or Everton matches. We didn't have chances last night. We had certified goals that we just couldn't realise. If we play like that again, it won't be the same and we'll win.

My message would be: we are on the right track. The only major concern is about Henry's slight difficulty in adapting to his new role in the team as a central striker rather than a winger. Having said I preferred 4-5-1, maybe 4-4-2 would be better, because Thierry needs to start from his customary left-wing position. He's struggling in his leading the line position - he hasn't got the physical presence to do what's currently being asked of him. [although can I just tell the idiot behind me who repeatedly moaned that 'we never won anything wiv 451 - Madrid? juve? Villareal? Old Trafford? Hmm???]

Still, we now need two results. We can't bank on beating Hamburg at home, but if we don't we don't deserve to go through. And a now extremely tricky tie in Porto where we may need to take something from the game.

It's like I said earlier in the season - we're 10% from perfection or disaster. But personally I think we're closer to the positive side. And certainly not close enough to disaster to warrant some of the negativity I heard from the crowd. Perspective please. Rosicky's head noticeably went down after his miss and we need to get behind the team, not on their backs, when our players are down. The negativity is no-where near as bad as some in the press are making out -but its not a complete figment of their imagination.

So, hopefully, goals will come. But mass panic will ensue if no goals against Hamburg.