An uninspiring win, but a win nonetheless.

It's rare to see a crowd so agitated and unhappy while their team is winning, but Arsenal somehow managed to do just that on Sunday, in another performance which raises as many causes for concern as hope.

The game started with a number of pleasant surprises. We scored first, Baptista not only hitting the target, but finding the back of the net in what may well be his last goal in Arsenal colours. 'Perhaps this is a new dawn for the Beast', many undoubtedly thought. A few minutes later, when he had resumed his customary practice of completely missing the target from positions in which he should score, these hopes were summarily crushed. Adios Julio; thanks for some of the memories.

Indeed, Arsenal quickly reverted to form: possession, possession, possession with no end product. Aside from Baptista's 'scorching' efforts, Cesc had an attempt which hit the target but contained no power, and Adebayor headed the ball almost directly at Niemi from close range, allowing the keeper to make a splendidly acrobatic save.

So, at half-time the boys traipsed in with only a one goal advantage, when the scoreline should have been at least 2 or 3 nil.

And when chances are spurned everything starts to become a little flat and dangerous. At our throw-ins, no one made runs for the man with the ball; Hleb, who was again pilloried for losing possession, at least tried to make runs forward or into attacking positions, unlike the rest of our often static players. Cesc tried to pull the strings, but too many of them remained stubbornly in place.

With more chances spurned, the defence started to dally when clearing from the back. It wasn't too much of a surprise then when Jens rushed from his area to try and clear the ball away: he'd clearly had enough of Toure and co. mincing about with the ball. Unfortunately, and oh so achingly predictably, Jens was then lobbed, and Fulham, by that point deservedly, were level.

Criticism could and perhaps should be levelled at Jens; he certainly seems to have made far more mistakes this season than last. But as I wrote in my last post, I sincerely think that this is due to the shakiness and complete lack of coherence in defence. Goodplaya had a rant about the defence in his last post, and I agree 100%. Individually, all are good-enough, but as a unit they just are not functioning. Certainly, the Toure-Gallas partnership must go, and, on current form, Kolo must feel the axe, I'm afraid. And, most importantly, a defensive coach - Keown? - must return and instil some discipline and order, especially at set-plays.

Jens's worth to the team was emphasised moments after the goal with a decent stop to keep the scores level. The team, as per usual, seemed to need to concede before really sparking out of their collective lethargy, and moments later Adey got a goal.

Adebayor put in a very decent performance on Sunday, even if he still needs a few too many warm up chances before he puts one away. Next to a better striker he will better, and at only 22 I'm growing ever more optimistic about how good this guy could become.

A few minutes later, Hleb's complete and rather cowardly refusal to shoot, saw old-boy Volz bring him down in the area, and Gilberto applied the gloss to a rather uninspiring victory.

Problems are still in evidence almost everywhere therefore, despite the win. The defence is a near shambles; the midfield don't work for each other nearly enough; Baptista still isn't good enough. Diaby, also, was absolutely awful. He can't help being played out of position on the left, but he could have done more, and his overall performance was massively disappointing. Maybe Arsene will stop playing central midfielders out of position one day, but I'm not so sure.

Clichy, on the other hand, was my Man of the Match. He was effervescent, superb going forward, and also firm at the back. It's performances like those which have progressively endeared me to him to this season, and which give me, as with Adebayor, great hope for next year.

So a win is a win is a win. But it might have been oh so much better. And it will have to be next Sunday, when I hope a few players realise 100% is required across all ninety minutes.

Why I'm glad Jens is staying.

Well it would seem the Krazy old German is with us for another year, and I for one am thrilled.

Look long and hard at that photo and remember what he's capable of, and watch this video to remember how important he is to our team.

He hasn't quite been in the, to be frank, player of the season form he was in last year, but to suggest that he's suddenly become a has-been or is now expendable is rubbish.

Firstly, he's pulled out game-winning, top-quality saves on several occasions this year - Sidwell vs Reading, Solksjaer at Old Trafford to name a few. Granted, he was erratic last week at the Lane last week, but he's marshalling, without much credit, a pretty leaky defence at the moment, composed of inexperienced full-backs and a centre-back partnership which hasn't hit it off.

Furthermore, to contend that Jens's form has slipped due to the absence of an international championship to look forward to is ludicrous. Few players in the current Arsenal team wants to win every game as much as Jens. He may have a, to put it mildly, rather confrontational way of motivating the team, but its good to see when the rest of our players seem so mild-mannered.

Comparisons with the over-extension of Seaman's contract are disingenous. Lehmann has not suffered the series of injuries Seaman did, which seriously affected the latter's form after the contract-extension too far. Lehmann is a better and less damaged player than Seaman was at similar ages.

And despite talk of the like of the Pele in France, Craig Gordon, and Akineev, there remains a possibility Wenger might just plump for upgrading Almunia which would be a disaster: he is not a first XI player, and we are kidding ourselves if we think he is capable of making the jump.

Too often in the past Wenger has been right to sell or release, but has not replaced, and another year gives him another year to line-up a permanent successor. We can't make the mistake of casting off another invincible if we're not going to replace him with a similar level of quality.

For me, I'd love us to somehow sign Craig Gordon, but keep Jens for another year as well. I'm not sure how the logistics of this would work, but having a year in which to blood a new keeper, while having Jens as our No. 1 would be the best situation. Of course, with keepers, it's always hard to do this, so maybe a sign and a loan - a la Foster or Carson - would be an idea.

Finally, it'll be nothing but entertaining; Jens can at least guarantee that and I'm glad we have a year in which to plot a fitting farewell for someone I consider a true Arsenal legend.

'All that glisters is not gold': the great Arsenal takeover mystery

Quite a week, eh?



David Dein, Our most prominent board member, and Arsene's best mate (Trademark), is sacked from the board, prompting mass hysteria and suggestions that the club is on the verge of a takeover.

Peter 'legend' Hill-Wood, says that he will not allow the club to be sold 'across the Atlantic' to those who know 'sweet FA' about 'our' football.

Stan Kroenke buys more shares in the club, and sends a letter out to the Arsenal Supporters Trust, undoubtedly as a precursor to an attempt to buy the 10% or so of shares that small-shareholders control. His stake now lies at just over 12%, with the sale of Dein's 14% stake to Kroenke being just a matter of time.

Arsene is forced to publicly state that he will honour his contract, while remaining cagey on his long-term future. However, his statements about 'his decision' in appointing a sporting director seem to imply he will renew his deal in 2008. Arsene also, contradicting earlier comments, comes out in favour of a takeover.

Phew. So much for us being the 'stable' club of English football.

Whilst I have previously come out in favour of a takeover, now, I have to admit, I'm sharing PHW's views. Is a transfer kitty enough to justify the sale of our club's history and its values? 'All that glisters is not gold', after all.

Of course, many would claim we have already sold out, playing in our 'Emirates' stadium. But a bit of advertising is not the same as a full sale of the club, and it would be disingenuous to compare the two.

Would Arsene even use a transfer budget if presented with it? Our biggest signings in recent years have largely been failures: Reyes and Wiltord. Only Henry has justified his +£10m price tag. Would the ability to buy a few nice trinkets really be worth a takeover? Isn't Arsene's youth policy actually quite a proud and respectable way to go about business?

And what of Kroenke, or 'silent' Stan as he's known? Is he another Glazer? He certainly seems to be at the moment, with his calvacade of US sports clubs and quiet public persona. Has he got the stomach to launch a messy hostile takeover, and what would it say about him if he did? If he and Dein were in cahoots, and secretly plotting behind the board's back, do we really want his sort? Do we really want Dein back if he's willing to act in this way? And how is Kroenke planning to finance the takeover? By taking on debt? Do we want a Glazer situation of a highly-leveraged buy-out on top of large stadium debts? How would that actually benefit the club?

I would suggest it would not, and certainly not in the way many fans hope a takeover would benefit us; but I think a takeover, or at least a serious takeover attempt, will occur. For all the talk of the board resisting a bid, and refusing to sell for twelve months, Kroenke can still push up his stake in the club to a level were a takeover would be necessary for the health of the club. If Kroenke gets to 40%+ shares, the board will sell, even if it is in a year's time.

Of course a takeover can still be resisted, but I wonder if the board really have the stomach for a fight in the long-term. It's sad to contemplate, but maybe our club is just another potential money-spinner for a rich individual, who knows nothing of football apart from its money-making potential.

So I'm with PHW. Call me a little Englander, or someone blind to the contemporary nature of football, but I want my club to be run by people who genuinely care about it. Who care about it on a level higher than money. People, like me, who would pay to come and watch the game if they weren't a shareholder. Call me a cynic, but you are not one of these people Mr Kroenke, and I'm not sure if I want you near my team.

Arsenal dominate but don't win. Again.

First up, don't go and watch Arsenal Spuds games in south-east london. For certain reasons, I found myself dahn sarf at midday yesterday and rushed to a nearby pub that I knew would be showing the match. On arrival, at least half the pub was spuds; at least. And many were the worst sort: they celebrated at half time as if it was full time; they screamed 'seedahn' every time we had a chance; they repeatedly sung the Wenger is a.... chant. Sometimes a little part of me feels sorry for the spuds - never in the title race, always choking; at others I remember what a sizeable portion of their fan-base is like, and I think they have the club they deserve.

Anyway, to football, where, yet again, we dominate a game, create hundreds of chances, but are punished for a lack of cutting edge.

The first half was a reasonably balanced affair, with Adey having a goal wrongly (?) disallowed and Keane sneaking in at the back post to punish some poor defending from a corner. Both Jens and Clichy were at fault for the goal, and whilst Keane's finish was instinctive we shouldn't be conceding sloppy goals like that. Jens, who had a middling game, needs to be better at command ing his area. His antics, which usually help us, hindered our performance yesterday, and contributed to the delays which led to Jenas's 94th minute strike.

But before the half was out Adebayor should have scored, as he blazed over when presented with an open goal. It's misses like that which make me have sympathy for David James's idea of performance related pay for footballers. To be fair to Adey, he never stopped trying despite his efforts hitting posts and being disallowed. He's a real asset to the squad, and hopefully next year he'll have more of a chance to play next to strikers who can actually score.

The defining moment of the match was undoubtedly Freddie's substitution. The team doesn't quite click without Cesc pulling the strings, and despite a superb performance from Diaby, it's clear why Arsene plays Cesc in almost every game. Both our goals came from Cesc-pieces (i'm sorry couldn't resist). That hasn't happened for a long time, and it was nice to see us vary our play, but Cesc's overall performance was a joy to behold. With our utter second half dominance, an equaliser seemed on the cards, and our overall performance should have meant that Adey's goal was a winner.

But when you squander the chances we had, pressure builds, and the chance is always there of the last minute reprieve that the spuds snatched. Also, when a striker like Baptista is up-front, chances are, seemingly, always going to be mised. Despite my hopes, he is clearly not good enough, and with his rant this week about English weather, i'd be very surprised to see him stay.
At half-time I was genuinely fearing defeat; by full-time I was gutted with a draw. Such is football. It was an encouraging performance nonetheless, with several players really shining. Diaby bestrode the midfield and looks a real prospect; Eboue not only looked good going forward but kept Lennon in his pocket; Cesc, even with the flu, dictated the game.

After a thoroughly depressing series of results, we've had two wins and a draw that should have been a win in a week. We've finally started scoring, and we've repeatedly shown enough spirit and desire to drag ourselves back from going one goal down. The defence still looks too leaky for my liking, but it now seems conceivable that we're going to end the season with a flourish. If we could win our remaining three games, and get everyone back to fitness, next season might be very interesting.

Let's keep up winning and scoring ways.

The relief at the end of the Bolton game was palpable. Finally, we'd beaten a team who we'd more or less outplayed. Of course, we should have won by 3or 4 goals to one. Take a bow Messrs Diaby, Hleb and Baptista: your finishing was truly woeful.

We had the chances in the opening five minutes of the second half to wrap up the game quite comfortably; that we only took one of these, Cesc's superb, if convoluted finish, made for a distinctly uneasy second period. Bolton always seemed one set-piece away from equalising, and given that the oaf that is Kevin Davies suddenly decided that hitting keepers over the head is fine - why has no one spoken of this incident aside from on Arsenal blogs? English exceptionalism per chance? - it was wonderful when the final whistle went.

Clearly we need to build on the major positive: our midfield has started scoring. Rosicky is a class act and his goal seemed to show an Arsenal midfielder finally driving hard into the box and really wanting a goal. He should get a minimum of ten next season, or he's not fulfilling his potential. Cesc should also be in double figures. It's bizarre that after starting the season with two wonderful finishes in Zagreb, Cesc has struggled to find the net. But his goal-tally should also increase with time. Which leaves the Hleb enigma. Now widely derided, it would seem, by the majority of Gooners, it was a defence splitting pass from Alex which allowed Adey to cross the ball for the first goal. He does have a role in the team; but will it ever be a goal-scoring one? And if it isn't, is he expendable?

Freddie had his best game in a long-time, but again could not find the net. My money would be on Ribery coming in as his replacement come summer. As for poor Abou, his head was down at the end of the game, after three poor misses.

I particularly appreciated the moments when our midfielders finally made surging runs forward, instead of merely passing the ball horizontally. Rosicky and Cesc have the power to make these runs and should make more of them. They unsettle defenders in a way passing sometimes doesn't.

At the back Kolo's contradictory form continued. Beaten in the air and outmuscled for the first goal, he still looks a class defender. But can him and Gallas really form a top-class, complementary partnership together? I'm not so sure. I would also hope that Arsene is thinking hard about the future of our right-backs. We've been linked to Daniel Alves again, who seems a Wenger signing, and would surely be an improvement on either Hoyte or Eboue, neither of whom are more than squad players.

Tonight we need to hope our midfield chips in with a few more goals, for a win which would further cement fourth place. Let's hope we can finally start to build some consistency, even if it has come far too late.

In other news, what is going on with Kerry Gilbert?

Suddenly a takeover doesn't feel like such a bad idea.

I wasn't able to attend yesterday's game, but did I really miss anything? An opposing team scoring the first goal with virtually their only shot? Check. Us peppering their goal with shots, despite the complete reluctance of some of our players to shoot? Check. Us equalising? no. And that, unfortunately, was the major difference between yesterday's game and about, at least, half our other home performances this season.

Arsene has come out after the game and said it was 'unbelievable' that we didn't score. Really? I find it eminently believable. I watched us dominant game after game this season without scoring. I've watched us been knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League due to an inability to score, despite, basically, controlling both games.

And does Arsene really find it unbelievable that some of our players aren't scoring? I'm beginning to wonder if Alexander Hleb's family will be killed if he takes a shot on goal. I still rate him as a player, but without goalscorers playing next to him, he seems to exacerbate problems. All the potential difficulties I noted when we signed Rosicky have come to fruition: he is a great player, but Arsene is wasting him on the left and he, as well, hasn't got the goals Bobby got even last year, let alone in his pomp. Cesc is at least trying to score but he's not their yet.

And at the moment we have strikers who don't score goals, almost a philosohpical paradox. We can continue to posit the 'any team would struggle without their two best forwards' line and it is justifiable to an extent. But United and Chelsea have goals throughout their team in a way we simply don't.

Arsene is simply deluding himself if he thinks players such as Freddie, Aliadiere or Baptista will consistently get goals. They won't; they should leave in the summer and replacements from outside the club must be brought it, not just youngsters promoted to fill the void.

Through the failings of our squad we've blown the Champion's League race wide open. And, as Arseblogger has said, let's not underestimate what a disaster it would be if we didn't qualify. Top players don't want to play for UEFA Cup clubs. Finishing fifth could start a spiral of decline, or of at least mediocrity and empty seats at the Grove.

Amidst all our current woes is the still slightly shadowy figure of Stan Kroenke; a man with a clear interest in purchasing the club. It's clear that a man like Kroenke is going to stop at a 10% stake: he is a sports team owner, not investor. He has a mass of sports clubs in the US under his ownership already, and like any sensible businessman, he's seeking to diversify and extend his portfolio into the lucrative British football market.

We are prime for a takeover and, whilst I never thought I'd say it, maybe it would be for the best. The current board have done a magnificent job in building one of the finest stadiums in the world. But do they have the energy to push the club to the next level? Kroenke seems to be a sensible businessman. He's not going to treat the club like an Abramovich-esque plaything; he'll want to balance the books and make a profit, which can only, really, be done by the club being successful.

I expect Kroenke to launch a £500 million takeover bid within the year, which would fully value the club, given our debt, at around £750 million - a colossal figure, dwarfing Liverpool's recent takeover, and only just shy of the Glazer purchase of United. Only one of Fiszman, Dein and Bracewell needs to sell for a mandatory bid to become a reality, and Fiszman looks the likeliest to sell first given reports which continue to surface.

The logistics of any takeover can't be commented on until prospectuses are issued, and issues such as levels of debt financing are known. I'll say this know though: Arsenal fans aren't stupid and neither are the Arsenal board, and we'll know if an individual or business is trying to destroy the values of the club for mere profitability. Such a takover will be resisted, I would hope, by fans and shareholders alike. Any takeover which saddled the club with levels of debt financing seen in the Glazer deal is unacceptable.

But a takeover, and hopefully the cash that came with it, might be what we need to turn around the club's on-pitch fortunes at the moment. We need new ideas, and Arsene must realise sooner, rather than later, that a lot of our current bunch aren't good enough, and are not going to become the type of players we need to win trophies. The club may have reached a critical points in its development and the rest of the year might prove to be interesting, even if the current season is becoming increasingly tortuous.

Happy Easter.

Flamini's off: should we be upset?

I'm coming to the end of a cycle.

I've spent three years at Arsenal and my solicitor has advised me that I can leave from the month of June.

But for that to happen, I have to give the club the last year of my salary.

The Arsenal team is young and it has its qualities but I'm playing less these days.

It's not easy to take and I'm in a situation where every player is asking themselves questions.

The words of Matthieu Flamini who, less than a year ago, was nigh on integral in our run to the Champions League final.

But should we be upset if he does depart?

Matthieu has many qualities - an outstanding work-rate that many of our other players might take note of being among his best attributes. He is a tidy, if not spectacular midfielder, and is one of the few players we have who doesn't seem reluctant to take the occasional shot on goal.

Twice this season I've been very impressed with him: Chelsea away and Liverpool away in the FA Cup. Both performances were quietly solid, and he capped his performance at the Bridge with a fine goal.

And his versatility, or should I say previous versatility, has also been an asset, with Matthieu often playing in defence last year.

But Matthieu clearly made his mind-up at the beginning of this season that he would not become our Phil Neville; he would not be the 'do-a-job' squad member, endlessly shunted around the team depending on who was injured that week. Matthieu must have told Arsene, 'play me in central-midfield or don't play me at all', and in some ways you have to admire his attitude. It's not ingratitude, it's a recognition of the damage that can be done to a player who is unable to establish himself in one position.

Unfortunately for the Flamster, Arsene clearly thinks there are at least 4-5 players before him in the queue for central berths: Fabregas, Gilberto, Diaby, Denilson, and, perhaps, even Alex Song when and if he returns. While the first four players, at least, are more skilful than Flamini, do we really want to release one of the few players in our squad with the drive and determination Flamini often shows? Might he have been a better option than Denilson on Saturday, even if Denilson does, ultimately, develop into a superior player?

On balance, his departure would not be a huge loss as he is a replaceable sort of player. But if he does leave, I would like to see Arsene buy to replace him. What the squad seems to be missing is players of the Parlour and Grimandi mould: not technically the most gifted, but often vital to the strength and spirit of the side. And if Flamini is to go, we need a mature, experienced player of this type to come in, because you have to wonder about the club's future if Arsene merely promotes another youngster instead.

Where do Arsenal go from Anfield?

It's hard to know what to write after a match like the one on Saturday. To be so convincingly outplayed and humiliated is always hard to take, especially after the wonderful performances we'd pulled out earlier in the season at Anfield; those, as I wrote earlier, of the 'false idols'.

The only comparable defeats in recent years that I can think of were the 6-1 in Manchester, and the 3-1 in Munich. Both performances showed that a crop of players were no longer good enough to win trophies for the club. In the wake of the defeat in Manchester we went on to win two titles and a handful of FA cups; the jury is still out whether Wenger has really improved the team post-Munich.

Because it seems clear that a lot of players have, or should have, question marks over their place in the team.

Normally it's the midfield which is the source of our ire, but on Saturday it was clearly the defence that must take the bulk of the blame. Is Eboue really good enough defensively, despite his crosses? Can Kolo and Gallas play together, or do we have a Gerrard/Lampard/overly-similar player situation occurring? I would suggest that given Kolo's current form, a partnership of Senderos and Gallas or Djouorou and Gallas might be preferable. Certainly, Kolo at centre-back is no longer an automatic selection. Gallas played poorly, but he's missing Terry's aerial dominance and he's the best defender in our squad otherwise; indeed the whole team is missing a defender who can dominate in the air. Despite his injury record, if Woodgate is available we should be in for him.

And now on to the midfield. What struck me watching the United-Blackburn game was how many United players stood up to be counted when they fell behind. Could any Arsenal midfielder have scored Scholes's goal, one which was as much about sheer guts and determination as ability? When a player like Carrick is outscoring our midfield, something is clearly wrong.

Indeed the nullifying of our midfield appeared stupefyingly simple for Liverpool. Get tight on Cesc, don't let him pull the strings, and let apathy, indifference and inexperience do the rest. Cesc has become too central to our success, and we need a plan B for if he's off form, or not allowed into the game. Denilson has shown that he has considerable ability, but he should not be playing this many games so young. Neither should Cesc, nor Diaby, who, again, was completely wasted on the left. We need goalscoring wingers, not just central midfielders converted to inside lefts/rights. Hleb was poor again, and he is increasingly looking like a luxury. The last decent performance from him was Bolton away in the FA Cup and his struggles have become worrying, especially as he never looks like scoring.

Up front, Baptista is not taking his chances. Simple as that. He's getting into half-decent positions, but there's only so many times a player can miss before you wonder if he will ever be a consistent goalscorer. Adebayor was the bright spark of the team and deserved a goal. If Dudek had been playing, he would have had one.

So where now? Fourth place again? Maybe not even that is secure but I can't even contemplate not getting it. And even if we were to get it, and despite some excellent performances this season, its hard to say whether we've improved. About this time last year, we seemed on an upward wave and I was genuinely excited about the club's future. Now, I have to admit, I'm not so sure. Sure, we have bags of youth and potential, but when will it gel? Can we face another trophy-less season next year? How long can players like Fabregas accept fourth place?

It's good to see some harsh words from Arsene this week on the unacceptability of Saturday's recent capitulation. I think a re-think is necessary. Because otherwise it's hard to see how we'll get off this plateau.

If he really cares about England, Steve McClaren should resign.

Little to talk about today, really, on the old Arsenal front. International weeks are always slow, so there's only been a few mildly silly stories floating about.

We've been linked to Andy Johnson, again, who's ours for the paltry price of £14 million. That much money for an English player seems slightly un-Arsene, it must be said. Adebayor and Eboue are near to signing new contracts: good news on Ade, not so sure about Eboue. Is he really a player we want at the club in the long-term? His crossing ability must be weighed against his theatrics, which have damaged the team's performances at times. Finally, Inter are after Tomas Rosicky for £10 million. Despite a middling season, I can't see that happening.


And so to England.

The game yesterday was a farce, an embarassment, a disgrace. Israel defended in depth behind the ball and managed to break up our play reasonably well, but was I the only Englishman hoping for Israel to win? Hoping that it would be the blow that forced our sub-standard manager out the door at last? A manager who refuses to confront the Lampard-Gerrard problem; a manager who throws on Stuart Downing for our best player in the last ten minutes of a game; who still chooses Phil Neville, despite Gareth Barry having his best season for some time in the premiership; a person who swaps right-backs when we're meant to be chasing the game.

In McClaren's defence, his players were awful yesterday. Even if he is not organising them properly, which he clearly isn't, far too many of our Galacticos, and I will use that term, don't seem to be able, or perhaps willing, to reproduce their club form at international level. Maybe if they took ten minutes out from collecting MBEs or writing best-sellers or spouting rubbish about 'English heart' being key to our performances or organising their 'bling', we might actually get somewhere. On their performance yesterday, I'd be willing to call up some of the under-21s to give the senior squad a kick in the backside. At least they'd show some desire. Players like Lampard, Gerrard, Ferdinand, and Rooney must be wrenched from the comfort zones they are currently basking in.

Maybe failing to qualify for next years championships would be the best thing for our current squad. Hopefully the FA would look past nationality when they recruited, and get someone who can finally organise the spoiled brats that make up our first team; someone who might actually pick our best performers, not just our best-known.

And I thought Croatia was a nadir.

The false idols of Anfield further exposed.

Well, it's all getting a little depressing isn't it. A month ago we had cup ties galore to look forward to, including a cup final no less, and Thierry seemed to have regained form and fitness after a difficult few months.

Now look where we are: dumped out the cups, twenty points adrift in the league, and with a struggle for third, if not fourth place, on our hands. Where did it all go wrong?

Perhaps some answers can be found earlier in the season, in a moment of wonderful hope for the team's future. Namely the 6-3 victory at Anfield, where our young guns rightly earned themselves a page in our, and Liverpool's, history books.

Several myths have emanated from this moment, not least that Liverpool were supposedly playing their first team. (Whilst they had more first-teamers out than us, this was not a full strength Liverpool eleven by any means.)

Yet, and perhaps fatally for the second half of our season, two players had an absolute stormer that night: Messrs Aliadiere and Baptista.

Aliadiere not only scored but created goals with the nonchalance, ease and almost serene aura of a younger Thierry; the Beast justified his sobriquet with a double-brace, a game in which he perhaps should, incredibly, have had a double hat-trick.

At that moment, both players undoubtedly convinced Arsene that they could cut it in our first team. So rather than, say, give Aliadiere the chop in January and, perhaps, bring in a new striker, Jeremie stayed. We all seemed rather confident that we had five top-quality strikers.

What we actually had was a crocked Henry, a soon to be crocked RvP, an Adebayor who needs one of the first two next to him, and the two Anfield idols, neither of whom have really cut it since that night. Sure, we've had a few goals from Baps, and some verve from Aliadiere, but neither has really looked like a threat in front of goal.

And thus yesterday. Another game in which we've carved out chances, but had no-one to take them. Jeremie had more inexcusable misses; Baptista ran about a bit, without really looking like scoring.

Did they fool us on that night in Liverpool? Were we duped? They still have a few more games to convince us, but I would suggest that Aliadiere does not have what it takes, and its 30-70 whether Baps has it. A greater depth of quality is needed in our strikeforce and hopefully its in this area, as in a few others, that Arsene is thinking of bringing in a 'super-super' player this summer.

Finally, a slice of luck in a hard-earned win.

I didn't see the game last night so I can't comment in length. The only footage I've see thusfar was on the big screen in Waterloo station this morning and a 3 minute clip on YouTube.

The main points seem to be:

* Finally, a bit of luck. Whilst Diaby has been credited with the goal, it almost seems like a Lampard special: hit from outside the area, catching a nasty deflection and screwing in past the helpless keeper. It's nice to see us score a goal like that once in a while, rather than our normal 'walk the ball over the goal-line' style antics.

* However, Baptista's performance was otherwise poor. Was he really injured? It's the first time I've seen a manager tell a player he's injured; things are usually the other way around. Is this the beginning of his end?

* Aliadiere has returned to being the nearly man. Missing a point-blank header and a chance after being put through is, unfortunately, not good enough.

* Would a more clinical team have punished us? Villa certainly seemed to have the chances to win the game, and we can count ourselves lucky, perhaps, that they did not capitalise on them.

* Did the Denilson-Fabregas partnership work? Should Gilberto be playing centre-back? Do we still need a big tackling presence in midfield?

After all's been said, I'm happy with the three points. We only mustererd a dire 0-0 at Villa last year, and I think this season's Villa team is a stronger outfit than the ones we faced then. Arsene certainly seemed relieved - looking rather dapper in a tracksuit - and its important that we build on this victory with our tough trips to Merseyside forthcoming.

Finally, a word regarding ANR: I have to join the chorus of condemnation regarding Myles's last effort. To claim that Johann Djourou 'shamed his African ancestors' by taking two foul throw-ins, demonstrates a level of idiocy and callousness that I do not wish to be associated with Arsenal related websites. Moreover, if Aliadiere or Fabregas had taken a foul throw, would they have shamed their ancestors? Or can only black players do this? I also thought that his flippant comment that the Emirates was full of 'council-estate kids' last night was in poor taste.

I used to read Myles as his columns were, once upon a time, rather good, and if nothing else thought-provoking. Nowadays he comes across as an egotistical old fool. Unlike the real ANR of course. I urge you to read Mr Mendacious.

Anyway, enough cat-fighting. Here's hoping we can pick up another three points on Sunday, when we should have a few players back.

Henry's worst season at Arsenal is over, but let's not over-react.

So, surely we've reached a nadir in Thierry Henry's Arsenal career. An injury plagued season, in which he has only, in many games, hinted at his abilities, has been brought to a premature end.

I've been shocked, at times, by the reaction of some of the Ashburton crowd this season. I've heard shouts of '**** off to Barcelona' when Thierry has lost the ball or missed a chance. I haven't really heard the Thierry Henry song sung which much enthusiasm, aside from the beginning of the season, and, of course, in the last minutes of that wonderful win over the Mancs.

We've seemed a bit unsure as to what's happened to the rampaging Thierry of old and, to be frank, so does Thierry.

Because when Thierry isn't on his game, he looks like he's not trying. Thierry strolls through games, casting himself almost above the action, only involving himself when he feels he can really make a difference. When he's scoring, everyone forgets about his odd, almost serene manner of playing; but when he's not, accusations of a lack of effort, and second thoughts regarding Barcelona, are easy to throw.

Thierry has scored some vital goals for us this year, and is still our second highest goal scorer. My only hope is that Thierry can come back refreshed and re-energised next season, and that niggling injuries and fatigue have been the cause of his current malaise. If darker forces are at work - the decline of his pace - we may never see the Thierry we used to know again. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. If the metamorphosis of Thierry into a deeper-lying player, relying less on speed has begun, so be it. He is still a massive asset to the team, even without 25 goals a season. Whether Arsenal fans, and Thierry can accept this, is another matter.

What the whole team is crying out for, is goal-scoring, penetrative midfielders. We need rampaging wingers to share the goal-scoring burden and help get Thierry back on track. We may already have one in Theo, but perhaps more mature players also need to be brought in, especially as Freddie must go in the summer.

Whilst the Thierry injury may, ultimately, be good news for him and the club, it still leaves us in a difficult situation for the rest of the season. The word seems to be that we many not see RvP again this season either - an equally damaging loss to the team - in which case Adebayor, Baptista, Aliadiere and Walcott will be the ones, hopefully, firing us to fourth, if not third spot.

Whether these players have the goals in them or not is of course the question. And, if nothing else, it may make the last few weeks of the season a little more interesting, if only in a painful way.

Dilettante Arsenal suffer their first defeat at the Emirates.

Normally my predictive powers are second to everyone. But I feel if you take the concerns I raised in this post, and times it by those in this one, the result is last night's performance.

The wheels have come off our season; the inadequacies of our squad have been exposed for all to see.

Technically, of course, it wasn't a defeat. But trying telling that to the loyal Gooners - myself included - who stayed until the bitter end last night, sitting in muted silence as another European season came to an abortive end far too early. Almost as soon as Alex's header hit the back of the net, the sound of thousands of seats snapping up-right was heard around the ground. Never have I seen a stadium empty with such ferocity and alacrity as in the last moments of our doomed campaign last night.

Normally, I abhor this type of behaviour; but as the empty red seats multiplied before me, perhaps Arsene might have reflected on a few things.

Firstly, shooting is not optional in football: it is encouraged. Some teams even consider it superior to endless passing and re-working of the ball in final third. Some teams even put players into the box to attack balls worked into dangerous areas.

Some teams have midfielders who can score goals. Imagine that! Imagine Hleb deciding to shoot instead of pass. Imagine Fabregas being able to hit the target with a free shot from the edge of the box. Imagine Freddie, frankly, doing anything that really troubled the opposition. Imagine not having to rely on raw teenagers in the most important game of our season thusfar.

We have a collection of midfielders who possess wonderful passing and technical ability, but who have no inclination whatsoever to pepper the target with shots. Playmakers are needed, but we have too many makers and not enough finishers. Either our midfield steps up and starts scoring, or we buy in the summer. Simple as that.

And what to make of our strike force? A perma-injured Henry who looks like he's losing his pace and ability to dictate matches. A bustling centre-forward in Adebayor who misses chances he must score in big games. A 'Beast' who is struggling and out of confidence, even if he is at least getting into dangerous positions. And a Dutch-man who, whilst supremely talented, struggles to stay fit.

I wrote two weeks ago that this leg would say a lot about whether last year's campaign was a one-off or not. On the basis of last night, it appears that we still don't have the squad to really challenge for honours, especially in Europe. And for all the talk of potential surrounding the club, if potential isn't turned into concrete success sooner rather than later, who's to say that our young talents will want to stay? They want to win now as much as we do. How long will Fabregas tolerate a trophy-less state of affairs?

Arsene needs a re-think. I hope he realises that some members of our squad our not at the required level and may not reach it. I hope he realises that goals are the fundamental aspect of footballing performance, not style, regardless of how much I enjoy the artistry of our current players.

For the whole of this season I've felt the club has been 90% from perfection or disaster. Whilst finishing third or fourth in the league is no disaster, losing three cup games in a week is not far from that description. And a hard look at the squad needs to be taken between now and August, to ensure this fiasco does not re-occur next year.

Player ratings vs. Reading

Jens, 8: A towering performance. Desperately tried to wake-up and enthuse the team when sloppiness began to creep in, and pulled off a match-winning save in the last few moments of the game. If I had a two year contract, I would make him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Djourou, 6: A Reasonable performance, and certainly looks more confident on the ball than some of our other defenders. Gave away the ball in a few dangerous positions, which was a worry.

Gallas, 7: Has an imperious swagger to his defending, which can't be said about too many others of our lot. Must be played at centre back, and must also make up with Jens for the good of the team.

Gilberto, 7: Looks so comfortable with the arm-band on, and shouldered the burden magnificently with a well-struck penalty. Wenger must be thinking, long-term, about employing Gilbs as a centre-back, even if he did not always look entirely comfortable.

Clichy, 7: His run and desire earned the team the vital breakthrough. I'm increasingly impressed by his performances and he needs to stay fit.

Hleb, 6: Enigmatic to say the least. So often the initial impetus for our attacks, he drifted out the game in the second half after an excellent first period. We need a big performance from him on Wednesday.

Denilson, 6: Huge potential, tackled well, distributed well, if looking a little bit rawer than a few of his last performances.

Fabregas, 7: No goals in the Premiership this season and his awful miss does not disturb that fact. That aside, he was excellent, and should have had an assist with a delightful chip over the defence to Walcott.

Freddie, 6: A good performance by his recent standards, but I really think that as an attacking player he does not bring enough to the team any more. His habit of falling over and complaining is also becoming quite wearisome.

Theo, 6.5: A much livelier performance, and he looked far more at ease as a striker. Could and perhaps should have scored, but if we can continue to expand his education while winning games, quite a player will be waiting for us in the near future.

Baptista, 7.5: Superb goal, and really offers something to the team. He does lose possession through a rather dubious first touch, but I'm growing increasingly convinced that he should be signed at the end of the season.

Subs

Aliadiere, 5: Ran around a lot and made a bit of nuisance of himself, but did not look like a real goal-threat. Living on borrowed time.

Diaby, 6: A brief, exciting cameo, with some wonderful turns and passes. Needs to be played centrally.

Senderos, n/a: I could be harsh and blame him for the goal, but I won't.

Fabregas's miss sums up Arsenal's season.

In many ways, an enigmatic victory on the weekend. A game we dominated, and won, yet one in which we still managed to look distinctly uneasy.

The first half summed up much of this season's frustrations, as we once again dominated without scoring. Hleb, who had a good first half, was often the player who provided the initial impetus for our best play, whether it was a delightful through ball for Baptista to set up the Fabregas miss, or a surging counter-attacking run which led to Freddie's poor miss when clean-through on goal.

Fabregas's miss encapsulated our season. We were dominant in possession, actually found not one, but two killer passes, yet lacked a clinical, cutting edge, even when presented with the most straightforward of chances. It could be called a 'freak' miss, and in many ways it is, but with Rosicky missing a similar chance earlier in the season, one has to wonder whether a basis lack of killer instinct when it comes to shooting has cost us points and games this season.

Freddie's ability to shoot has certainly gone, and his miss in an otherwise thrilling break was all too typical of his indifferent form. He certainly had a good game on Saturday, even beating a man for pace at one point, but his deficiencies still clearly outweigh his worth to the squad.

Just when it seemed it could be one of those days, we finally scored. Clichy, who has improved at an almost game-by-game rate, flew into the box before being clumsily brought down. Gilberto then managed to send the ball just past Hahnemann's finger-tips, and a sense of relief broke out in the crowd.

A lot of the tension that had been built from three losses in three competitions seemed to dissipate from the team, and moments later Walcott should have scored from a sensational through ball from Cesc.

And then up-stepped the Beast. After the game Hahnemann stated that the Reading players were bowled over by Baptista's physical presence and strength. Whilst his first touch often leaves a lot to be desired, his goal was a true power-house effort that no-one else in our squad would have scored. His tenacity, strength, and composure earned him and the team a goal from which we should have gone forward.

Instead, we let Reading back in the game with some pretty sloppy defending. Jens was even more incandescent than usual, barracking Hleb to the extent he was substituted - especially after a poor second period - and almost causing Gallas to square up to him.

Say what you will about Jens, but the team needed the rollicking to prevent lethargy denying us three points. Can you imagine Almunia doing that? Can you imagine Almunia pulling off a, frankly, stunning save from Sidwell to guarantee us the points? I can't and I hope Arsene
doesn't think so either.

So, in the end, it was a game which we desperately needed to win, but one in which we ended up playing rather desperately. And we'll have to play far better than that to turn over PSV on Wednesday, with or without a certain Frenchman.

Arsenal do not have enough goalscorers.

Same old story with a different cast.

Arsenal, by far the better team in terms of passing, movement, verve and imagination, fail to do the one really, really, important, indeed quite fundamental thing, in football. Score. Maybe one day, football matches will have a panel of judges who give marks out of ten for artistic impression; until then Arsene needs to sort out the worrying lack of goals in this Arsenal squad.

Because beneath Henry, van Persie and Adebayor, who's going to score them? Rosicky and Gilberto have chipped in with a few but its not enough. Fabregas has not scored in the Premiership this season; Hleb's one shot last night went so far wide that it curled out for a throw in; Freddie is so far gone that you would think his leg was made out of wood if you watched the replay of the glorious opportunity he had.

Which is why I'm actually warming to Baptista. Granted, he had a howler in front of goal last night, heading over a golden opportunity, and squandering another ball which was floated into the box. But at least he's getting into those positions; at least he seems to realise that if a cross is put into the box, it might be an idea to stand there to receive it. He looks like he has goals in him, and if he could find some confidence and form I think he can become an asset for the team.

Others who played last night are ready to leave. Aliadiere, despite flashes of potential, won't make it. It's a shame because I like his attitude and he does perhaps the ability in him to make it for us, but he won't get enough goals, which is supposedly his main objective in the position he plays.

Freddie, despite the Bolton goal, was abysmal, squandering a golden opportunity he would have tucked home in his sleep during his pomp. A winger who hasn't the creativity or pace to beat players is a waste of space. An out and out left winger is desperately needed.

Of course, it could be argued that we lost yesterday due to some abysmal refereeing from Graham '3 cards' Poll. One definite penalty, and one probable penalty, was not given by this paragon of refereeing, who also allowed Blackburn to engage in their usual thuggery for most of the game. I counted around 6 or 7 vicious tackles by Tugay before he, reluctantly, was given a card. I advise you to check out today's Goodplaya to see the ludicrous double standards we're being subjected to at the moment.

But even if we'd been awarded a penalty, who would have taken it? If Arsenal had got to a penalty shoot-out last night, could five takers have been found? I'm not so sure anyone in the team last night would have filled me with confidence from the penalty spot.

The fact of the matter is that we don't have enough goalscorers in the team; we look too often like a team of midfielders. We're badly missing, as East Lower pointed out, the predatory instincts of RvP, because at least it feels with him as if goalscoring is his priority, which can't be said for too many other of our players.

Ultimately, we squandered our dominance and allowed Blackburn a chance, which, admittedly, was taken with considerable aplomb by McCarthy. A dire 1-0 it was, as I suggested yesterday.

This leaves us with only the Champions League and 3rd/4th to play for. And if we don't start scoring a few more goals, both will be a challenge.

Arsenal need to bounce back quickly in a season defining week.

With the loss of the Carling Cup final on Sunday, tonight's match takes on an even greater significance. Prior to Sunday, I may have tolerated a defeat, on the basis of us progressing in the CL next Wednesday and us having some silverware in the bag from Sunday. Now we have three games in a week which are all tricky fixtures, but must-wins nonetheless.

Beating Blackburn is a huge ask tonight, even with a full-strength time, let alone the motley bunch of youths and squad members we'll send out tonight. But if we were to lose tonight, draw on Saturday, and not progress in the Champions League, we'll be looking at a situation in which with two and a half months of the season to go, securing Champions League qualification is the club's only target. After all the promise we've shown this season, that would be hard to take.

The team news for tonight is not great. Henry and Rosicky have both sustained injuries which may seem that out of the side for 2 to 3 weeks. Diaby, one of our better perfomers on Sunday, is injured and will be probably missing for about the same length of time. Kolo and Adey are suspended, there's a rumour that Hoyte has picked up a knock and Jens will be, yet again, 'rested'. Personally, I for one would love Jens to be in the mix tonight, but if he's not we're looking at a team along the lines of:

Almunia
Eboue Senderos/Gallas Djourou Gallas/Clichy
Hleb Gilberto Denilson Ljunberg
Aliadiere La Bestia


Walcott could start on the right, but at the beginning of the season he was usually brought on as as left-wing sub. I'm not sure why this stopped as he was quite effective cutting in from the left. Ljunberg should start but quite a few of us, despite his classic finish against Bolton, will be wondering how much more he can offer the team.

Gallas will play either centre half or left back, and Djourou will probably start.

Up front, our options are limited, with RvP, Thierry, and Adey all out. This is a massive chance
for Jeremie and The Beast, both of whom will probably be regretting their lack of impact in the final on Sunday. Both are essentially playing for their Arsenal futures so lets hope they can recreate some of their Carling Cup magic.

If everything works out we'll win, because even our reserves are a class above Blackburn's first XI. Bentley, McCarthy, Nonda and Pederson(sometimes), have class, but the rest of Blackburn's side are really just thuggish journeymen. However, it has been these types of players we've struggled against in recent years and the eternal pessimist in me can see Blackburn scraping a win in a dire encounter. I hope not, because winning the FA cup would mean a lot this year on its return to Wembley, and would also get this important week of to an excellent start.

Player ratings and more Cardiff considerations

Almunia, 7: Did well. Claimed the ball when it came in from corners or crosses, and made a couple of smart saves. Question marks can perhaps be asked about the first goal - would Cech have let it in? - but largely blameless aside from that. Main problem seems to be his lack of gravitas: he doesn't have the same presence as Jens, which might have unnerved the defence slightly.

Traore, 6. A weak link, I would have to say. Did well getting forward, but, especially when exposed by Diaby's defensive naivety, Chelsea had much joy in attacking down their right hand flank. Bale and Clichy may prove to be a superior partnership of left-backs.

Toure, 6: Defended stridently and marshalled the team well, before losing his temper and marring his performance. His form has been patchier this year than many have suggested.

Senderos, 6.5: Beaten by Drogba for the second goal, but was not at fault for the first and actually did reasonably well against his nemesis for the majority of the game. I still think there's a top defender in him.

Hoyte, 6.5: Solid without being spectacular. Whilst eminently preferable to Eboue at the moment in all areas apart from attacking flair, Justin really needs to learn how to get forward more if he's going to entrench himself in this position.

Diaby, 7.5: Excellent, Vieira-esque passing, movement and skill. Needs to tackle more and Wenger should stop playing him out of position on the left. It's clearly not his natural position, as seen by his frequent forays into the centre which left Traore exposed. A real prospect and let's hope his ankle is not too bad. Could have won the game early in the second half.

Denilson, 7: A massive test for the youngster, and one he came through in a largely positive fashion. Notably tired by the latter stages of the second half. Was slightly out-muscled by the, er, weight of Lampard, Essien and Ballack, but he won't be next time.

Fabregas, 8: Superb - largely dictated the game, and showed he can run almost any midfield. Also, extra-marks for taking on a man twice his weight and possibly coming off best. He needs more silverware though or he could become frustrated at the club. He also needs to start scoring and improve his shooting.

Walcott, 7.5: The real Theo Walcott stands up. A blinding goal which he thoroughly deserved, and which will hopefully shut some of his critics up. Not always able to beat Bridge, but showed enough talent to emphasise his colossal potential.

Aliadiere, 6.5: Huffed and puffed, and made a nuisance of himself without ever really looking like a real goal-mouth threat. If not now, when?

Baptista, 7: In retrospect, a good performance. If not for Cech's superb save he would have scored, and did cause the Chelsea defence problems. I'm still relatively undecided as to whether he's really Arsenal quality, but I don't think that performance would have done him too much harm.

Subs:

Eboue, 5: Skinned for the goal, unable to get forward, and an idiot in the melee. A new right-back must be found, regardless of his attacking potential.

Hleb, 5: Disappointing. Nowhere near as effective as his cameo at the Lane. Rosicky may have been a better option, if he'd been available.

Adebayor, 5: Not given enough time and was unable to get into the game. His, perhaps understandable, reaction to the sending off was ill-advised, probably precluding any removal of his ban.

A few final points

- Whilst he has been subsequently praised for it, Mourinho's intervention - and Arsene's - onto the pitch was not the right thing to do. To me, it smacked of a manager desperate for the lime-light and prolonged the incident.

- Will the Chelsea fans be punished at all? The celery throwing was, obviously, unlikely to cause injury, yet still riled the Arsenal fans up, and it's also worth remembering that the reason Gary Lewin was able to treat Terry so quickly, was due to his presence at that end to treat Almunia, who had been struck by a missile thrown from the Chelsea end.

- Is winning everything? Would Arsenal fans prefer our current crop of inconsistent artistry, or a ruthless trophy winning machine? A lot rides on the future of our young lot, but they need to start winning things either this year or next.

- Drogba and Cech won Chelsea the final. Cech was magnificent; Drogba took his chances. They were the difference, and were it not for them we would have prevailed. For the difference between us and Chelsea to be so slim is obviously a cause for hope, but we need to start tangibly showing it soon.

Pyrrhic victories and moral victories: a weekend in Cardiff

I've literally just got back from Cardiff so sit back and relax: this may be a long one.

My first cup final and could have I asked for more? Yes, would be the answer: an Arsenal victory. But that rather obvious matter aside, it was a great day out in Cardiff; one in which I felt proud of the club, most of its players, and almost all its supporters.

Coming to the Arsenal end of the stadium was like a mini-festival. All the pubs were bulging; one had the Buzzcocks belting out as Gooners chanted our songs down the streets. Most pubs were so busy that we had to head halfway down Queen's street to find one in which we could get served in a reasonable amount of time. At this juncture I would add that perhaps its time that us Gooners stopped pandering to Spuds idiocy, and no longer chanted songs which use the 'Y' word, or songs of that nature. These chants wouldn't exist if not for the Spuds self-labelling, but I'm not afraid to say I dislike them.

It was my first time at the Millenium stadium and quite an atmosphere had brewed at the Arsenal end by the time I arrived. The stadium, despite being bigger than the Emirates, had managed to maintain a sense of intimacy much more successfully than our abode. Moreover, standing was almost mandatory throughout which further helped build the electric atmosphere throughout. No stewards telling you to sit down here.

Indeed, if the final had been decided on the fans' performance, Arsenal would have won hands down. The Chelski fans were pathetic: I didn't hear them chant til after they'd taken the lead, and their 'hilarious' celery throwing antics (we couldn't tell it was celery at the time I might add) further emphasised their lack of class. Aside from a brief lull after their second goal, the Arsenal fans were superb throughout, and we even belted out a few songs after the final whistle to our young lads collapsed on the pitch. I must admit to leaving before the presentation, but I didn't want to be anywhere near the stadium when Lampard et al. lifted the trophy.

The game itself was a frantic affair; a wonderful spectacle due to the ambition and attacking flair of our kids. Put simply, we should have been two or three up within twenty minutes. Had it not been for Cech - utterly superb throughout - we would have been, Baptista unlucky not to score with an excellent curling effort from outside the box. Theo's goal was superbly taken, and I can only hope this earns him some respite from the ridiculous criticism he's received of late. I'm happy I was there to see his first Arsenal goal.

But, despite having little possession, it was clear we were weak on our left side. Traore, our rawest player, was at left-back, and Diaby, whilst excellent, consistently drifted into the centre leaving the young defender even further exposed. It seemed apparent to me quite early on that Chel$ea would get joy if they attacked through their right-flank, but it still took a poor piece of linesmanship to gift Chel$ea their first goal.

My immediate concern was that the Chel$ea goal could knock the stuffing out of the young players. Far from it. Chel$ea didn't really threaten for the rest of the half, while we continued to stream forward; it's a credit to our youngsters that the game was still so finely poised until so late on.

The incident which changed the game, in retrospect, was the Terry injury. Us plebs in the opposite corner had no inkling as to what was going on, not even who was injured until the substitution was announced. The injury ultimately favoured Chelsea in a number of ways: it galvanised their players, slightly traumatised ours, and also removed one of their weakest performers (in the game itself) from the field.

It gradually became clear that our early energies were also being to take their toll on our players energy levels. Traore in particular seemed to be suffering, not least for the introduction of Robben, who offered Chelsea a far greater degree of creativity upfront than in the first half.

Still, we had yet more chances to seal the game. Diaby should have scored when one on one with Cech, and would have scored if almost any other goalkeeper had been playing. The major deficiency in Cesc's otherwise stunning abilities was demonstrated by his miss a few minutes later. It's an area in which he must improve.

With so many missed chances and young legs tiring, the winner had a certain inevitability to it. Denilson, who's distribution had begun to suffer as the second half progressed, gave the ball away, Robben skinned Eboue, and Drogba beat Senderos to score. The Chel$ea fans finally started singing; it never really felt as if we would get an equalizer.

All that was left was the unsightly melee. Many commentators have postulated that this rumpus almost came out of nowhere, but it had been brewing for some time. Chel$ea had put in a number of very cynical challenges throughout, hacking down players who were almost through on goal and constantly making snipey, niggling kicks. Coupled with a late goal and officials giving almost every 50-50 decision Chel$ea's way, Kolo had had enough of Chel$ea's excessively aggressive, unsporting attitude when Mikel grabbed his shirt. Adebayor was wrongly sent off, and I was astounded to see Fabregas and Lampard escape with yellows, as their little tete-a-tete seemed far more violent.

The melee also had the unfortunate effect of cancelling out any injury time that had been accrued in the game, ending our already slim hopes of a revival. The whistle was blown shortly after, and a number of our lot, including Theo, Cesc and Denilson all collapsed on the floor near our end, Almunia running from his goal to try and act as the paternal figure he'd become to the team.

Final thoughts? Another heroic defeat for the Arsenal in a final, the second in less than twelve months. A third cannot be countenanced; potential must be realised sooner rather than later.

Our team deserve all the plaudits they get from the game: they were the only one's really trying to play football. Its incredible that Chel$ea still play in their dull, long-ball, unadventurous manner, despite the money they have. Winning ugly is occasionally acceptable, but for it to become the norm for a team must sadden Chel$ea fans. At this rate they will be remembered like the Italian world cup winners of last year: winners, but nothing more; no myth of their greatness will ever be constructed in the manner of our Invincibles.

Chelsea's victory may have been pyrrhic, and ours moral, but ultimately they took the silverware home with them. I enjoyed my weekend in Cardiff immensely - but next time I want something more tangible than a moral victory to take home with me.

Player ratings to follow.

Carling countdown, Jens speaks!, Thierry's foot.

Only three days now until the big day in Cardiff and my first cup final. Obviously, it would be nicer if it were, say, the Champions League, but I'll settle for this for now.

The most positive news today regarding Sunday is the injury to Terry, which will see Chel$ea's 'talisman' miss the game. Personally, I had half been looking forward to him playing, repeating what he said to Ledley King to Baptista, and watching as the Beast crushed him under his gargantuan thumb. Heh.

A few others who won't be involved are Jens and Thierry, who were both in the news today. Jens has been complaining about the amount of games played in England and I think he's got a point. Much as the Carling Cup has proved a fertile breeding ground for our youngsters in recent years, it is, still, a pretty pathetic competition nowadays. We already have one domestic knockout cup - possibly the only one with any real meaning in Europe - and we don't need another. Perhaps it should only be open to non-Premiership teams.

Jens also made the point that despite all our recent games, he actually hasn't been playing too much, with Manuel coming in for all the recent cup matches. To my mind, goalkeeper is a position you don't rotate. If one man is up for the job, you continually use him to keep him at the top of his game. Jens was a fraction away from saving PSV's goal on Tuesday: would he have saved it if he'd had the sharpness which would have come from the two FA cup games? The rationale behind rotating our keepers at the moment seems to be an attempt by Arsene to placate Almunia, and even, possibly, to ease him into the first team next year. I've said it before: Manuel is solid back-up but he's not a first choice keeper for a club of our level. If we are to commit the folly of letting Jens go this year, a replacement must be purchased.

Thierry Henry has also been in the paper complaining of an inflammation to the ligaments in his foot. It amazes me sometimes how fickle football fans are: I've read several comments along the lines that Thierry is 'looking for excuses' due to his 'poor form', and even that we should have sold him when we had the chance. Indeed, the idiot behind me hasnow taken to shouting 'go away' (in less polite terms) to Barca every time Henry makes a mistake nowadays. I presume he didn't celebrate when Thierry scored our last minute winner against United earlier in the season.

Thierry's form of late is worthy of a (lengthy) article of its own. What I will say is that he is our top scorer of all time. He can do things with the ball that no one else can do in our current team. His form this season has been patchy, but he's still scored several vital and superb goals (Liverpool, United, Boro, Blackburn) since Christmas.

Before you abuse him, remember all he's done for the club, and remember all players go through dips in form. Also remember that Thierry's left hand side production line (pires/cole/reyes) has gone, and that Thierry may be adjusting to the start of the decline in his pace.

He stuck with us; we should stick with him.

Til later. Gb.