Arsenal 1-1 Wolves: One of Those Days...

To use the age-old phrase, yesterday was just one of those days. It was disappointing, but all credit goes to Wolves, and in particular Wayne Hennessey, their keeper, who had a fantastic game to stop us getting the points. As a whole, Wolverhampton looked like a team 17th in the league, but their keeper sure didn't. Don't you just hate it when they have the game of their life against us?

In all fairness though, as good as the saves were we could've made more of the chances we had, but it just wasn't our day: we were very unlucky. Shots flew in right, left, and centre, and in the second half we literally laid siege to the Wolves goal and all to no avail.

We had 27 shots yesterday, 11 of which were on target, and in any normal game that would be enough to secure three of four goals, but not this one. Should we deride the team for being not being clinical when 11 less shots gave us a comfortable victory at Wigan or when 14 less gave us the win at Chelsea? Yesterday just wasn't meant to be.

The match started well. Rosicky and Benayoun came in for Walcott and Ramsey, one rested and the former ill. Both had excellent games. Rosicky, who I'm a big fan of, was again magnificent, creating chances, linking together passes, and putting in a solid shift in midfield. Benayoun assisted Gervinho for the opening goal with a fantastic pass and looked excellent until his 64th minute removal.

When the Ivorian was sent in on goal Van Persie was to his right and certainly a good option, but in watching Gervinho lately I've realised that he almost always likes to go it alone and attempt to put it in the back of the net himself. Well yesterday was no different, but this time he did the job very well. Clever cut-back and a smooth finish.

When it went in it looked and felt like today was going to be a stroll in the park. "We'll score another," I said, "in fact at the rate we're going we'll score 3 or 4 more." Not to be. It's almost as if once the goal went in we stopped trying. Sure, the chances still fell for us and we hadn't given up the match, but compared to the urgency displayed in the second half once Wolves had drawn level, there was an apathetic feel in how the team played.

Arsene Wenger noted as much in his post match comments:

"At the moment what we have to learn is that when we are 1-0 up in some departments we cannot be too comfortable. We were caught in a position where we can only blame ourselves."

That's two matches in a row now where we have grabbed an early lead and then let it slip, only this time there was to be no late, late goal to bail us out. Try as we might it just wasn't to be.

Ultimately if we're honest, four points from the last two games isn't too bad, and certainly if we beat QPR this weekend then we'll be just fine, but there's no denying yesterday was a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully it'll be a good lesson for the lads, and one which they'll remember in the coming weeks and months.

If it were up to me, I'd say let's start every game the way we played for the last 20 minutes of yesterday's. Wouldn't that be far more effective than scoring once then laying back and just passing between the back four? It'd sure make for a thrilling game this weekend, wouldn't it?

Anyway, what's done is done, so with the appropriate lessons learnt and with a point at home, let's push on and have a great weekend and start to the new year shall we? Here's hoping for a comfortable win this weekend as we hose QPR. Till then,

Fab 4

Nervy, Happy Christmas Present

What a way to celebrate the holidays as we defeated Aston Villa 2-1 this evening. It wasn't Arsenal at their most fluent, and it sure was nervy at times, but in the end our excellent loan signing Yossi Benayoun secured the points with our second goal of the season scored from a corner kick.

We went ahead early in the first half via a well-taken penalty by Robin Van Persie, which takes his tally to 34 this calendar year, tying the legend Thierry Henry's record for a single year. And hey, he's still got a game left this year, so why not go ahead and break the Arsenal record and maybe even the Premier League record while he's at it?

The penalty, by the way, came after a lovely piece of skill from Theo Walcott to escape from two defenders and put him in clear inside the penalty area. When he was tugged it was always going to be a penalty kick. Unless of course Phil Down were refereeing, which thankfully he was not.

Till halftime the game was pretty even, but after the half Villa came out strong as ever. They began to close us down higher up the pitch and to be honest we looked out of ideas and creativity. Finally all their pressure paid off when they forced an error out of the Verminator. Honestly it was a bad header and a bad decision from the Belgian: Aston Villa capitalised.

After that Villa were the side with more desire and more drive, and it looked like this one might be getting away from us, but then came the substitutions. Arshavin and Benayoun on after Rosicky had made an immediate impact. And with four or five attackers on the pitch at the same time the goal was always going to come.

We poked and prodded, and looked like slicing open Villa until finally a corner from Van Persie (our 11th of the half) was nodded home by Benayoun. He's deserved a Premier League goal and he looked overall excellent tonight, as he did last time he played against Olympiacos, a game in which he also bagged a goal. Why aren't we starting him more?

In the end it was a happy three points, and thank goodness. With everyone around us winning at the moment and Chelsea taking on Sp*rs tomorrow we needed a solid three points tonight, and right at the end we got them. This is the kind of game that shows the solidity and experience of a team, getting three points when you perhaps don't deserve them but desperately need them.

On tonight's evidence, we're as solid as ever. Till next time,

Fab 4 

Revisiting Manchester

It was a disappointing loss on Sunday to be sure, and it is for that reason that I've delayed my post until today. But the disappointment certainly wasn't in the team - they were fantastic, it was in the match itself. It's a game we should've won, or at least drawn, and losing was a bit harsh. Refereeing decisions went against us, and City's goal came when we were still reshuffling after a change in defence.

Despite the loss it's a game in which we can definitely be proud of how the team played. There was spirit and determination, a real sense of togetherness, the defending was fantastic for the most part, and even the attacking was good.

Van Persie's excellent goal was disallowed for offside, which was clearly and incorrect decision. As was not calling the blatant handball by Micah Richards inside the box. To be fair it's hard on the referees when things like that happen in the box, and many won't call it since they hate to award a harsh penalty kick, but in cases like that I don't see how he couldn't call it.

But anyway, what's happened has happened, and it's time to move on. It really was a good game, and it sets us up well for tomorrow's fixture at Aston Villa. Villa lost at the weekend to Liverpool and don't quite look the part this season. It's a match we should definitely win, and indeed need to if we're to stay competitive at this juncture.

Alex Song will be suspended for the game due to an accumulation of yellow cards, and of course Djourou will be out for a few weeks with the groin injury he picked up, which means Miquel will likely be employed at left back (where I think he does quite well actually) and Frimpong could come into central midfield. But if everyone else stays in the positions they played on Sunday then we shouldn't have any problems tomorrow evening.

What does the loss show us about the squad though? For one it certainly shows a lack of depth in our offence, as if that weren't already evident. Someone needs to be signed to cover Van Persie, or at the very least to cover Gervinho while he's gone at the African Cup of Nations.

Also, I've been really forgiving of Arshavin and still believe that he could come back to being the kind of player he was when we first signed him, but at the moment he's just not performing. He was sent on to make an impact in the second half Sunday, but the only thing he accomplished was making some incomplete passes and dreadful scuffed shots. He's either got to improve his game quickly or it's time to replace him.

Here's hoping for a comfortable Arsenal victory tomorrow night. Till then,

Fab 4

Milan & Manchester: The Italian Jobs

This morning came the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 and sure enough we drew the one team I think all of us were hoping to avoid. It looks like we'll be taking a trip in February to Italy to face AC Milan, with the second leg being played back at the Emirates. So it's an Italian job that will be necessary to succeed at to make it to the quarter-finals. 

Of course, we faced Milan a few seasons ago and in the second leg following a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, we secured a famous win in Milan. The 2-0 victory against the then-reigning European champions was the first time  AC Milan had ever lost at home to English opposition. 

You may remember that last year the Spuds beat Milan 1-0 at the San Siro, it being the decisive match to eliminate the Italians and send Tottenham through to the quarter finals (where, thankfully, they were mauled 5-0 on aggregate by Real Madrid). So facing - and losing to - English opposition seems to be a feature of their recent European endeavours. 

It's hard to predict right now which of the two teams will win the tie. Both Arsenal and Milan are on good runs of form and if we were to match up today it would be a very tight, tense affair. I think we'll know a lot more about the capability of our side to face big teams after Sunday's match at Manchester City.

Roberto Mancini's side finally lost Monday to Chelsea, and that will either bring about rebound determination from City or it'll leave them a bit off as they struggle to cope with their streak finally ending. Robin Van Persie today seemed to come to the same conclusion, thinking that Man City will probably want to bounce back strongly, but also remembering when Man Utd finally ended our 49-game unbeaten streak a few years ago and then we couldn't manage to win for our next five matches. 

It'll certainly be a test on Sunday though, and a big one. If we manage to pull off the Italian job then by beating the side managed by the man from the town of Jesi, Italy then we'll have definitely proven that we can defeat the big clubs this season.

I'm not forgetting about our wins over Chelsea or Dortmund, but let's be honest: neither were at their best at the time. Chelsea were (and still are) in transition to their new manager and the style of play he wants them to use, and Dortmund lost two of their best players in the first half of our win. Manchester City probably won't have either of those problems, so it'll be a true test of the lads in red and white.

If we can defeat Man City, and then push on with our great run of form, we'll be in good shape come February. I groaned a bit when I saw our name come out of the pot to face AC Milan, but it's a tie that's winnable. If there's one thing that is for sure, it's that it'll be an electric couple of nights. It's a massive for us, but one that we can win.

A lot will happen between now and then, and it all starts with our match on Sunday up in Manchester. It's the biggest game our our season to date, and we're really going to have to be at our very best to come away with a result. 

Here's hoping we do the duty in both of our Italian jobs coming up, starting with a win on Sunday. Till next time,

Fab 4

Who to Buy in January?

So this morning on Arsenal.com Arsene Wenger was quoted as saying that we're currently in a good financial situation compared to other clubs, and if we end up finding a player we want to buy in January then we'll have the funds to do so.

This isn't surprising of course; it's been obvious that as frustrating as the last few years have perhaps been in the transfer market, it's been done for the long-term financial stability of the club. Buying players for cheap and then selling them at high prices due to our excellent youth development program is a system of operation that was aimed at paying off as fast as we can the Emirates Stadium and thus giving us sufficient funds to compete in the future without being terribly in debt.

Well it would seem that now our plan of financial frugality is beginning to pay off. The funds are now there (though let's not get carried away and imagine we have the spending power of a Chelsea or Man City) and Arsene Wenger seems willing to spend it if he sees the need. So the big question is, who should we buy? I'm not going to speculate on individual players, but perhaps we can talk about which positions are most important to strengthen right now.

The general consensus among we gooners right now seems to be that we need to sign a striker as cover for Robin Van Persie should he get injured. Now right now our captain is enjoying easily the longest spell of fitness of his Arsenal career to date. But let's be honest: it's not going to go on forever. At some point something will happen to him, hopefully not for very long, but it's bound to happen. So who covers for him while he's out?

Right now the main man to provide cover seems to be Marouane Chamakh. Obviously none of us are too excited about that prospect, but even if we were to rely on him and him alone the fact remains that he and Gervinho will be gone come January to the African Cup of Nations. That leaves us short a striker.

Obviously what we need is a world-class, even young striker who can get the job done. I'd sure prefer a physical presence, but what's more important is the ability to get free and create and finish scoring opportunities: match winners. There are certainly those type of strikers out there and available at the moment, so let's go for one of those.

We also could use a quality fullback. Yes, we do have two for each position at the moment, Sanga and Jenkinson on the right and Andre Santos and Gibbs on the left, but we need, I believe, at least one more. I'd say make it a left-back. Someone who's defensively solid, but definitely likes to overlap on the wings. Andre Santos likes to attack but doesn't defend quite enough for me, though he was getting better before his injury. Maybe let's get someone with about as much attacking initiative, but who can drop back and defend at a moment's notice.

Worst case scenario then: we sign neither position and Robin Van Persie gets injured. Are we in deep trouble? Perhaps, but maybe there's one more player who could slot in to centre-forward: Arshavin. Sounds crazy perhaps seeing as Wenger loves to use him on the wings, he's short, and he's been off-form. But playing in the centre, holding up play, and then finishing every now and again with something special is what he was doing in and for Russia so effectively before he came here. He was used to playing in the centre, and it helped to make him such a good player. I'd sure love to see a return to the form he was in when he first got here, and if he were forced to play in the centre, perhaps it would revitalise him.

It's all just speculation of course; who knows who Arsene will sign when the window opens, or if he'll sign anyone at all. We gooners certainly seem to feel someone needs to be signed, but does Le Boss? We'll find out soon enough.

Don't forget to check out our Twitter and Facebook pages and be sure to follow us! Till next time,
Fab 4

History, Defeats, Elation, and Confidence

So a couple of things to write about then. First of all, we had a good win Saturday over Everton; a day full of fanfare and legends as we celebrated our historic 125th anniversary. It was a bit of a scrappy affair to be honest, and it certainly wasn't any sort of dominating performance, but on the night it was a win, and that was the perfect cap to an historic day.

Everton seemed content to park the proverbial bus, and it very well could've put a damper on the atmosphere were it not for a moment of brilliance from our captain.

"Who needs Batman when we've got Robin?" Indeed.

It was a goal a former captain of ours, Thierry Henry, would've been proud of, and because of the occasion he was in attendance to witness it. I haven't heard the stadium erupt quite like that in a long time, and for good reason. The goal was world class. Truly we have one of, if not the best striker in Europe at the moment. It reminds one a bit of the days when Henry was our talisman and captain.

Either way the win was deserved, despite the lads making a bit of a hard time of it. And it moved us into fourth place in the league over the weekend, which was surely a bit of a confidence builder for the team. Of course a little treat for we fans came Sunday when Stoke put an end to the Sp*rs' unbeaten run. It's about time they were stopped dead in their tracks. It's frankly disgusting to see them doing so well this season. Anyway, so strange as it was, I was a Stoke supporter for 90 minutes Sunday.

That leads us to the next talking point, tonight's match between Chelsea and Manchester City in west London. I wasn't quite sure who I wanted to win the match tonight, but I decided that I definitely wanted Man City's unbeaten run to end: the Invincibles' record must not even be thought of being challenged. So for the game I chose to support Chelsea.

A horrid feeling I can assure you.

After getting over feeling thoroughly dirty inside I could take a step back and appreciate the fact that City's run is finally over. Elation soon set in. So that sets up an interesting proposition come Sunday. Man City have now been eliminated from the Champions League and lost their first domestic game of the season in quick succession. Add to that they've lost their first choice left-back to suspension (Hey thanks Clichy for being a good man and getting yourself sent off!) and they're very much a wounded animal at the moment.

A second loss in a row for the Manchester club perhaps? One can only hope. Certainly we've got some confidence at the moment, and that confidence factor may be a big one for both teams this weekend. Time will only tell. Till next time then,

Fab 4

Everton Preview: Arteta vs. His Old Club

Well it's been quite a week already, what with the disappointing yet meaningless loss in Greece, and then the celebrations that broke out round my place when both Manchester clubs were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage. I sure hope Nasri and Clichy are enjoying the top quality opponents they'll now be facing. You know, teams like the fearsome FC Metalist Kharkiv. Quite illustrious lads, you've done your families proud with your choice of club. I can really only muster up one response: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Right then, that's out of my system now.

But as fun as it was to see United and City exit (especially United - I was watching their loss to FC Basel that night), it doesn't mean much for this Saturday. Now yes, this'll have an impact down the road (no Man Utd to knock us out of the Champions League semi-finals as happened rather painfully a few seasons back you'll remember), but now we must turn our attentions to this Saturday as we host Everton.

Everton have been a bit of all over the place as far as their current form goes. They've won half their last six games and lost half. But no matter how their current for is, they're always a difficult side to go and get a result against. Of course, their attacking prowess wasn't helped when we took Arteta from them on deadline day, but nevertheless they're a well organised side and may be hard to break down.

That being said, a win is surely on the cards. Our attacking prowess has been at a top level the last few weeks, shown especially last week in our 4-0 thumping of Wigan. We should be top tomorrow as well. The result against Olympiacos should be long forgotten and have no impact on the game, which means we can play well and confidently.

But then, there was a bit of an impact from the Olympiacos game, wasn't there? Our top-performing Brazilian left-back Andre Santos was injured, and from what Arsene Wenger seems to be saying in his press conferences, rather badly. With no Kieran Gibbs back yet, some reshuffling could be on the cards. Now, we know Vermaelen can play at left back, and most likely that's where Le Boss will play him, but he's been doing excellent work in the centre of our defence, and it'd be a shame to break that up. My choice for left-back would be to play Ignasi Miquel there tomorrow. The boy's been excellent every time he's played there quite honestly, and his was one of the few good performances Tuesday night. The guy's ready for a Premier League start, and it'd give him the confidence he needs to push on and become an even better player.

We'll find out tomorrow, but it's most likely Miquel won't play there and Vermaelen will. Arsene knows best I suppose, so I'm sure it'll work out. On a side note, it'll be interesting to see Arteta out there against his former team mates. The one big advantage is that he knows how Everton's team works, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him bossing the midfield tomorrow.

Prediction then? An Arsenal win, 2-0 or 2-1. A victory would be a massive result for us as it would propel us into the top four with quite the chance of remaining there after the Chelsea-Man City clash on Monday night. Looking forward to it then. Till next time,

Fab 4

A Forgettable Night in Greece

Well wasn't last night just one of those games you want to log away and forget about rather quickly? We of course were defeated 3-1 in Greece after an admittedly sub-par performance which included a few bits that would've been hilarious had they not been mistakes made by the players of our team.

Olympiacos came out and played exactly the way they needed to to get a result. The high pressure defending worked to great effect and shut down all our avenues of passing. Arsene Wenger was right to be a bit upset that we couldn't keep the ball under pressure, because we didn't...at all. I don't think I've seen the Arsenal players give away so many balls to the opposition in the course of a single half in a long time. The passing was dreadful.

Up against such a high defensive pressure strategy as Olympiacos were using, the lads should've found another way to get through it. There are ways to change your game-playing style without sacrificing your footballing ethos, and we didn't do it.

Of course, the defending was fairly comical as well, especially in the goalkeeping department. Fabianski and Mannone combined to remind us why our current Polish number one is so valuable to us. Who doesn't feel so much more confident with Szczesny in goal than one of these two who played last night? I've always been a big fan of Mannone actually, but he had an off-night in Greece (to put it mildly). To be honest though, I'd rather see Almunia in goal as backup for Szczesny than either of these two. At least he's older and more experienced, even if he is prone to the odd howler.

Elsewhere, Squillaci had a terrible game (which is an all-too-familiar phrase), Arshavin seems dreadfully out of form, and to top off the night we lost Andre Santos to injury. I've actually really like the guy: I think he's been doing a great job at left back. But now being out with the injury he picked up our defence is looking a little thin. Thank goodness Vermaelen can play at left back, although he sure is a lot better at centre back with the stability and calmness he provides back there.

On the bright side, Oxlade-Chamberlain had a great night, as did Benayoun, who's goal was fantastic by the way. It sure was great to see Rosicky back on the field after recovering from injury, and he played really well, didn't he? He was all over the place, chasing down balls, spraying decent passes about, and really directing affairs in the centre of the park. He'll be fighting hard for a place in the first XI , and on the evidence of last night he has the potential to get back in there.

Ultimately though, the match didn't really matter. We all knew it, unfortunately it seems the players knew it (and perhaps played accordingly), and we're through top of the group regardless. It was pretty funny at the end when the news came in that Marseille had won, and nothing Olympiacos had done mattered a bit as far as their qualification. I probably should've felt a bit of sympathy for them considering how well they played.

But we had just lost. I think I can be forgiven for chuckling just a bit.

Overall it was a good outing and gave some important experience to the young players, a good taste of what dirty, hard-fought European endeavours are like. Yes, it's unfortunate that we lost, but it's a match that will surely soon be long forgotten starting with our fixture against Everton this weekend at the Emirates. I'm sure looking forward to it. Till next time,

Fab 4

Comfortable and Confident

Well that was a great win at Wigan over the weekend, wasn't it? The team looked comfortable and confident in a dominating 4-0 victory that just felt amazing. It's been a little while since we looked that comfortable on our way to a win. Surely it'll give the lads some confidence at this really crucial part of the season.

Wigan didn't make it easy to begin with. They bossed the early stages of the game and to be honest I was a bit worried. But that all changed just before the half-hour mark.

Arteta's long-range shot was excellent really, and he got the bit of luck he needed thanks to some poor goalkeeping. But it's just refreshing to see the Arsenal players shooting from long range again. I remember just a few seasons ago when Cesc Fabregas was firing in rockets left right and centre and we were all just thrilled to be able to score in a new, rather breathtaking way. I sure hope the rest of the team latches on to this idea of not being scared to pull the trigger from 20+ yards out: you never know what can happen.

Almost immediately afterwards we were 2-0 up through - after a run of 179 Premier League tries - a goal from a corner kick. It was definitely one from the training ground, which Arsene Wenger recently admitted the team's been working on. And it was none other than our fantastic centre-half Vermaelen who scored the goal. That's two in two weeks for our solid defensive rock. Honestly, when the man's playing we look so much more calm and assured at the back, and I could see him being very much a Martin Keown-type figure for us in the years to come.

The third goal followed an excellent string of passes, and it was about time that Gervinho scored again. Quite honestly I haven't been a fan of Gervinho as a striker. He makes a great attacking winger, stretching the opposing defence and toying with them well, but his finishing has been lacklustre. Hopefully the goal will give him a bit of confidence, and we'll start to see some end product from our summer signing.

Van Persie needed his customary goal, and sure enough it came to make it four. But all credit goes to Theo Walcott, who did excellently to pick his captain out. In previous seasons he likely would've just shot or his pass would've been off-target, but he's grown as a player and one can see it from instances like this when his decision-making and technical skills were sublime.

A word has to be said for Van Persie as well. The way he immediately pointed to Theo, giving all credit to him, the way he ran over and picked him up, and the way he's been complimenting and building up the guy has been world-class. It reminded me of something Thierry Henry would've done, and something that any great leader does: makes those he leads feel good about themselves and builds solid relationships with them. Van Persie is surely the best captain since Thierry, and perhaps since Viera or Adams.

So with that win behind us, the team go to Greece tomorrow to face the local champions Olympiacos. They're definitely a good side, and one that we only narrowly defeated last time. Arsene Wenger has unsurprisingly named a young squad for tomorrow evening, but one that should be able to get the job done, especially considering how valiantly they played against a much more...expensive Manchester City side. I'm expecting a narrow victory tomorrow night, but if not that then certainly a draw. We're good enough to get a result, and as long as the young guns are firing at full strength then we'll have a great chance in Piraeus tomorrow night. 

Till then, here's hoping for another comfortable and confident performance, this time from the Arsenal youngsters,

Fab 4

Still Happy & A Bit Proud

 It was a bit harsh to lose to Manchester City if we're honest, but lose we did. After the draw on Saturday with Fulham and now this, I feel like I should be a bit more concerned or disheartened than I am now. But to be honest, especially after last night, I'm a bit proud of the team.

Saturday against Fulham was a match we all expected we'd sort of cruise through; but Fulham came out with a solid game plan incorporating a compact defence and quick counter attacks and overall it worked. Arsenal were missing that bit of class and creativity I thought. Vermaelen's own goal was unlucky and didn't really reflect his performance, which I thought was impressive. He atoned for his error of course by levelling the score and preventing an embarrassment at home. Overall, we were perhaps a bit tired after a mid-week fight in the Champions League, but we fought back to get a draw whereas in previous months we likely would've lost.

When yesterday came round I was quite honestly hoping for the best and thinking that perhaps we might just be able to snatch a result, but it was always going to be a difficult one. Man City started with a decently strong squad selection, and ours was more like our usual Carling Cup lineup. There was class in our side to be sure, but none of the regulars. I was a bit worried, but nevertheless confident, realising that this would be a massive game for the young guns.

Well sure enough we were the better side. Our passing was more incisive, our defending was frankly superb - I loved the way we hassled and hurried the City players, giving them no time or space in which to work - making it very difficult for the blues to score, and there were some standout players for Arsenal, especially Oxlade-Chamberlain. The boy was fantastic, absolutely everywhere, worked hard, had a few decent shots, and looked very much the part.

Theo Walcott better be in the form of his life in the next dew weeks if he's to keep this lad out of the first team, because he was very impressive.

Our midfield duo of Frimpong and Coquelin were strong and solid, and even our back line of four central defenders did decently. It was a great performance. But in the end, City got the lucky break, and their £359,623,942.23 attacking force applied the finishing touch better than we did. Not the result we deserved.

So we're out of the Carling Cup and we lost a game we could've won. Nevertheless I'm proud of the lads: I didn't really expect too much out of the game, so when our young side went out there and thoroughly impressed as they did against a side which could've possibly dismantled them, it made this gooner a bit less upset about recent results. We're still on good form at the moment, and surely come Saturday we'll be back to the winning ways.

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Fab 4

Song & Van Persie Take Us Through

Fantastic result at the Emirates tonight as Arsenal defeated Dortmund 2-1, which means we're through to the knockout stages of the Champions League. And it was Alex Song and Robin Van Persie who saw us through.

Van Persie had the goals (who else?), but the man-of-the-match for me was Song. Our excellent defensive midfielder put in a world-class performance tonight. One minute he was covering the back four and winning and excellent tackle, and the next he was slithering past defenders with ease and setting up Van Persie to score.

I thought the first goal was superb. Following an outstanding piece of individual talent from Alex Song, he lobbed the ball perfectly-placed onto Van Persie's head and our captain fired home an excellent header. It was the strike of a centre forward really, the header pointed straight for the ground, always the hardest place for a goalkeeper to defend.

The second goal was good as well, with Vermaelen nodding the ball back to find Van Persie again, who finished with aplomb. Dortmund's goal back was unfortunate, and did reflect their excellent first half, but we really deserved the clean sheet as this was a game where we actually played quite well defensively I thought.

Of course, much of the credit for our good defensive display has to go to Alex Song who cleaned up excellently again and again, but really every one of the back four played well. Perhaps Andre Santos ventured forward a little to much, but he tracked back decently. Mertesacker and Vermaelen were excellent.

So overall it was a great performance for the lads tonight. Dortmund did well to try to shut us down with their pressing game, but the team responded with a bit of grit and determination, and as soon as we found ourselves in front the game was never going any other way. This is the kind of performance that's going to take us places this season, especially in the second half.

And I can't say enough about Van Persie. We're still a month away from Christmas and RVP already has 17 goals in all competitions! Shades of Thierry Henry perhaps? Certainly seems so to me. We're fortunate to have Europe's top striker leading us to victory match-after-match, and may it long continue.

The result should give us a bit of confidence and a feeling of strong momentum heading into this Saturday's clash with Fulham at the Emirates. I'm excited: the team's actually performing really well right now. What a turn around from the beginning of the season, eh?

Be sure to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages in your spare time and follow us! Till then, good job Arsenal.

Fab 4

Van Persie's the Man: Norwich Review

In form and on target again, Van Persie's the man right now for Arsenal. It was a nervy 2-1 victory over Norwich City today, but the important thing was that we came away with all three points. And yet again it was our captain, RVP, who was the one who led the charge and inspired the lads to victory this afternoon.

I can't say enough about him; Van Persie is world class and is surely right now one of, if not the best striker in Europe. I only worry what will happen should he get injured. He's becoming very much a Thierry Henry-like figure in the team right now. When the Invinvibles began to leave in the years following the unbeaten run Henry remained, became the captain and was of course always the top goalscorer. But after a while the whole team would rely on him to the point that they almost couldn't play without him. I worry that this might be beginning to happen with Van Persie.

For his second goal Alex Song had a great pass into Gervinho, but (luckily) passed to Robin, who put it away with aplomb. But It capped off what I noticed as a bit of a reliance on Van Persie. Maybe I'm just over-analysing it...after all, who wouldn't pass to the most in-form striker in Europe given the choice?

And thank goodness we have him. He was of course the man of the match for me, and he compensated for the poor defensive performance we put on. Sure, Mertesacker was at fault for the first goal, but his major mistake wasn't the only expression of a poor defense.

We were standing way too far off the Norwich players allowing them all the room in the world sometimes. Koscielny at right back did the best he could, but he looked uncomfortable. Andre Santos I liked; I like how attacking-minded he his and how he gets involved in the attack, but every once in a while it's required for a left-back to defend. Vermaelen was excellent, but he was the only highlight of an overall lacklustre defensive display. I only hope that we can somehow shore up the defense before the Manchester City tie in December. Playing the way we did today we'll get ripped apart by the excellent Man City attack.

Nevertheless the defensive problems are nothing new, and it didn't take too much away from the fact that the lads put in a determined performance today, showing a bit of grit despite the wastefulness at times in front of goal and the poor defending. Van Persie was excellent, our attacks cut through Norwich like butter, and we've got three more points than we did yesterday. It's just one more step towards the top four, and it's now five wins  in a row.

So fantastic win today really. Sure, there are things to be improved again, but I'll take the three points. Two months ago we probably would've dropped points here today, but now the squad seem much more determined and able to mount a challenge for the top few places in the league.

Now it's time to turn our sights to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Till then,

Fab 4

Welcome to The Polished Arsenal

It's official. As part of the major overhaul of Fab 4 Arsenal, we've changed the name and address of the blog. Fab 4 Arsenal has now become The Polished Arsenal!

We're still the same blog, with the same refined and polished look at all things Arsenal. You'll still find expert commentary, unique views and analysis, and all the things you loved about Fab 4 Arsenal before, but now with a new name.

You'll find that all our old posts are here, as is almost all other content from before. In the coming days and weeks there will be more features added and changed over from Fab 4 Arsenal to this new blog, so like we've said before, there's lots to come.

Thanks for supporting and viewing Fab 4 Arsenal, and we hope you enjoy The Polished Arsenal.  Feel free to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds to http://polishedarsenal.blogspot.com! Until next time,

Fab 4

Norwich City Preview

Club football returns to action this weekend as we travel up to Norwich to face the Canaries at Carrow Road. I'll have to agree with Arsene Wenger in saying that it's been a been a bit of a surprise that they've performed well enough to be ninth in the league after already eleven games considering they've only just come up from the Championship this season.

Will Norwich provide any sort of challenge for us however? I'm not really too worried about it, but if I'm honest there's always that little bit of doubt.

Yes we're on a strong run of games right now: four straight wins in the Premier League and a record of 9-1-1 in our last eleven games in all competitions. But anyone who's not been under a rock for the last five years knows we always have that tendency to drop points against little teams that we should easily be putting away. We were, of course, quite painfully reminded of that tendency at the end of last season in that collapse that costed us a chance at the Premiership title.

Norwich have a decent side, though nothing we can't handle. It seems like we made it through the International break in alright shape, perhaps Carl Jenkinson being the only loss that might be felt in the starting eleven. So with a team pretty much intact after the break we need to keep the momentum and focus if we're to win tomorrow.

With a little hard work, determination, and flowing football that we love to play we should come off conquerors tomorrow without any major difficulty. I personally can't wait to see Arsenal on the pitch again and see if this resurrection of sorts we've been seeing lately can continue.

I'd sure like to rub it in the faces of those who wrote us off by challenging for the top two or three by the new year. After this fixture, which as we've decided is certainly winnable, we have three Premier League matches lined up against teams who are currently 16th, 20th, and 17th in the table respectively. Barring any major re-collapses we could be on quite the winning run by the time we travel to Manchester City on December the 18th. We'll surely need the confidence such a run would bring.

So here's hoping for a win on Saturday. I'll have a bit of a review afterwards of course, so look out for it. Also, we're working tirelessly behind the scenes right now to update and overhaul in a way the blog in the next few weeks. Big and exciting changes are on their way, so stay close to us in the coming weeks to be a part of it all. Till next time,

Fab 4

Fab 4 Arsenal Is Back

Hey. Fab 4 Arsenal is finally back in operation. It's been a long absence, and there's been lots that's happened since the last time I wrote. But I'm excited to be back.

Right now Arsenal seem to be bouncing back from the terrible start to the season. For me it a came to a head when we lost 8-2 to Manchester Utd. It was a horrifying day, one which I'd rather we didn't repeat for a long time to come. But thankfully, thanks in part to the attitude of the deadline-day signings and the hot form of our new captain Robin Van Persie, we're back on course to being the Arsenal we all know and love.

I'm excited to be back and involved again, bringing you a refined and polished look at all things Arsenal. In the coming weeks and months you're going to see several big changes to the site that should change things up and add a little more excitement, giving you a more entertaining and engaging experience. I'm excited, and I sincerely hope our dedicated readers will stay with us as we take the blog to the next level.

But enough about the blog, it's all about Arsenal, as we all know. To be honest, I don't believe we're going to win the title this year, but I believe we'll definitely be in the running for automatic Champions League qualification. And speaking of the Champions League, we could even win that with a bit more hard work and determination from the lads.

We'll see what's to come. It all continues this Saturday in Norwich, and we'll be here with the build-up to the game, an important one after this long international break.

It's great to be back. Thanks for sticking with us, and we've got lots more to come. Till next time,

Fab 4

Till November

Hey there. Yes, Fab 4 Arsenal has been completely dry of new posts for months and months now for a variety of reasons from no access to computers to others, but come November we'll be relaunching again in full, and with some exciting new stuff to boot. So look forward to this November. Sorry about not having it up till then.

In the meantime, this season we've been strong, and closer than the past few at mounting a serious title threat. At the time of writing we sit third behind, of all teams, Manchester City. Personally I don't like any of our title contenders this year, but especially not City as they try a Chelsea by buying the title. We'll stop them, it'll just take some hard work and diligence from the lads.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see, at the end of this season, the Arsenal lifting the title again. So until November, best of luck Arsenal. See you on the other side.

Fab 4