Very Strange Victory

Talk about a score that belies the game. Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Everton suggests a dominance that did not exist. Everton fully outplayed a sluggish, nervous Arsenal side in the first half and deserved the 1-0 lead at half, and perhaps more. The pairing of Eduardo and Nick Bendtner gave no indication that they could create chances in the first half and the Everton midfield overwhelmed Arsenal's midline, preventing any decent service to the strikers.

However, 90 seconds into the 2nd half, Eduardo levelled the game on a play that I watched dumbfounded and bemused by its simplicity and ease. My first thought was that a whistle had sounded - there'd be no other reason for such half-hearted defense. But Eduardo took the ball very well and finished with a coolness that made it look like child's play. His second one was even nicer, playing the ball around the defender while in the box, shrugging Jagielski off with his hand and slotting near post with a sweet left foot.

Nick Bendnter did not distinguish himself in his first league start, earning a 78th minute ejection off a silly, silly challenge that earned his second yellow card. The first card was a rash decision be the ref, showing it for some backtalk. In addition, Nick's poor clearance off a corner led to Everton's first goal.

Nonetheless, Mikel Arteta was too glad to help out. After more defensive adventuring led to Adebayor's 11th goal of the season, the little Spaniard Not Named Cesc earned a straight red for an elbow to Cesc's face. With the man advantage eliminated Tomas came on to seal the deal with a nice shot through the hear of the Everton defense and suffice it to say, the team.

It all left Everton boss David Moyes to complain:

"It's incredible we've lost 4-1. We gave Arsenal a really tough game and I thought the better team lost.

I can't argue with that, but neither of us can argue with the scoreboard.

Poor play aside, with manchester United losing at West Ham, the Gunners pop back up at the top of the table, 2 points clear of the Red Devils.

Storyline: Arsenal continues to play poorly in December. Cesc, in particular, is playing for a sustained period below his potential. Will Arsenal regain top form and when? And given that they're still toppers despite a sluggish December, can anyone stop them, if they do get the jalopy back into gear?

Gunners Slip at Fratton Park

Arsenal's tepid run of form continued yeseterday at Fratton Park, costing the Gunners 2 points and a slippage in the table, falling to 2nd place 1 point behind Manchester United. Arsenal had a couple of really good opportunities to win the game - the best being 2 shots by Tomas Rosicky - but couldn't find the killer's touch, leaving a 0-0 scoreline.

As they have in past weeks, the Gunners looked about 80% in form, missing the last killer pass, and the scorer's touch. Cesc Fabregas continues to miss a few passes here and there and otherwise look slightly off-kilter. Emanuel Adebayor looked tired and uncreative. Same to be said for Eboue on the right side.

When pressed in to service, Manuel Almunia was on the spot and ready. On the one occasion when he failed to stem the attack, when benjani got past him, an incredible run from Gael Clichy saved the day.

The boss tried to play down the table drop:

"I prefer to be in front, but with one point difference that is not that big a deal.

"We have only lost one game so you will have problems to convince me that we are in a crisis."

As I told my wife when she asked me if the game was important, there are no unimportant games left. The bigger question, though, is when will Arsenal regain its early season form. It had better be soon.

North London Derby Spells Victory!!

I wake up, get my coffee and get the Gamecast on and its 0-0 at Emirates with a first half that, according to the announcers was dull as dishwater. Then, Boom. Adebayor scores. Spurs turn rabid and start attacking in waves, while the Arsenal defence naps or some such thing. Berbatov scores. Keane hits the post. Almunia saves a penalty. Bendtner comes on in the 75th and scores before he can even break a sweat. That's a first league goal for the big Dane. Every time this kid gets on the field he makes me like him even more. A sweet 2-1 victory over the Spuds. More match reporting here.

Now, that's a header!

The only downside of the game is that apparently Arsenal did not play in very good form, if you believe the matchcasters. That would make a period of a couple of weeks that Arsenal has been off the trot. It's good news that they're continuing to win (mostly, there was the loss at Middlesbrough) while limping a bit. However, the league will not continue to tolerate a table-topper that's not playing top form.

North London Derby And AC Milan

Arsenal have drawn cup holders (like my minivan has) AC Milan for the round of 16 in the Champions League. They're a dangerous side but I'd rather face them than Inter right now, as AC Milan is sinking in the Serie A and they didn't look too inspired against Celtic the other night.

The Gaffer believes the draw is a good challenge for his young side and one they're well capable of winning.

Meanwhile RVP dreams of bagging a goal and a win against North London Derby rivals Tottenham tomorrow. Sounds good to me. Unfortunately, Uncle Rupert has not seen fit to televise this one, so I'll be tracking the match through the gamecast.

MidWeek Gunner Musings

The kiddos displayed grit and some skill in turning back Blackburn Tuesday to win 3-2 in overtime. Eduardo dealt the brace and scored a cracker of a goal in OT to secure the victory after the boys squandered a 2-0 first half lead.

The win puts the youngsters through to the semis where they face neighbors Tottenham in a home and away series.

Speaking of the Spurts, they visit Emirates Saturday in the second North London Derby of the year; the first, being a 3-1 smash and grab win for the Gunners at Pale Hart Lane. A win would see Arsenal remain tops of the table.

While the thrilling horse race between Arsenal and Manchester United has captivate football fans, out-of-favor Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann is understandably focused on more important matters: himself.

Sayeth Der Lemon:

Lehmann said he did not like having to watch someone playing "who does not have my class."

"It's
very frustrating. When I see the performances on the field, I get angry
and I have to clench my fist in my pocket," Lehmann was quoted as
saying.

Frustrating? Now he should understand how Arsenal fans have been feeling about him. He refuses to learn the one basic lesson about team sports, it's about the team. Calling out your teammates in a classless way like this is not a stout argument for playing time. Instead its a cry for a bus ticket out of town.

Back On Top of the Heap, Part Deux

After a short spell, measured in minutes, in 2nd place, Arsenal popped back up on top of the table with a wafer thin 2-point advantage on Manchester United, following the Gunners successful 1-0 win at home against Chelsea.

The Club Formerly Known As Mighty, looked rather normal today. Much of that owing to the absence of Didier Drogba. The Ivorian striker was sorely missed as Shevchenko (Fun fact: Shevchenko is Ukrainian for slow) did nothing to remind Blues fans that he had a glory days. Instead Avram Grant packed the midfield and massed defenders around the box, hoping that a draw would be his reward.

Arsenal was rusty for much of the game. Chief among the Gunners in that department was Cesc Fabregas. Returning from a 4-game spell, the young Spaniard's passes were off-pace all game long. As a result, the Arsenal attack proceeded in fits and stutters.

Captain Bill came to the rescue - as he always seems to do - escaping the admittedly shaky marking of Tal Ben Haim to head home a 1st half stoppage time corner kick that Peter Cech missed in the air - not something you see often!

The rest of the game ebbed and flowed with Arsenal looking at times on the verge of a 2nd goal and at others ready to give up the equalizer. In the late minutes as Chelsea sent more men forward, they looked dangerous and gave Arsenal trouble. At the other end, Arsenal's counters were unjustly denied the insurance goal they looked sure to produce.

SWP missed a gimmer equalizer. How much longer will he be playing in the EPL. All flash and dash, no cash. Here's all you need to know about SWP:

Shaun Wright-Phillips should have equalised but missed from six yards,

Was Jose Mourinho a good coach?

Arsenal did not beat Chelsea during Jose Mourinho's
entire tenure as Blues manager but have defeated Avram Grant's team at
the first attempt.

It was great to see RVP back in the mix. It was no fluke that the first two possessions after he came on he nearly scored or caused a score. I like that energy. I'm looking forward to seeing him get full games with Adebayor on the line.

Speaking of the lad from Togo, he played a strong game as he always seems to do. I thought the Alan Wiley's disallowance of his late goal was a sham. Foul? The two players were tussling in the air and Ade was giving as good as he was getting. It's not his fault that Ben Haim is a slow lug who can't stay on his feet.

Oh, well. Small potatoes in the big scheme of things. The game was exciting to the end and Arsenal remain toppers.

You Just Knew It Was Coming

After a run of games that were less than impressive, a few niggling injuries here and there, and bam! Arsenal drop the first league game of the season to strugglers Middlesborough, 2-1. I was watching this on ESPN Gamecast this morning and two things really stood out for me. One. Boro had a sizable advantage in posession. Arsenal always enjoys more posession than their opponents. Telling stat. And two, the Gunners had no shots through most of the 2nd half, while Boro had a mess of them.

Ok, lads. We're still one point clear at the top. We've had our dropsy. Now it's time to wake up, regain our form and kick some ass.

Gunners Hang On For Dear life

If today's game at Aston Villa had been a movie, it would've been Titanic. The first half of the movie would've featured Leonardo DiCaprio standing on the bow of the ship, wind whipping in his hair as he shouted, "I'm the king of the world!"

The 2nd half would've been Leo slipping and falling over the edge, just catching the railing with his hands and spending the rest of the voyage barely hanging on for dear life.

Such was the nature of the game, an eventual 2-1 win away. The first half was electric. Despite going down on a 14th minute goal, based on some dodgy defensive play, the Gunners showed sufficient clarity of purpose and skill to resume normal operations with a smashing 23rd minute goal from Matthieu Flamini and a 34th minute header goal from Adebayor. Arsenal looked very dangerous for much of the half and if they'd scored a 3rd you'd have known they deserved it.

Then came the 2nd half. It started with Aston Villa putting the Gunners under pressure and the Arsenal boys not showing any response other than to start passing to men in blue and red. The Gunners showed some horrendous, wounded passes. Adebayor seemed intent on making up for his goal by passing anything he could find to a Villan.

Although, it was time for a Captain to take hold of the team, Captain Bill went in the other direction and dropped an F-bomb in the referee's face earning a yellow card. For all the composure Arsenal has shown this year, they could not find it today.

Kudos to Aston Villa and Martin O'Neill, who played an inspired and quality half of football.
Flamini gets my man of the match for his first half play. He must've had 5 or 6 shots on goal today. And he ran the lanes well and played tough defense. He disappeared quite a bit in the 2nd half, but so did everyone else in red and white.

Almunia played well in goal - for the most part. He cleared several dangerous balls in on set pieces and caught what was thrown to him. He did make one incredibly boneheaded play, rolling the ball in to the middle of the field to an Arsenal player marked tightly by 2 Villans. Could've been trouble, but we were lucky.

All's to the good in the end, though, as Arsenal remains tops of the table with a cushion of 5 points and a game in hand.