Latest Updates:

30 JULY 2005

Ajax 0 Arsenal 1: like an avocado.

19 JULY 2005

Cole signs and David Dein revealed not to be computer hacker.

15 JULY 2005

Patrick Vieira: a very goodplaya. And what lies behind Arsene's thinking?

14 JULY 2005

Vote Kenyon? Paddy off? New goodplaya

13 JULY 2005

David Dein: computer programmer

8 JULY 2005

How often do swap deals actually happen?

30 JUNE 2005

Hleb, RVP, Taylor, Aliadiere and why Sven?

25 JUNE 2005

Hang on, was that really the voice of Arsene? And fixture list analysis

23 JUNE 2005

Update on no news and fixtures out today

17 JUNE 2005

Can we please not let Pires do an Edu

15 JUNE 2005

Van Persie arrest caps bad day for footballers

14 JUNE 2005

Wenger surpasses Graham and more on Cole

12 JUNE 2005

Not very interesting news round-up

8 JUNE 2005

Arsenal really could sign an Englishman. And what to do about Chelsea?

6 JUNE 2005

Arsenal must now sell Ashley Cole - and soon.

3 JUNE 2005

Cole wrong, Mourinho wrong, Chelsea wrong. But things will change

26 MAY 2005

Kings of Europe, 20-1 for the League. Football = bizarre.

22 MAY 2005

21 MAY 2005

Cup final morning preview - come on you Gunners

17 MAY 2005

No Henry for Saturday but things don't look too dark

14 MAY 2005

So who does Wenger leave out for the Cup Final?

12 MAY 2005

Arsenal maul Everton. And 'the' Bergkamp question

11 MAY 2005

Arsenal v Everton: Gunners in red at Highbury for the very last time

09 MAY 2005

Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1: Men and boy against boys as Cesc runs show. Report + playa ratings

08 MAY 2005

Arsenal v Liverpool: Gunners wear red at Highbury for second last time

04 MAY 2005

Liverpool v Chelsea: A Gooner's perspective

03 MAY 2005

Very late Arsenal v West Brom report + playa ratings

02 MAY 2005

Revealed: Arsenal and Chelsea ARE affected by each other’s performances + West Brom preview

30 APRIL 2005

So, another season without retaining the league

26 APRIL 2005

Henryless Arsenal still thrill. Report + playa ratings

25 APRIL 2005

Spurs preview and that Rooney goal

21 APRIL 2005

Super Pires, Lauren + Cesc earn deserved point at Chelsea. Report + Playa ratings.

20 APRIL 2005

Chelsea preview and no Savage charge

19 APRIL 2005

Arsenal can take it up ‘em + Blackburn only copied Lancashire cousins

17 APRIL 2005

Vieira leads us to another cup final

15 APRIL 2005

Jermaine Pennant: I'm not buying it

12 APRIL 2005

Interesting Cole quotes and FA Cup Semi-Finals

11 APRIL 2005

Goodplaya at Boro v Arsenal: report, analysis + playa ratings.

7 APRIL 2005

Arsenal actually better off scoring one goal rather than two

4 APRIL 2005

Henry hits 181, I live in Newcastle and competition time

2 APRIL 2005

Gilberto and some guy called Henry return.

31 MARCH 2005

30 MARCH 2005

Freddie not to quit, Aliadiere may do, Edu probably will and England

29 MARCH 2005

Freddie to retire? Aliadiere and England to win the WOrld Cup

25 MARCH 2005

21 MARCH 2005

Let's not lose the league at Chelsea

19 MARCH 2005

Blackburn and early kick offs: very popular this spring

13 MARCH 2005

Arsenal defeat dirty, diving, dour Bolton

11 MARCH 2005

The fallout from elimination: where Arsenal stand now

09 MARCH 2005

08 MARCH 2005

05 MARCH 2005

Owen linked with Arsenal, striking choices + Pompey preview

02 MARCH 2005

Arsenal battle, roll up sleeves and deservedly win on penalties

01 MARCH 2005

You’ve still got to tackle, you’ve still got to close down, but lads, we must watch our bahaviour

27 FEBRUARY 2005

Van Persie, pushing the ref and why Arsenal must be more like Phil Neville

25 FEBRUARY 2005

So how much is Patrick Vieira really to blame?

23 FEBRUARY 2005

Why did Arsene play four out-and-out attackers in Munich?

22 FEBRUARY 2005

Do we need to score twice in Munich tonight?

20 FEBRUARY 2005

Arsenal conceded a goal direct from a throw-in

19 FEBRUARY 2005

Good game: Bergkamp lets himself down, Arsenal battle and Sheff United equalise.

18 FEBRUARY 2005

Merson, Keane, the foreign 16 and a wee bit about Sheffield United

15 FEBRUARY 2005

Arsenal 5 Palace 1: Our season in a nutshell + playa ratings

13 FEBRUARY 2005

Reyes, Henry, Arsene on political science and all foreigners are divers

9 FEBRUARY 2005

Warning: update contains references to an England friendly. Viewers may find some scenes disturbing.

8 FEBRUARY 2005

Ferguson's comical headbutt defence + the Cole saga part 967.

6 FEBRUARY 2005

Bergkamp's assist up their with his greatest moments and just what is the Ashley Cole story?

4 FEBRUARY 2005

2 FEBRUARY 2005

The United game, their shocking disciplinary record and our defence (or lack of it)

1 FEBRUARY 2005

No time for touchy feely refereeing

30 JANUARY 2005

Mike Riley: Extends arm; awards Arsenal penalty

29 JANUARY 2005

27 JANUARY 2005

A new goodplaya, goodbye Edu, Truss fuss and Toure banned

26 JANUARY 2005

Why SKY had every right to sack Rodney Marsh

24 JANUARY 2005

We used to watch football played like that.

17 JANUARY 2005

Press unbiased in Fergie/Wenger incident and do we put too many forwards on?

16 JANUARY 2005

Bolton,our defence, Paddy and injuries

15 JANUARY 2005

Desperate Fergie kicks bucket on eve of Wenger tribute

10 JANUARY 2005

Race to be next Arsenal right back kicks off

08 JANUARY 2005

What actually went wrong in last season's FA Cup?

06 JANUARY 2005

01 JANUARY 2005

Excellent goals in Valley victory + playa ratings

31 DECEMBER 2004

Edu seemingly off (again), team news + no league reds in 2004

30 DECEMBER 2004

29 DECEMBER 2004

Fixture list doing Arsenal no favours, Newcastle team news + Fergie

26 DECEMBER 2004

Guess what? Henry and Pires scored in 2-0 win.

24 DECEMBER 2004

Goodplaya.com Christmas message: Ever gone unbeaten?

23 DECEMBER 2004

Cole, Edu and Pennant - contracts, contracts, contracts

22 DECEMBER 2004

Not much except the pathetic fine for the Spanish FA

21 DECEMBER 2004

Brazil coach voted for Ruud and the Vieira debate

20 DECEMBER 2004

Are we giving United/Chelsea a defensive head start?

19 DECEMBER 2004

Hard fought 1-0 victory at Pompey: feels good.

17 DECEMBER 2004

Wenger fined, Edu looking more optimistic and £45 for Charlton

16 DECEMBER 2004

Why Van Nistelrooy can only cheat people

15 DECEMBER 2004

What's really going on with Edu? + Aliadiere hits the comeback trail

14 DECEMBER 2004

13 DECEMBER 2004

Unsure what Chelsea are moaning about + spare a thought for Freddie

13 DECEMBER 2004

Impassioned Pires, Henry, Cesc and Flamini halt Chelsea juggernaut

12 DECEMBER 2004

Edu 'changes mind'/Yaya Toure + final Chelsea preview

11 DECEMBER 2004

A bit of maths for Mr Mourinho

10 DECEMBER 2004

Do we have to do to Chelsea what United did to us?

09 DECEMBER 2004

Our reward for finishing top: Madrid, Barca, Germany's top two or the European Champions.

07 DECEMBER 2004

Very young Arsenal march through + playa ratings.

07 DECEMBER 2004

Tonight is a bigger game than Chelsea.

05 DECEMBER 2004

Wenger told almost whole team to improve. Did they?

01 DECEMBER 2004

Defeat with dignity and classic Old Trafford hypocrisy.

30 JULY 2005 13:15 BST

Ajax 0 Arsenal 1: like an avocado

Football, at last! I actually only managed to catch the second half and that was without sound, but still it was great so see us playing again. And on the whole we looked pretty decent I thought. The Ferrari was hardly firing on top gear but what was coming out of the exhaust was pretty good, with the exception of that small pollutant gas known as Cygan.

I know now is not is the time to have a go at players and really I have nothing against a player who always tries his best. But it is patently obvious that ability wise he is some way behind the rest of the squad and with Sol Campbell out for the season start, Cygan is our reserve centre back, which is something that worries me.

Anyhow, with Paddy departed and Cesc and Gilberto being allowed extra time off after busy summers I suppose Robert Pires was the least unobvious choice of central midfielder. Which gave us a team containing Henry, Bergkamp, Reyes, Ljungberg and Pires. Last night the tempo of the game meant that it didn’t really matter. But say Cesc was suspended and Gilberto injured for the game at Old Trafford, what would we do then? Surely we must get over the disappointment of not getting the Beast and bring in someone else.

The game was won by three substitutes after 86 minutes. The hungry looking David Bentley fed Alex Hleb who furrowed forward before intelligently finding Arturo Lupoli on the edge of the box. With men near him and the keeper to beat I fully expected him to do what any self respecting Arsenal forward would do and try to walk the ball round all of them, including the goalkeeper before passing unselfishly across goal to a team mate.

But before you could say Kanu drag back he had swivelled and fired a plum left footed shot into the net. It was a striker’s goal by an Arsenal player. How odd.

Of the players, I think Eboue did a decent job as sub for Lauren and could be a good playa, Hleb looked interesting and everyone else their old good selves. It was nice to see the yellow kit back again.

To me, it seems what we have is good, very good and probably as good as there is in the Premiership. But I worry about the depth of our squad. Arsene said the squad needed more players in the 24-27 age range to give us more experience. Well, we have lost Vieira and Edu and brought in the much younger Hleb and Bentley, who is still a kid.

In central midfield and in central defence (because of Sol’s injury), we look fragile and vulnerable. Of course we have been here before and Arsene has always known. In a way our squad in its current guise resembles an avocado – unparalleled lush and beauty but vulnerable to the slightest change in conditions.

...

Apologies for the lack of updates but frankly I'm bored with discussing all the on/off transfers and the ever more bizarre sniping from Chelsea. There's a chance I will be able to watch the friendly tomorrow night (Friday). If I do watch it I will happily come on here and talk about the football.

19 JULY 2005 23:55 BST

Cole signs and David Dein revaled not to be computer hacker

I'm now completely bored by the close season. Football the soap opera as fine but only when accompanied by football the sport. Without the sport the soap opera, the bust-ups and the mind games became nothingness.

On the subject of soap operas, you’ve probably heard that Ashley Cole has extended his contract for a year, reportedly on £70,000 a week. I wonder if in fact it is more like £60,000 if that is what was agreed in the first place. Either way, it is clearly a stop gap measure designed to put off the difficult decisions about his future for another year. That said, it is a wise agreement probably in the best interests of both player and club.

How will the fans respond to Cole? I don’t know. Personally, I will cheer him on as I would cheer any Arsenal player but whether I will be inclined to sing his name as loudly as before remains to be seen.

I noticed that while almost every media outlet gave extensive coverage to Mourinho and then Ferguson’s claims the Arsenal fix the fixture list, not one actually bothered to investigate the numbers involved and report the fact that their claims are a load of crap. See Arseblog for the figures.

I still hope the FA charge them both. I’m all for competitiveness and mind games but their comments just did football no favours at all.

Something else quite subtle also struck me about the power Chelsea hold in the transfer market, over and above the fact they can pay virtually any transfer fee. It is that while for most clubs the timing of when they make transfer payments is a crucial negotiating point in any move, I read that Chelsea are paying Manchester City £21 million up front for Sean Wright-Phillips. Staggering.

Finally, a couple of questions, predominately for anyone reading from Northern Ireland.
1) How can I tune RTE on to my TV, either through the standard aerial or through my Freeview box?
2) Which Belfast pubs conform to the following three criteria? a) Have a decent SKY screen. b) Are fairly likely to show our Amsterdam tournament games. c) Are frequented by people you would not mind frequenting the same pub as you.

Answers on the comments board. Thanks.

...

15 JULY 2005 09:00 BST
Patrick Vieira: a very goodplaya. And what lies behind Arsene’s thinking?

Often, when a legend leaves a club it is at the end of his career and it is a well planned event. His retirement might be announced in the March, he might enjoy a sentimental last appearance wearing the captain’s armband, an 89th minute substitution and possibly a testimonial.

Patrick Vieira left Arsenal yesterday. His departure was about as unfussy as his arrival nine years ago and yet completely out of keeping with the almost continual transfer speculation of the intervening period. There was no pointed last appearance and no farewell lap of honour.

Add into the mix Vieira’s indifferent form of last season, the sour taste left by his previous on/off departures and there not currently being the nostalgic sentimentality that you get at the end of the season.

All these factors considered, it would be easy to shrug one’s shoulders, remember the less than optimum Vieira of last year and carry on. But that would be wrong. For the sale of Patrick Vieira is the end of an era and the sale of an Arsenal legend.

It seems a long while since Vieira made his debut against Sheffield Wednesday and it was. In the nine subsequent years, Vieira was at the cornerstone of one of the most successful periods in Arsenal’s history. It was his energy and dynamism that was the springboard for that success and our overhauling of Manchester United’s dominance.

He produced some awesome, gargantuan performances, some of the best I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt from one of the finest players I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt. He matched Roy Keane stride for stride and bettered him. He could never really shoot but it never really mattered. And he led the side. Perhaps he was not a natural leader in the Adams mould, but just as his captaincy would have taken massive stick had Arsenal failed under his tenure, two FA Cups and an undefeated league title win in three years deserves proper credit.

And for me, he always gave everything on the pitch. Some (not me) questioned his attitude last season but surely the application of the other eight years dispels any myth that he was not massively committed when he wore the red, yellow or occasionally blue shirt. Juventus will be a new challenge at an opportune age and while he may regret never having won the Champions League with Arsenal, he can leave knowing that his time at the club was otherwise far more fulfilling than he probably ever dreamt it would be.

When I’m back in London I look forward to digging out some old videos and recalling some magnificent individual and team performances and achievements Vieira gave us. And if he ever visits Highbury or Ashburton Grove with Juventus, I for one will sing his name.

The future

Tributes paid, the sale of Vieira is for me by some distance the most interesting piece of all Arsene Wenger’s transfer business. By most accounts we took the decision to sell and he realised his time was up. To sell the club captain, a rock of nine years without real warning is one mega step.

I can’t see Arsene trying to replace like with like. To do so would be almost impossible. I wonder whether the three man midfield we saw in the cup final could be a hint towards what the future holds? Does Arsene feel a change of approach is needed if we are to ever reach the holy grail of Champions League glory?

Jermaine Jenas of Newcastle is already being tipped in the press as a replacement but I am far from convinced. To imagine that Arsene Wenger has voluntarily sold his captain and midfield dynamo and intends to replace him by getting in to a bidding war for a player whose club say they don’t want to sell and in any case would cost an absurdly excessive amount (as English players always do) seems pretty implausible. I suspect there is some other answer that the club are keeping characteristically and wisely close to their chests. Is it to move Kolo Toure into midfield? Possibly, but again I suspect not.

The other piece of news is that Myles Palmer reckons Sol Campbell wants to leave. It may be true but I can hardly believe a mooted move to Newcastle would do his World Cup chances much good.

...

14 JULY 2005 09:00 BST
Vote Kenyon? Paddy off? A new goodplaya

At 11pm last night news broke that we have apparently agreed a deal to sell Patrick Vieira to Juventus. The report was apparently taken from the Gazzetta Dello Sport paper in Italy. The deal is said to be for about £9.5 million with Jonathan Zebina or Stephane Apiach thrown in as well. Appaerently Vieira has yet to agree terms (which was previously a sticking point with his move to Real) but a deal is apparently due to be announced 'tomorrow'. Whether that means today, Thursday or tomorrow Friday, we shall see.

Chelsea

In a way I suppose Jose Mourinho is only trying to wind up his detractors with comments such as those about David Dein. And I suppose by reacting to the comments we are only encouraging the man and indulging his ego.

That said, he was largely condemned for his comments yesterday. The FA said: "At a time when the football authorities are collectively striving to improve behaviour at all levels of the game, some of those views expressed by Mourinho are unnecessary, unhelpful, bad for the image of the game and inaccurate." They and the Premier League also pointed out the absurdity of his claims about disciplinary hearings and Dein's influence of the fixture list.

Football365 point out that last season Chelsea actually had the better of the post Champions League fixtures, not having to leave London once.

It does seem however that Jose can still turn to the union men for support in times of trouble. League Manager's Association chief John Barnwell said: "The gist of what Jose has said is reasonable." He went goes on to what sounded like a big disclaimer: "I’m not saying in anyway, shape or form that any club has benefited, but if you are wearing two hats, one for The FA and another for a Premiership club, then people are going to think that there is a conflict of interest.”

So actually he is saying the exact opposite of what Mourinho has said. Jose thinks Arsenal have benefited in many shapes and forms from David Dein's role. Barnwell apparently doesn't. Of course, it may be that the upcoming review of the structure of the FA calls for an end to elected club representatives. But that is nothing to do with Chelsea's ill informed rant against Arsenal.

And I say 'Chelsea' pointedly because yesterday the club backed-up their manager, issuing a statement that says everything about the club.

It reads: "Chelsea has seen the statements issued by the Football Association and the Premier League today in response to comments made by José Mourinho.
Chelsea is very aware of its responsibilities to uphold the image of the game and does not want to get involved in conflict with either the FA or the Premier League, neither does José. Any concerns we might have over issues of governance within football, or other topics of debate, will be communicated through the appropriate channels.

"Our observation on the fixtures issue is purely a factual one, that we have five away matches in the Premiership following the Champions League group games.
Over recent months there has been a series of critical comments from Arsenal about key individuals at Chelsea and the club as a whole. These were not isolated incidents. Like any club, Chelsea believes it is entitled to defend itself publicly against such criticisms, when appropriate, and is fully supportive of José Mourinho when he does so."

Three points: They are clearly not directing their concerns through the appropriate channels. Their observation on the fixture list is not purely factual. They have insinuated underhand operations by David Dein is responsible for it. Chelsea have not provided a single shred of defence for the criticisms they have received. All Jose Mourinho has done is make unproven allegations about our conduct. He has done nothing to defend Chelsea.

The whole thing is frankly ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with questioning whether Dein (or any of the three other elected club members) should have a role at the FA. But the accusations levelled simply appear to be unfounded slander. And it is yet another case of Chelsea running rough shod over the game, bringing it in to continual disrepute. It is made all the more bizarre by the fact that on the field they have an excellent bunch of players who get on with playing football and winning things. But as a club they are stinking out the game.

In his comments, Mourinho said: "Maybe in 2009 or 2010 - maybe - Mr Dein won't be in the FA any more and I can have a different season. Or maybe Mr Kenyon (Peter, the Chelsea chief executive) will be working in the FA. We don't know. Maybe it will happen in five years."

The fact is that Peter Kenyon is as entitled as David Dein to be on the FA's board. The only problem is he would have to be popular enough to be elected by the other clubs. But surely that wouldn’t be a problem for Kenyon. Would it?

A new goodplaya

On a far brighter note, we had our first goodplaya for absolutely ages yesterday.

Arsenal-Mania report recent comments made by the boss at a recent charity dinner. He said: "We have bought Hleb, who looks to be a good player." Frankly, news of his comments made my day and I have not hesitated to add it to the rotating goodplaya list at the top of the page. Count yourself lucky to get the new Hleb goodplaya.

...
...

14 JULY 2005 09:00 BST
Vote Kenyon? Paddy off? A new goodplaya

At 11pm last night news broke that we have apparently agreed a deal to sell Patrick Vieira to Juventus. The report was apparently taken from the Gazzetta Dello Sport paper in Italy. The deal is said to be for about £9.5 million with Jonathan Zebina or Stephane Apiach thrown in as well. Appaerently Vieira has yet to agree terms (which was previously a sticking point with his move to Real) but a deal is apparently due to be announced 'tomorrow'. Whether that means today, Thursday or tomorrow Friday, we shall see.

Chelsea

In a way I suppose Jose Mourinho is only trying to wind up his detractors with comments such as those about David Dein. And I suppose by reacting to the comments we are only encouraging the man and indulging his ego.

That said, he was largely condemned for his comments yesterday. The FA said: "At a time when the football authorities are collectively striving to improve behaviour at all levels of the game, some of those views expressed by Mourinho are unnecessary, unhelpful, bad for the image of the game and inaccurate." They and the Premier League also pointed out the absurdity of his claims about disciplinary hearings and Dein's influence of the fixture list.

Football365 point out that last season Chelsea actually had the better of the post Champions League fixtures, not having to leave London once.

It does seem however that Jose can still turn to the union men for support in times of trouble. League Manager's Association chief John Barnwell said: "The gist of what Jose has said is reasonable." He went goes on to what sounded like a big disclaimer: "I’m not saying in anyway, shape or form that any club has benefited, but if you are wearing two hats, one for The FA and another for a Premiership club, then people are going to think that there is a conflict of interest.”

So actually he is saying the exact opposite of what Mourinho has said. Jose thinks Arsenal have benefited in many shapes and forms from David Dein's role. Barnwell apparently doesn't. Of course, it may be that the upcoming review of the structure of the FA calls for an end to elected club representatives. But that is nothing to do with Chelsea's ill informed rant against Arsenal.

And I say 'Chelsea' pointedly because yesterday the club backed-up their manager, issuing a statement that says everything about the club.

It reads: "Chelsea has seen the statements issued by the Football Association and the Premier League today in response to comments made by José Mourinho.
Chelsea is very aware of its responsibilities to uphold the image of the game and does not want to get involved in conflict with either the FA or the Premier League, neither does José. Any concerns we might have over issues of governance within football, or other topics of debate, will be communicated through the appropriate channels.

"Our observation on the fixtures issue is purely a factual one, that we have five away matches in the Premiership following the Champions League group games.
Over recent months there has been a series of critical comments from Arsenal about key individuals at Chelsea and the club as a whole. These were not isolated incidents. Like any club, Chelsea believes it is entitled to defend itself publicly against such criticisms, when appropriate, and is fully supportive of José Mourinho when he does so."

Three points: They are clearly not directing their concerns through the appropriate channels. Their observation on the fixture list is not purely factual. They have insinuated underhand operations by David Dein is responsible for it. Chelsea have not provided a single shred of defence for the criticisms they have received. All Jose Mourinho has done is make unproven allegations about our conduct. He has done nothing to defend Chelsea.

The whole thing is frankly ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with questioning whether Dein (or any of the three other elected club members) should have a role at the FA. But the accusations levelled simply appear to be unfounded slander. And it is yet another case of Chelsea running rough shod over the game, bringing it in to continual disrepute. It is made all the more bizarre by the fact that on the field they have an excellent bunch of players who get on with playing football and winning things. But as a club they are stinking out the game.

In his comments, Mourinho said: "Maybe in 2009 or 2010 - maybe - Mr Dein won't be in the FA any more and I can have a different season. Or maybe Mr Kenyon (Peter, the Chelsea chief executive) will be working in the FA. We don't know. Maybe it will happen in five years."

The fact is that Peter Kenyon is as entitled as David Dein to be on the FA's board. The only problem is he would have to be popular enough to be elected by the other clubs. But surely that wouldn’t be a problem for Kenyon. Would it?

A new goodplaya

On a far brighter note, we had our first goodplaya for absolutely ages yesterday.

Arsenal-Mania report recent comments made by the boss at a recent charity dinner. He said: "We have bought Hleb, who looks to be a good player." Frankly, news of his comments made my day and I have not hesitated to add it to the rotating goodplaya list at the top of the page. Count yourself lucky to get the new Hleb goodplaya.

...

13 JULY 2005 09:00 BST
David Dein: computer programmer

There are a few interesting stories around at the moment.

Firstly, it is worth taking a few seconds to swat away the ludicrous comments by Jose Mourinho yesterday. He said: "After the first five games of next season's Champions League we have to play away while Arsenal are at home.” Apparently David Dein’s presence at the FA is responsible for this fact.

Leaving behind the fact that his comments are clearly crap and also slanderous, it is the Premier League who issue the fixture list and not the Football Association. Oh. But anyway, let us just imagine that David Dein does actually fix the whole fixture list.

Well, guess what? Before all SIX of our Champions League games we will play away, while Chelsea will play all SIX at home. So clearly we are going to be at a massive disadvantage going in to European games. In fact, this can explain all our failings in Europe for the last seven years. Or at least it can if you employ Mouinhoesque paranoia. What a load of crap.

It's funny how so many people seem so ready to criticise Dein's involvement in the FA without actuallty being able to cite any actual incident of bias. The only complaint I have heard came from Fergie who was unhappy Arsenal had received a recrod £175,000 fine and eight game collective ban for the high crime of pushing one of his players.

Personally, I hope Dein sues Mourinho. That would be funny.

It has gone almost uncommented on that we appear posed to sell the club captain, Patrick Vieira, to Juventus. Just a year ago, his possible move to Real Madrid filled the papers for days on end and gave the fuel to many a pre-season Arsenal discussion among fans.

But now it has hardly evoked comment. Strangely, the club appear to be considering his sale. Were it to be sanctioned, it would probably be for about £10 million less than Real were offering last year. A year ago we were resolute in our determination to keep him. No longer is that resolve there. A year ago we had Edu. No longer is he there.

To be honest, I am completely confused about all of this. Arsene Wenger has never sought to sell his best players (Paul Merson being just about the only exception). Patrick Vieira is also our captain and in a way the foundation on which the Wenger era was built. I don’t know why we are considering selling him.

Perhaps fans have not been talking about it because Patrick Vieira and possible transfers became boring a long time ago. But perhaps also his poor last season means that many no longer see him as the indispensable force he once was.

Personally, I am very wary of selling Paddy. However bad last season may have been, it is far easier to lose a top class player than it is to replace him. And Vieira is a top player. And we would need a seriously good replacement.

Whatever the situation, it seems hard to believe that we simply consider him worth cashing in on aged 29.

It also seems that Galatasaray could be closing in on Robert Pires. Which, as I have previously said, does not appeal to me.

...

08 JULY 2005 08:00 BST
How often do swap deals actually happen?

As a Londoner, it seems incredible how the city’s best day for 50 years should be followed by its worst for equally as long.

Wednesday was magnificent, a once in a lifetime announcement that the city will host the Olympics. Yesterday was a day of darkness, when the fears of the previous four years became what would always one be an inevitable reality. The best that can be said is that good organisation looks like it saved many.

On the Arsenal front there were a couple of interesting stories yesterday about Juventus flying in to try and prise Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires from us. The Daily Mail seemed to think we wanted to get rid of Vieira, the Guardian said we would resist all attempts. The Mail also linked us with a possible swap deal involving Juve players.

Which got me thinking. Every time you get one of these summer transfer sagas there always seem to be all kinds of suggestions about swap deals involving this player or that player. But they hardly ever actually happen.

...

30 JUNE 2005 00:10 BST
Hleb, RVP, Taylor, Aliadiere and why Sven?

As you probably know by now, Hleb has all but completed his transfer. For all that I have read written about him, nobody has really said how they see him fitting in to the team. I’d give my view but frankly I don’t know enough about him. I suppose the major question is whether his signing represents any kind of change of approach on Arsene’s part. If anyone has any ideas, please add them to the comment board below.

In other news Robin Van Persie has been released and though he apparently remains a suspect, the release is certainly a positive sign. Stuart Taylor has moved on and in my opinion will probably have a decent career with a bit of luck.

Jeremie Aliadiere looks like he is off to Celtic for the season on loan. Irrespective of the quality of the Scottish league, the Celts may be playing Champions League football and in Gordon Strachan have a manager who seems to know his stuff. Apparently Bolton are also interested in him. No doubt the quality of Bolton’s football, their sporting approach to playing Arsenal and Sam Allardyce’s always respectful comments about Arsene will see them in poll position. Yeah right.

Truth be told, I’m not that much in to football at the moment, particularly with Wimbledon in full swing. In a way it feels like we’re in the mid season break of the close season. By the middle of next week things should be getting a bit more exciting, with the players back for pre season training. And unlike recent years, many of our top players will be back straight away, including I would assume, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, none of whom played in any of France’s post season matches.

One notable absentee will be Ashley Cole, who will probably be given an extra week or so off after playing for England in America.

Finally, a question London’s Olympic bid. Why on earth is Sven being sent out to Singapore to lobby on our behalf? If there is one person involved in sport in Britain less appropriate for such a role, then show them to me.

...

25 JUNE 2005 01:00 BST
Hang on, was that really the voice of Arsene? And fixture list analysis

Arsene Wenger yesterday on Hleb in the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper in Germany: “The transfer will be completed in the next few days. I think he can start packing his bags to come to us."

I may be barking completely up the wrong tree here, but:
a) Does anyone at Arsenal ever talk so openly about a transfer before it has been completed?
b) Does Arsene Wenger really speak like that?

I’m not saying that comments have not been made, but it is worth remembering that seeing as this was a German paper and Arsene speaks German, the quotes were definitely translated. And it would not be the first time the meaning of quotes had been completely changed in football translation.

The fixtures

Anyway, elsewhere the fixtures are of course now out, causing excitement for about five minutes before we all realise the new season is still miles away.

The first thing to say is that we DON’T play Newcastle, Chelsea and Liverpool as part of our first four games. The Liverpool game will be postponed due to their involvement in the Super Cup Final, which means that because of the international break we will not play for two and a half weeks just 10 days into our season.

The situation will be irritating for Arsene and boredom inducing for us. The sheer ineptitude of UEFA’s scheduling is at once breathtaking and yet entirely predictable.

Newcastle on the first day might not be as easy as it looks. Their season starts in a couple of weeks with the Intertoto Cup and by the time we play them they should be fully in to their stride.

Looking towards Chelsea, we have two opportunities to stop them getting to 50 games unbeaten, the first of which is at the Bridge in the second game of the season. I think it a good time to play them. In a three way title race it helps if you can have fewer pivotal games than your competitors. Last season all four of our games against United and Chelsea were at important points of the season. When they played each other there was little riding on it.

When we eventually return from the international hiatus we have a run of six games, starting at the Riverside and ending against Man City at Highbury, that ideally we would take rack up a fair few points from.

Then it is Spurs away at the end of October – a time in the season that is often pivotal to us. And when I say pivotal, I mean it in a bad way. The good news is that there are only three games in November this year. They are all games we would normally want to win (Sunderland, Blackburn at home and Wigan away). We really can’t afford to drop points against them.

Particularly because early December looks nasty. Bolton and Newcastle away followed by Chelsea at home a week later than we played them in the same fixture last season could be tricky.

We won at Charlton last New Years’ Day and this time we will be hoping to do it on another holiday – Boxing Day. As things stand we will finish a spell of four games in eight days with United at home – expect barbs from Fergie and Wenger over who has the easier fixture list.

After the FA Cup 3rd round, we again start a new run against Boro – this time at home. Arsene will be hoping for a good total from the next seven games up to Fulham away. Then it is Liverpool at home.

Talking of rearranged fixtures, if either Arsenal or Spurs reach the FA Cup semi final then the only time we could play would be in the midweek before the final game of the season. Incidentally, it does not look like there is any reason for the United home game on April 8th to be moved.

The end of the season is a mixed batch – Spurs at Highbury and two trips to Manchester but also games against Sunderland, West Brom and in the final game at Highbury, Wigan.

How funny that the final game at Highbury should be against the only team in the premiership and one of just a handful in the whole league with whom we have absolutely zero history? But the penultimate game should be against Spurs, which will be quite an event.

...

23 JUNE 2005 09:35 BST
Update on no news and fixture list out today

The Arsenal news over the past week has been so nonexistent that to even write a post saying it has been non existent would be to give it greater coverage than it deserves.

Which, to be fair, probably means Arsenal is full of activity at the moment but the club are just keeping things characteristically quiet. Personally, I like it that way.

There have been various rumours flying around. But rumours schmumours frankly. I’m bored of them. And anyway, Wimbledon has been pottering along quite nicely so really it hasn’t been that bad.

Anyhow, after weeks and weeks of waiting it is now only a matter of a couple of hours until we discover next season’s fixtures. The excitement is such that there has even been a piece on Ceefax previewing the announcement. There has also been the circulation of a set of opening day fixtures which the Premiership have claimed to be a hoax.

I can only hope they are because if we do indeed have Bolton at home it will mean almost two months of Sam Allardyce endlessly talking about the game and what a ‘magnificent achievement’ he had done at Bolton. Spare me.

...

17 JUNE 2005 09:25 BST
Can we please not let Pires do an Edu

In a nutshell, Van Persie could be behind bars for a further fortnight, Atletico Mineiro say Arsenal acted properly in the Gilberto transfer and at the moment there is little movement on Hleb.

The other news is that talks with Robert Pires about extending his contract beyond the end of next season appears to have snagged. I really don’t know what the deal is and perhaps all the talk of him leaving is just to scare the club into giving him the contract he wants.

But for the love of God Arsenal, PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS PLAYER LEAVE. Despite an inability to tackle which is second to none, Robert Pires is one of the finest players I have ever seen at Highbury. Strangely underrated by the press, his goalscoring contribution every season is immense (third top goal scorer in last season’s Premiership) and his general attacking play equally impressive.

For me, he is also the epitome of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. He plays the game with a beautiful pananche, he retains a football better than almost anyone in the Premiership and always seems to make the right pass, usually to the player’s stronger foot.

So, please, sign him up.

Other than that, we are just a week away from the announcement of next season’s fixtures and finding out who we play on the first day of the season, who we play on Boxing Day, who we play in the last game at Highbury and who we will collapse against in November.

...

15 JUNE 2005 00:35 BST
Van Persie arrest caps bad day for footballers

Yesterday, by all accounts, was not a good day for footballers.

George Best was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an underage girl. Steve Finnan was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. And Davor Suker was questioned over the murder of his business partner.

And to top it all off Robin Van Persie has been arrested in Rotterdam on suspicion of rape.

A lot has already been written about something there is currently very little to say about. Rape is one of the most complicated of all crimes – on the one hand it is massively under reported, massively under prosecuted and massively under convicted on.

On the other hand, an accusation of rape is easy to make. And false rape accusations against footballers are not all that uncommon.

From what has been published so far, nobody seems to know very much at all about the alleged rape. Witness the Sun’s coverage. A lot of blurb that was mostly in yesterday’s Evening Standard, next to nothing on the actual alleged rape and a ridiculously over the top criticism description of Van Persie’s tackle that got him sent-off at Southampton as “horrendous”. Stupid, yes. Horrendous, no.

What we do know is that Van Persie is a fiery character. But equally we also know he has had to endure extraordinary abuse from some people in Holland, including violent pitch invasions directed at him. Clearly, whatever the situation is, it is not black and white.

So to make any judgments about how the allegations either will or should impact on Van Persie’s future serves no purpose. It is all idle speculation. And that is why Arsenal wisely said nothing about it yesterday.

...

14 JUNE 2005 00:15 BST
Wenger surpasses Graham and more on Cole

By my reckoning any day now Arsene Wenger will have spent longer as Arsenal manager than George Graham did. Graham reigned from May 1986 until February 21st 1995 whilst Wenger came to the club at a largely indefinable point in August or September 1996 and is of course still going.

Sure it might not be the most interesting stat in the world, but Arsenal news is thin on the ground at the moment.

There was, however, an interesting article over on Arseweb yesterday, titled “Do stupid Arsenal fans deserve Cole?” which took an entirely different view on the whole Ashley Cole saga.

I’m not sure if my hostility to Cole qualifies me as ‘a stupid Arsenal fan’, but either way I am frankly lost about how Cole can be absolved of blame simply because he may not have personally instigated the meeting with Chelsea. From my reading, none of the parties involved have been punished for inadvertently ending up in the same room as each other. They were punished for sitting down together and going ahead with a meeting.

I think it fair to say that had Ashley Cole left that meeting room the moment Peter Kenyon and Jose Mourinho turned up he would not be facing a £100,000 fine. But he did not. He sat there and spoke to them, fully consensually, five days before we played Manchester United.

Assuming that Ashley Cole is blessed with the capacity to act for himself, there can therefore be little doubt as to the fact that he broke the Premier League rules, which are as clear as day.

Since the meeting (which we must now assume did happen), Cole has not expressed even the merest splinter of regret for any of his actions or their unsettling consequences. He has, however, expressed outrage at his fine, blamed Arsenal for their handling of the affair and initially vowed to rake his case through every court imaginable.

And yet to criticise Cole’s conduct and suggest that barring an unlikely swift end to the issue he should be sold in the best interests of the club apparently means one does not “deserve Cole or any of our other world class players.”

Surely the issue here is in not whether the stupid Arsenal fans deserve Cole but whether the stupid Cole deserves Arsenal?

...

12 JUNE 2005 18:45 BST
Not very interesting news round-up

I think honestly is the best policy in these circumstances. Being totally uninterested in transfer speculation, maintaining an interesting Arsenal blog could be difficult until we actually sign someone. But on the bright side, our first pre-season game is little more than a month away.

But anyway, I see that Patrick Vieira’s has written his autobiography, due to be published October 5th. Personally, I hope it is boring as fuck, a bit like the Pires book. The last thing we need are ‘crisis Arsenal’ headlines just as the season gets serious.

It appears Ashley Cole has abandoned his attempt to carve himself a berth as one of the great legal pioneers. Amen to that.

On this day of very little news, I see Teddy Sherringham has signed on for another year at Upton Park. What are the odds that the final league game at Highbury could be West Ham?

It was sad to see England crash out of the women’s Euro2005 yesterday and personally, I found it more disappointing than when the men lost to Portugal last summer. I have no idea why, but the men’s team spark little more than mild amusement in me. The whole thing seems such a farce – from the ineptitude of men such as Kelly, Millichip, Davies and Thompson at the FA to the comedy of managers which is Taylor, Venables, Hoddle and Keegan, the sheer and utter boredom of Sven (the most interesting thing about being his attempts at substitutions).

Add to that the hysteria of the press, the overblown hype around Beckham et al, the fact we actually have a superb team but underachieve miserably and the whole stress that having idiotic supporters bring and I struggle to ever really get properly behind England.

But the women’s Euro2005 was great – I genuinely supported England. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Finally, a bit of close season trivia. How many league London derbies has Arsene Wenger lost? I make it one at home to Wimbledon, one at Charlton, one at home to Charlton, one at West Ham, I think two at Spurs (though perhaps just one) and none to Chelsea. Obviously. Any others?

...

8 JUNE 2005 08:45 BST
Arsenal really could sign an Englishman. And what to do about Chelsea?

Today’s big news is that our previously reported interest in signing an Englishman appears genuine. Reports in yesterday’s Lincolnshire Echo suggest that we really are on the verge of signing 16 year-old Lincoln City defender Jack Hobbs.

Apparently: "Gunners vice-chairman David Dein will hold a board meeting in a fortnight, when a decision to accept or reject City's proposal will be made."

And I suppose if they get time they might also discuss the new stadium, contracts and even the Ashley Cole situation. Speaking of which, reports yesterday said we were planning on holding on to Cole and hoping time would prove a good healer. I hope they are right, but there will always be the very real possibility of his presence being a massive distraction we do not need.

There is also a bit to be said about Chelsea.

It is wrong to hate them simply because they are being successful and because they have money. It is also worth remembering that there have always been ‘hate’ teams in English football – whether it be the 70s Leeds, the 80s Liverpool or the 90s United. And of course what they all have in common is that they were at the top of the league. It is also worth remembering that Chelsea are not the only team to tap people up.

But all that said, it is nigh on impossible not to think that Peter Kenyon and Jose Mourinho could not give a stuff about the premier league rules, other clubs, the FA, UEFA or anyone. They seem to be pursuing a win at all costs attitude which is deeply ugly and does football itself no good.

They lied over the referee in Barcelona (contrary to what they later tried to insinuate), lied about their whereabouts during the Cole meeting (almost mockingly in the way Mourinho pretended to be in Italy) and have sought to milk the Cole enquiry for all they could, even having the audacity to try and push the blame on to Arsenal for not accepting what only the likes of Peter Kenyon could ever think was a fair settlement offer.

Back when this Cole thing started I specifically said that I did not want Chelsea deducted points. Impeding them on the pitch should be a last resort. But if they are found to have tapped up Arneson at Spurs (which should be investigated in the interest of football, irrespective of a complaint from Spurs) then points deduction must follow.

Sadly there appears to be no other option.

...

6 JUNE 2005 20:15 BST
Arsenal must now sell Ashley Cole - and soon

Goodplaya is officially back. Having gone from being a Newcastle gooner to a Belfast gooner, a phone line has now been installed and (dial-up) internet is chugging along. And where else is there to start, other than to say that as things stand:

Arsenal must put Ashley Cole up for sale and sell him as soon as possible. I have been more willing than many to make allowances for the indulgences of modern footballers and as I said previously I do not agree with the current rules. But in Cole’s case he now has to go.

Arsenal’s name is once again being raked through the close season mud. Cole is intending to fight his fine, about 5% of his annual earnings and the sum it takes most people half a decade to earn, all the way to the European courts.

It is simply ridiculous. He must accept that in deigning to meet Chelsea he was entirely wrong under the current rules, irrespective of their rightness or wrongness. He must take the punishment and then if he wants to be a legal pioneer then so be it. But expect fuck all sympathy from Arsenal fans. We are not an Ashley Cole appreciation society; we are Arsenal fans. Even if he manages to eventually prove that he did not know Chelsea would be at the meeting, and that is a seriously big if, he had ample opportunity to leave the meeting and not allow himself to become embroiled in all of this. By all accounts he sat put.

His continuing presence at the club will do us no good and is doing us no good. Our pre-season is being disrupted before it has even started. Much as I am reluctant not to jump on the condemnatory bandwagon of footballers’ indulgence, Cole’s attitude epitomises the ills of the game. For Jonathan Barnett, Cole’s agent, to invoke the master servant relationship of 100 years ago is crass and embarrassing. He should jump out of the clouds and apologise for such flagrant idiocy.

Ashley Cole can save himself by apologising to Arsenal fans for the way he is dragging the club’s name through the mud and disrupting preparations ahead of the new season. But do not hold your breath. And of course Arsene Wenger is the master of persuasion, so perhaps something will be resolved. But Cole is going to have to build a few more bridges than Paddy had to at the start of this season before all is forgiven.

Hopefully we can get a decent fee for him. But really the important thing is that either this situation ends asap or he goes. And yes, I know Patrick Vieira is alleged to have told Cole to ask for £80,000 a week. If this is the case then so be it – I hold no ill will. I have never and probably will never hold footballers any higher than individuals who invoke an illogical fanaticism in me. If you are looking for an ideologically ideal footballer (perhaps one who takes the average wage and gives the rest to charity) then good luck to you. But that is not what I expect.

All I ask from them is that they give their best for the club and don’t drag its name through the shit. Ashley Cole can pout on about the former as long as he want. But he has no recourse about the latter. Bring on Gael Clichy.

...

3 JUNE 2005 11:00 BST
Cole wrong, Mourinho wrong, Chelsea wrong. But things will change

The internet situation is very poor at the moment - hence the lack of updates.

But briefly - Under the current rules Ashley Cole was clearly wrong to meet with Chelsea, they were clearly wrong to meet with him and their punishments are entirely merited (and not that inconsiderable). They all knew the rules very clearly and they all very clearly broke them.

But, the rules governing football transfers look horribly outdated and archaic. Of course, we all know that footballers enjoy wealth and perks the likes of which the rest of us can only dream of. And yes, they should make sacrifices. But I fail to see why the rules for their contracts should be different to the rest of ours. Chief Executives - some of whom earn wages on a par with footballers - are employed in the same manner as the rest of us, so why is football so different?

And for those who say that clubs stand to lose out on all the time and money they have invested in making a player what they are, why not impose the kind of clauses that trainees in all kinds of professions have to accept where if they decide to scarper suddenly to a competitor after gratefully accepting a company's free training they have effectively to have their contract bought out. Which is basically the situation we have at the moment.

We are also kidding ourselves if we think tapping up can be eradicated. Perhaps very public meetings in hotels will cease, but discreet phone calls, words in the ear and leaks to the press will always persist. How on earth could they not? And why should they not exist frankly? Only in the world of the FA where it is an offence to point out a referee has had a poor game could this be seen as logical behaviour.

Ashley Cole was absolutely wrong to meet Chelsea five days before we played Man United. To meet them at all was also poor and he must accept whatever criticisms are levelled at him by Arsenal fans for doing so. To then take such a moral high ground on an issue which he frankly would not have cared an iota about had he not been caught is also poor.

If he can genuinely convince that his prolonging the issue (and ultimately hurting Arsenal) is being done purely because he feels he needs to stand up for what he thinks is a genuine injustness then fair enough. But at the moment his cause seems a selfish, self interested one.

That said, before long change will come. The current situation simply does not make sense.

...

26 MAY 2005 10:00 BST
Kings of Europe, 20-1 for the League. Football = bizarre.

So, congratulations to Liverpool, kings of Europe. Hopefully a couple of things can come out of it:

1) We stop hearing about that effing night in Barcelona when United won the treble.
2) Arsenal realise that whatever our current frailties we are not actually as far off winning the Champions League as is often suggested. Somehow I feel less in awe of the mighty trophy this morning.

I know there are those who are saying that we would die to have a night like last night. And they would be right. But equally, Liverpool fans would die for the success and football we have enjoyed under Arsene Wenger over the last eight years.

Even this morning Liverpool are only 20-1 for next season’s Premiership. Which says in a nutshell how extraordinary their achievement is and equally how far they still have to come before the kings of Europe can call themselves the best team in England.

But that is genuinely not sour grapes – I, like most other football fans, am genuinely pleased for the Pool.

The game certainly ranked up there with us winning at Anfield in 89 and, dare I say it, United beating Bayern in 1999. One day later and like them it would have been on May 26th. Which only leaves me to wish you happy St Michael’s Day this morning.

Season review shortly.

...

22 MAY 2005 10:00 BST
Mugged? Schmugged.

As an Arsenal fan I would like to apologise for the way we mugged Manchester United yesterday.

I would like to apologise for the way one of our players stayed on the field after launching disgracefully into your left back. I would like to apologise for our prize defender not being sent off after blatantly denying your winger a goal scoring chance. And finally I would like to apologise for the way our star striker dived to win us the second half penalty that decided the game. It really was a mugging.

Oh sorry, I think I got things wrong there. What I meant to say was that United failed to take the chance because our goalkeeper played very well (which is allowed) and their strikers finished poorly (which is also allowed). They even had the benefit of playing against a frankly bizarre Arsenal formation that was never, ever going to work and which even in the context of that formation performed badly.

Just because for large parts we were particularly shit does not mean United should win it by default. And it is also true that we showed more balls in five minutes of penalties than they could show in 120 of normal play. We went up their end and converted all five of our spot kicks handsomely. Not only that but United forced us to hold our nerve on four separate occasions after Scholes had missed. And each time we did it.

In particular, Van Persie, Cole and Vieira all deserve credit for their spot kicks. They all would have made easy villains for various reasons, but they all shouldered their responsibility superbly. It was seriously sweet seeing Vieira’s effort go in and also nice that the players chose to rub the United fans’ faces in it so blatantly. I would also like to think that our particularly loud ‘USA USA’ chants for the Scholes penalty contributed to his miss.

With all these successes it is easy to become blasé about another FA Cup win. And for some people it is even possible to lapse into sympathy for United. Don’t do it. We have suffered enough times in the past where inept refereeing has cost us. Yesterday we were a little lucky to win, but we still won fair and square. And though there is an analogy with the Liverpool game of four years ago to be drawn – on that occasion we were denied two blatant penalties (and one a blatant goal) not by our poor finishing but by poor refereeing.

Tactics

As far as the decision to experiment with a three man central midfield went it failed miserably. In particular, we had the situation where Cole and Lauren were still getting their back up from the Pires and Reyes respectively, which is clearly pointless. Cesc, Gilberto and Vieira seemed for large parts to have no idea what they were meant to be doing and as a result they did not offer the defensive support required of them on the wings nor provide much offensive help.

Had Reyes played up front with Dennis and Cesc gone right midfield then at the very least it would have been the Catalan who would have naturally offered the support Lauren desperately required. And of course up front it was a hopeless task for Dennis who, if truth be told, carried out his hopeless task impressively hopelessly. I hear he is now staying another year, which is fine, but we must not let it negate the need for change up front.

The absence of just player can not be allowed to reek the havoc Henry’s injury caused today. I don’t have time for playa ratings, but clearly Jens did very well and Kolo and Senderos got through a lot of good work. Both Cole and Lauren struggled but got sod all in the way of support from Gilberto (poor), Cesc (not sure of role) and Vieira (poor but got a bit better).

Dennis, as I have said, was useless, while I actually thought Pires did rather well until he tired late on in the second half. We did have the odd moment of possible penetration and he was usually at the heart of it. I also thought Jose Reyes did really well, particularly when the poverty of the team performance would have made it very, very easy for him to go missing too. He worked hard for the entire 120 minutes and turned opponents very well on a number of occasions, relieving the pressure for us and providing a hint of attacking intention.

His red card was probably deserved - he had already been let off one foul where his over enthusiasm could have led to him going. That said, it should be no surprise that when he was sent off it was for doing the work that a midfielder was not. And it should be no surprise that Ronaldo rolled around clutching his face when there had quite clearly been no contact to that part of the body at all.

No updates until Thursday, when I will discuss the whole striker situation (and probably say what everyone else will already have said).

...

21 MAY 2005 08:00 BST
Cup final morning preview - come on you Gunners

So it is us against them: the rivalry that thrives irrespective of geography. We don’t like them not because we feel we shouldn’t like them. We just don’t like them. And the same is probably true vice versa.

Thanks to the dark art of blagging I will attend my first FA Cup final today and in doing so make my first trip to Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. So what lies in store? One major issue is how the game is refereed. Back in Goodplaya’s embryonic days (see Oct 23rd entry) last October I said in advance of our defeat at Old Trafford that Andy Gray and Alan Hansen were talking absolute rubbish when they said referee Mike Riley should be willing to let early tackles go.

I said: "I’m all for letting things go, but tomorrow Mike Riley has to take a zero tolerance policy. The first deliberate foul that comes in from either side must be a straight yellow, with the warning that if the offender puts one more foot wrong, even accidentally, then they’re off. That will send out the message to the rest of the players."

I don’t take any great credit for them being entirely wrong and me being completely right – a lot of Gooners would have said exactly the same thing. The point is that Rob Styles needs to be on top of everything today – and if that means an early yellow card for one or two of our players then so be it. Styles also needs to keep a look out for United choosing to target one of our players specifically with a succession of well timed fouls.

Of course, I am not suggesting United only ever beat us by playing like that. In February they staged a fierce second half comeback aided by our defensive incompetence and ended up winning the game on merit.

One of Arsene’s big posers is who to leave out of Campbell, Toure, Senderos, Lauren and Cole from the back line. It now seems that Saturday morning press reports say Sol will miss out, which is a biggie really.

Midfield will be crucial and it will be fascinating to see what kind of an impact Patrick Vieira has on the game in the United half of the pitch. In what was at best an inconsistent season for the Frenchman, one thing that did improve was his scoring rate – his seven goal tally being the highest in nine years at Highbury.

But for Vieira to get forward it is essential that Gilberto Silva do his job in the middle and give the back four the protection they crave. Vieira will never abandon the defensive part of the game – but the question is whether he will be able to combine attacking ambition with it.

Then Arsene has to decide between Freddie Ljungberg or Cesc Fabregas. We heard yesterday that Freddie had been missing recently due to a cancer scare, but thankfully a scare appears to be all it was. It will be a tough choice, but with Reyes apparently pencilled in to start, perhaps Arsene will look to counter his youthfulness with the experience of Ljungberg.

Eithrer way, it is interesting to hear that Reyes will start. If he goes up front then it will be a front two of either Van Persie and Reyes or Dennis and Reyes. Either way, critics would say that the first looks inexperienced and the second awkward. The other, quite intriguing option is for Dennis and Van Persie to play up front, Pires to go right wing and Reyes left wing. I have said it many times before, but for me this approach is too attacking against first rate teams like United.

Of course we also have to consider the threat United’s attackers pose. Today will, I think, be the first time Wayne Rooney has played at Cardiff and it will certainly be his first FA Cup Final. There is of course a chance that this could turn in to the Wayne Rooney final and other than making sure we get our tackles in, there is not that much else we can do on that front.

And of course, there is the threat posed by the likes of Ronaldo, Giggs and Van Nistelrooy. But I sense the danger they pose will be determined to an extent by who wins the midfield battles.

Right, to Cardiff - come on you Gunners!

...

Things have been very, very busy - hence the lack of updates. But there should be a cup final preview online early tomorrow morning.

And then I'm off to Cardiff for my first cup final, at the sixth time of trying. Should be good.

And depending on my mood there might be a saturday night report.

17 MAY 2005 07:45 BST

Henry out but things don't look too dark

If you have come here to read about Arsenal v Birmingham then just about all I can tell you is that they scored a scrappy goal with 10 minutes left, Paddy delightfully put in Dennis for the equaliser and Heskey scored a winner in the final minute after Senderos, truth be told, went to sleep.

But what was more interesting was the team selection. Lauren was rested at right back, allowing Toure to slot in next to Senderos and Campbell. And in midfield, Gilberto, Ljungberg and Cesc returned and Pires was rested. Up front it was Van Persie and Bergkamp, with Henry and Reyes both injured.

And the big news today is that Henry will apparently definitely miss the cup final, while Jose Reyes remains a doubt. It will put big pressure on Dennis Bergkamp and Robin Van Persie, though on the plus side we have showed ourselves still capable of scoring goals when Henry has been missing.

Add to that the fact that Van Persie now looks a far better all round player than previously and Dennis has notched two in two games and though hardly ideal, missing Henry does not appear the catastrophe it might once have been – at least in the eyes of the press.

Other than that the only other news is about what won’t be happening – there will be no victory parade even if we beat United on Saturday. The club said it was something to do with it being at too short notice too organise, which may technically be true. But I also suspect that the truth is we have become so successful under Arsene that only a title win is considered worthy of a jaunt through Islington.

...

14 MAY 2005 11:50 BST
So who does Wenger leave out for the Cup Final?

By the look of things, a few people are going to be facing FA Cup Final heartbreak.

For the only time this season, Arsene Wenger is likely to find himself with a surplus of riches – a full squad minus Gael Clichy. And it means people will miss out. In recent weeks, Senderos, Fabregas, Van Persie and Reyes have started game after game and probably more than merited a cup final berth.

But the players they were originally standing in for are back. Campbell, Henry and Bergkamp have all returned. Freddie Ljungberg should do at Birmingham tomorrow. So there are tough decisions to be made. Arsene could quite easily pick a cup final side without a single youngster in it. And he could also pick one without Toure, Edu, Gilberto, Ljungberg or Bergkamp in it.

So, what will he do?

At centre-back, I think Phillipe Senderos is a must and think he will start. In a backline littered with fantastic athletes who are essentially converted midfielders or strikers, he is the one true defender’s defender. Our recent miserliness at the back has been to a large part thanks to him.

So if Kolo or Sol Campbell have to miss out then so be it. I expect it would be the former on the bench, though he may get the right-back berth if Lauren’s blood poisoning continues.

In centre midfield, Vieira and Gilberto will surely be the first choice pairing, even though both have suffered injuries recently. So if Fabregas is going to get in it will be in a straight fight with Freddie Ljungberg. The decision will likely rest on Ljungberg’s fitness but either way it is a very, very tough one as both are very hard to leave out. I would just about go for Cesc, purely on the basis Ljungberg might not quite be fit.

Very well as he has done, I fear Matthieu Flamini will find himself missing out altogether.

On the left, you have to think that Robert Pires is a certainty, leaving Dennis, Van Persie and Reyes to battle it out to start with Thierry Henry. Again, another very tough one. That said, I suspect it won’t be Reyes, in part because as is well documented, the pair have never really clicked together.

So that leaves Bergkamp and Van Persie – a big decision that is at the heart of the whole Bergkamp staying issue. It would be tempting to say you always want Dennis available in a game like this but the truth is he has rarely delivered on big showpiece occasions in an Arsenal shirt.

Van Persie is, of course, unproven and still quite raw. But equally he is improving very, very quickly. I suspect Arsene will spring something of a surprise and plump for the younger of the Dutchmen.

All of which would give the following team: Lehmann, Lauren/Toure, Campbell, Senderos, Cole, Vieira, Gilberto, Pires, Fabregas, Van Persie, Henry.

But the problem now is that even excluding Flamini, we have Almunia, Toure/Lauren, Edu, Reyes, Ljungberg and Dennis after the five subs places. Who misses out then?

...

12 MAY 2005 20:45 BST
Arsenal maul Everton. And 'the' Bergkamp question

You can only hope that when we do finally say goodbye to Highbury it enjoys a send off half as good as last night.

Our last match wearing the famous red and white at the old ground was like watching one of those compilation videos that average clubs have where a few carefully selected clips makes every player appear invincible. Except this was for real.

But largely indulgent analogies aside, we were magnificent.

A few combinations combined to create a perfect night: We were on form anyway, it was the last home game of the season, the last time we wore red at Highbury, Edu’s last game, maybe Dennis’, Henry was back and Everton’s concentration was a little less than perfect with fourth place in the bank.

After Senderos, Vieira and Campbell had all given Everton chances to attack early on, I can barely remember an error from a single Arsenal player. Lauren was marauding forward, Cole doing much the same, Senderos looked like the boss, Campbell looked sharper and sharper, Vieira more and more dominant until he came off, Edu sublime, Pires was Pires, Reyes looked a much better player than the one of two months ago, Van Persie a far more efficient player than two months ago and Dennis the emperor at the front.

Dennis Bergkamp

Pulling the strings, running the show, oiling the engine – you can throw all the clichés at him and they all stick. The big decision is of course whether Arsene has decided to keep the master for another year, having said on TV that the decision was made. For some time I have said that now was probably the time to say goodbye.

It has never been a question of him not being good enough anymore – last night’s performance, a little run he had in January and his early season form are evidence of that. But that is just the problem – these performances are in part so easily recalled because they are becoming less and less frequent.

At the start of this season Henry and Bergkamp were still considered our first choice forward line. I do not think this can any longer be the case. Besides age catching up with Dennis, we need to go into European away games with a strike force playing with each other week in week out. We also need to make sure our very promising young players are not held back.

Dennis has started 36 games in all competitions this season – probably too many. But all that said, the last few weeks have suggested that he can work as a support act coming from the bench behind the younger players. And if that were to be his role, then I would have no objection.

As for whether he will stay, I have absolutely no idea. In fact so few people know that the press are not even pretending they know (give it a day though). It could even be dependent on who we sign.

Whatever happens, if last night was the last time he graces Highbury, it was a fine, fine send off. I haven’t done playa ratings because frankly we were all excellent and remembering individual moments from last night is nigh on impossible.

But besides Dennis, I’d like to mention the performance of Lauren. It struck me last night that actually he is a pretty decent footballer who is not always appreciated. And well done to Flamini too on a deserved first goal. And au revoir to Edu - I'll write more on him another time.

But the final word goes to Arsene. Sir, you are a genius and I like many Gooners, feel immensely privileged to watch football of the ilk we saw last night.

...

Arsenal 7 Everton 0

Sadly I won't have the time to write a proper report on the game until Thursday night at the earliest. But suffice to say, it was a true a joy to watch.

And maybe I was wrong about Bergkamp's time being up.

11 MAY 2005 07:20 BST

Arsenal v Everton: Gunners wear red at Highbury for the very last time

Second place became a mathematical certainty last night after Chelsea’s 3-1 victory at Man United. Of course it does not make amends for not winning the league but this is the eighth season in a row we have finished in the top two and the third out of four we have finished ahead of United.

I also think it was very important psychologically to finish above them. Winning the FA Cup would be great, but it is ultimately not much more than a one off occasion. But as for coming second, we realised about seven games ago that Chelsea were going to win the league and us and United would be in a direct fight to finish runners-up. We started about two points behind them but have remained strong and got what we deserve.

Moving on to tonight, for the second time in four days we welcome a team in celebratory mood to Highbury. Everton will be flying high and will feel they have nothing to lose – a loss at Highbury is hardly a disaster but a win or draw would help show they can mix it with the big boys.

As for the team news, Thierry Henry and Freddy Ljungberg are welcome returnees and should be involved at some stage. As I suggested before the West Brom game it also looks like Sol Campbell will get some action before the cup final and he too could be involved tonight.

Edu is also likely to come in for the injured Gilberto and Flamini is back in the squad after injury. It will be interesting to see who Henry is paired with if he does start. I have a little hunch Pires could be rested, putting Reyes out left and Henry and Van Persie up front. Just a hunch. Nothing more.

The most interesting news going round at the moment is that Lyon coach Paul le Guen has stepped down and could be poised for a move to Highbury where he could be groomed as Wenger’s successor. Not that I even want to think about a new boss (I’d have to completely rework the theme of the site) but if we are lining up someone who has just helped Lyon to four league titles on the spin, that sounds good to me.

And finally, tonight is of course the very last time that Arsenal will wear their famous red shirts at Highbury.

...

09 MAY 2005 08:05 BST
Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1: Men and boy against boys as Cesc runs show. Report + playa ratings

A funny game where we were excellent from about the 10th minute until half time, by which time a Pires free-kick and Reyes goal left us 2-0 up. Then we conceded a half fluke, half poorly defended free-kick and for much of the rest of the game found ourselves under the cosh from a Liverpool side who grew and grew in confidence.

They were helped in my opinion by us allowing them far too much time on the ball to pick their passes. We weren’t closing down enough and because of that Liverpool were able to pick far too many holes through our midfield. That said, they never came all that close to equalising.

Then in stoppage time we scored a well worked third through Fabregas, ensuring Everton fourth place and meaning we can only lose out on second to United through goal difference.

A few thoughts on the game: We produced some really excellent first half football and showed that even without Henry and Bergkamp we are still capable of flowing beautifully. Cesc was absolutely excellent – he ran the show.

The second goal was very funny – faced by an onrushing Reyes, Carragher fell over in exactly the same way he had when Henry had scored against Liverpool last year. Sadly there was no Steven Gerrard to fall into this time.

Liverpool would not have scored if we did not have this infuriating habit of turning our backs on the ball when someone looks like they are about to hit a hard shot. Had Cesc been facing front on to Gerrard’s shot he would have been able to see it coming at him and get a firm leg in the way of it. These guys are paid a lot of money – enough to warrant taking the odd ball in the face.

The way Liverpool got back into the game was a little worrying. They played well, but we gave them far too much time on the ball. Rather than bring on Bergkamp, who frankly does very little chasing, a full of beans Aliadiere might have been the wiser choice.

But still, a deserved win and second place is within touching distance.

Playa ratings to the right.

...

08 MAY 2005 13:05 BST
Gunners wear red at Highbury for second last time

Next season is going to bring a lot of lasts at Highbury:

The last game, the last league game, the last cup game, the last European game (hurrah), the last Spurs game, the last night game, the last Saturday 3pm game etc etc.

And Wednesday night against Everton will be a poignant last too. For the final time, the team will do something that we have taken completely for granted for as long as we have watched Arsenal.

We will play Highbury in red for the very last time. And today we will play during the day at Highbury in red for the very last time.

Which has probably got most readers saying: “And?” But to me it seems a little eerie that after today we will never see that great combination of us in perfect red, the pitch perfect spring green and the end of season sun casting a long shadow across the old ground.

Obviously this assumes that Highbury gets sun this afternoon and not the enormous hail stones that have battered Newcastle this weekend.

Incidentally, I’m not particularly against the blackcurrant kit next season. At the very least it marks a genuine attempt by the board to embrace the history of the club and what it means to leave Highbury. Changing the kit might not be spot on but it looks like an honest effort.

And one thing you realise living up here in Newcastle is that we actually are a very well run club. Things are so bad here that the team won’t even be doing a lap of honour after their final home game next week. Apparently it turned into a farce last year because half the fans had left before it and some of those who did choose to stay started booing certain players. Classic.

Anyway, back on today’s game and the team news looks unchanged from Monday at West Brom. Myles Palmer writes a good piece on ANR about how we might struggle to break Liverpool down – and he could well be right.

So patience might be the key. And if we can beat them then we are all but guaranteed second place thanks to West Brom getting a point at Old Trafford. Speaking of which, did anyone else see Kanu firstly, running and secondly, defending?

...

04 MAY 2005 19:40 BST
Liverpool v Chelsea: A Gooner's perspective

Laugh? I nearly cried.

Forgive me while I don't shed tears over Chelsea's inability to dump England's fifth best team out of Europe.

Finally, the notion that Jose Mourinho had master minded some kind of European miracle at Stamford Bridge this season can be thrown out the door. Against Barca they blagged their way through thanks to Carvallho fouling the keeper. In Munich they benefited from a horrifically deflected Frank Lampard goal before being outplayed comprehensively. In both ties, neither opposition looked like they had spent five minutes thinking about how to defend against Chelsea.

How we as Arsenal fans would have loved to have come up against the Bayern defence that went to Stamford Bridge intent on conceding cheap goal after cheap goal. Instead we got one of scroungiest outfits I have ever seen at Highbury and only won on the night through an undefendable Henry goal. And all the while Chelsea were being hailed as European experts, a sharp contrast with the alleged chokers of N5.

But in 180 minutes against Liverpool they failed to score once, a feat they have now achieved ten times this season (compared to just four for Arsenal). In the second leg they only ever came close from a classic Liverpool goal-keeping howler in the last minute and a vicious Lampard free-kick that owed everything to Carvallho illegally charging the Liverpool wall out the way.

And then they had the cheek to complain about a goal which had it not stood would have resulted in a red card and a penalty. Indeed Liverpool deserved the goal for no other reason than Baros had knocked the ball past Cech and would have scored had he not been fouled.

Had Chelsea won this year's Champions League they would have acquired a form of footballing immortality and a deity not in keeping with their true performance this season. As I have acknowledged before, they undoubtedly deserved to win the title this season. But they have not so far shown themselves to be an outfit worthy of what is wrongly seen as the ultimate accolade.

The fact is the Champions League is often not a scientific measure of who is Europe's best team. But most years the winners are good enough that they can lay claim to that title without widespread ridicule.

If Liverpool do do it it will count as an extraordinary achievement and it is one that I will be shouting them on towards. But hell, Liverpool are not the best team on Merseyside, let alone Europe and very few will mistake them for it. We know they are not the best, their players know it and the very wise Rafa Benitez knows it.

But had Mourinho fumbled his way to a third European title in as many years the end of it would never have been heard. He is a man with undoubted talents but is equally one until last night had looped every loop on the rollercoaster of European fortune without falling off.

Now, if Liverpool would kindly revert to league form on Sunday...

...

02 MAY 2005 07:30 BST
Very late West Brom v Arsenal report + playa ratings

A gratifying if slightly strange 2-0 win at the Hawthorns last night courtesy of goals from Robin Van Persie and then Edu in the last minute of stoppage time.

We seemed to adopt a very deliberate policy of letting our hosts expand all their energy early on while we waited our turn and then pounced later in the game. It meant that we played at a slightly lower gear than usual. And as I feel is normally happens when we play things a bit slower, we became complacent and tend to be less coherent.

Indeed, with the exception of a ten minute spell before half time, we were not really very good at all for the first hour or so of the game. Even if West Brom were to tire, I thought we looked like we had very little chance of fashioning a goal.

And then the inevitable happened. Out of nothing Reyes turned smartly, fed Van Persie and he fired in beautifully from 20 yards. The suddenness and beauty of it all was so Arsenal and I had once again been reminded how we just seem to have this amazing goal scoring knack.

From then on, things went pretty much according to plan. They tired, we had the odd chance to seal it and then we finally did deep in stoppage time when Bergkamp sent his fellow sub Edu away and he finished cooly off the keeper.

So the moan I was planning about us not wanting it enough has been shot down in flames. That said, I still feel we are at our best (specifically against lower teams) when we go full throttle on the attack.

A word about West Brom. They may have been relatively unattacking in formation but they worked incredibly hard and tried to play some decent football at times. We were constantly being pressed and never had a second on the ball. But their approach was an honest, fair one. They didn't need to resort to deliberate fouling to make thigns difficult for us. Take note Blackburn and Bolton.

Playa ratings to the right.

02 MAY 2005 07:30 BST
Revealed: Arsenal and Chelsea ARE affected by each other’s performances + West Brom preview

Goodplaya can reveal that we have been officially screwed by fixture scheduling this season.

Well, maybe we have only partially been screwed, but Chelsea have had it very easy in one sense.

Bored in part by us not having played, I realised that the same thing happens every weekend. Chelsea play first, win, and never have to play catch-up on us, like we always seem to with them. My theory was that playing first allows teams to perform without the pressure of worrying either what the opponents are up to or what they will get up to.

Well this is what the figures show: by the end of the season, Chelsea would have played before us 19 times, us before them 11 times and 8 times we would have played at the same point. So, I was right to think we are more often than not playing catch-up.

How Arsenal have performed in these games does not tell us very much (except that we do crap when we play at the same time as the Blues), but Chelsea’s stats are very interesting.

They have an extraordinary record when they have played first – 16 wins and 1 draw from the 17 games – an average of 2.88 points a game. But in their other 18 games they have suffered a defeat and 6 draws and accrued just 2.2 points a game. That would translate to them having just 76 points now (2 more than us) and having played a game more.

I know statistics can prove anything but it seems Chelsea clearly favour playing first and they have been lucky enough to have a very kind fixture list in that regard. That said, as I’ve said a few times before, they have been the best team and clearly deserve to be Champions.

Now onto the point of how both sides perform when playing at the same time. From the 14 games played concurrently (7 each), between them the two sides have managed just 24 points from 42 – which would be 65 over the season and a 4th or 5th placed finish. Of course a larger study would need to be undertaken, but it suggests that even at the highest level teams can be put off by worrying about the performance of opponents.

Tonight

As far as the West Brom game goes, I expect Campbell to get some action before long so that he is ready if called upon for the cup final. But maybe it won’t be tonight. With Freddy still injured and Edu fit, will Cesc stay on the right or will the Brazilian come in and go left with Pires in Cesc’s spot? And up front will we stay with Reyes and Van Persie or will Dennis (or even Aliadiere) get a start? I suspect Reyes and Van Persie.

One final note. Did you see Lampard and Terry singing Roman Abramovich’s name in front of their fans on Saturday? Not that I have anything against two very, very good players, but that simply said it all. Sheer class. Not.

|fhffg

Archives: June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.

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Slightly less out of date playa ratings:

v Liverpool (3-1)

Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5

Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5

Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5

Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7

Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7

Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7

Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5

Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5

Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9

Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5

Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7

Subs:

Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5

Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6

Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5

v West Brom (2-0)

Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7

Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7

Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5

Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5

Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5

Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7

Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7

Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5

Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7

Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7

Subs:

Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5

Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7

v Spurs (1-0)

Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7

Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7

Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7

Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7

Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7

Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7

Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7

Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5

Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7

Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7

Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5

Subs:

Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7

Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7

Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7

v Chelsea (0-0)

Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7

Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8

Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7

Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7

Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7

Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5

Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7

Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8

Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.

There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9

Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6

Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6

Subs:

Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.

Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.

v Boro (1-0)

Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6

Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6

Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5

Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7

Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5

Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6

Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6

Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5

Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6

Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7

Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5

Subs:

Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6

v Palace (5-1)

Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5

Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6

Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6

Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5

Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5

Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7

Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7

Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7

Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5

Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5

Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5

Subs:

Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7

Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7

Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7

v Wolves (2-0)

Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5

Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8

Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7

Sol: Not a lot to do. 7

Cygan: Better than usual. 8

Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5

Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7

Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5

Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7

Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5

Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8

Subs:

Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7

Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7

Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.

v Charlton (3-1)

Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5

Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5

Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5

Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7

Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7

Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7

Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5

Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8

Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5

Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5

Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5

Subs:

Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5

Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7

Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7

v Newcastle (1-0)

Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7

Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5

Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5

Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5

Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6

Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5

Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5

Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7

Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6

Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5

Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5

Subs:

Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6

v Fulham (2-0)

Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7

Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6

Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5

Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7

Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5

Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7

Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bamboozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7

Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.

Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5

Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5

Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7

Subs:

Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5

Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5

v Portsmouth (1-0)

Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8

Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5

Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7

Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7

Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8

Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7

Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5

Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7

Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5

Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7

Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5

Subs:

Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6

v Chelsea (2-2)

Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5

Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5

Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6

Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7

Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7

Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5

Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8

Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8

Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5

Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5

Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9

Subs:

Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5

RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7

v Rosenberg (5-1)

Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6

Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7

Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5

Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5

Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7

Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5

Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8

Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7

Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7

Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7

Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7

Subs:

Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward. 7

RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5

Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.

v Birmingham (3-0)

Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5

Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5

Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7

Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5

Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7

Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7

Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7

Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5

Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction. My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield. Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch. But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5

Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5

Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky. May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games. Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5

Subs:

Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5

Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7

v Man United (0-1)

Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6

Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5

Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5

Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8

Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5

Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7

Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5

Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6

Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7

Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5

Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5

Subs:

Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.

Cregg: Alright

Karbassiyoon: Alright