Moving house and blogging is a tricky combination. Phone companies tend to ensure that you haven’t got a hope of getting online during the first few weeks in the new place, and trying to write anything meaningful from a mobile is nigh on impossible. Hence this will be a Monday-Friday blog for the next fortnight.

The upshot of that is by the time you read this on a Monday, you’ll know all about the matches that happened two days earlier, so instead of providing a blow-by-blow account of the game, I’ll talk about a few things that struck me.

• Van Persie has been an absolute revelation, and not just in his performances, which have probably exceeded everyone’s expectations. His touch is exquisite, his finishing lethal, and his ability with his back to goal is a lot more impressive than any of us probably realised. But more than that, he seems to be thoroughly enjoying his football. All that talk of being a united dressing room doesn’t appear to be hot air.
• Cesc has nine goals and eleven assists. That’s a defining role in twenty goals, and it is only early November. That is quite astonishing for any player, let alone a 22 year old.
• We might not be able to keep clean sheets, but hopefully that is purely a concentration thing. Twice in a week we’ve conceded sloppily when 4-0 up, but remember in September we weren’t scoring as freely, but instead kept it tight at the other end – 2-0 wins over West Brom and Olympiakos, and that 1-0 win over Fulham being part of four consecutive shut outs. As long as we only concede when we’re cruising, I won’t mind.
• The lack of a backup option for Alex Song is a worry, however. That we’re even concerned about coping without him shows how far he’s come in the last year, and I’m not sure Ramsey is suited to that role, fabulous talent though he is. Nasri could, but would be similarly stunted. The African Nations Cup forces Song to miss our trips to Bolton and Villa, plus the United game on January 31st if Cameroon reach the final. Let’s hope they don’t.

It would be fair to say we weren’t at out best on Saturday, but even without the slices of good fortune for our first two goals, we were still comfortably too much for Wolves, in the sort of game we have struggled to get the points from in recent years. That in itself is a massively encouraging sign, although we shouldn’t get as carried away as the press who, now that Liverpool are their chosen target, have taken to boldly predicting we’ll break all goalscoring records this season.

Amazing how times change, isn’t it?

But prior the the match, there was a definite sense of relaxation amongst the fans, as if the game really didn’t matter, so assured was our progress regardless of the result. On the one hand, the simplicity of the group combined with seven points from three games made that view understandable, but on the other hand, consider this:

a) The weekend after matchday five, we face Chelsea at the Emirates

b) The weekend after matchday six, we travel to Anfield

Chelsea confirmed their qualification on Tuesday, and as such can rotate for their next two games, keeping players fresh for the game against us. Also, if Fiorentina beat Lyon at home in the next round, Liverpool will actually have nothing to play for in their final game, and will also rest players.

Results elsewhere meant that the Alkmaar victory did not guarantee our qualification, but only mathematics get in the way, and a draw at home to Liege will render the tricky trip to Olympiakos meaningless, the ideal situation given the domestic fixtures surrounding those two games.

All of this means we can shift our focus away from European competition for a while, while allowing those who aren’t getting many games (Eduardo comes to mind) valuable time on the pitch. In certain areas of the field, notably up front, we have huge resources at our disposal, and we need them ready and sharp for the busy Christmas period.

The match itself was tremendous, Cesc’s two goals and Arshavin’s three assists perfectly summing their displays up, while Nasri slotted seamlessly back into the side after his injury. It was a joy to watch.

Away from the field, Stan Kroenke has purchased a further 200 shares, half of which have come from Peter Hill-Wood, as ringing an endorsement as you’ll likely to hear from the current board. Kroenke is now right on the line of having to make an offer for the entire club, but for all the media speculation, there is nothing to suggest this is forthcoming, or even that the offer would be accepted if it arrived.

The story continues to rumble behind the scenes, but the board are the custodians of the club, and if they are happy with what they see (and they seem to be), then I guess we have to trust them to a certain extent. The ‘Silent Stan’ moniker is regularly bandied around, but you can be sure that his communication lines with the likes of Hill-Wood are fully open. Watch this space, I guess.

And that’s it for now. I’ll be back later with a Wolves preview and a new round-up feature for the blog. Stay tuned.

Elsewhere, the injuries to Clichy and Bendtner, which probably see neither return for much action before Christmas, are a real pain – both were beginning to get into decent form. Fortunately, we have backup in both areas of the fields – Gibbs and Traore provide ample cover at left back, while Eduardo still can’t get a game up front (Nasri replaces Bendtner from the weekend’s team).

Tomorrow I’m back with full internet access, so expect a full write up – at least Sky got me up and running in the new house in time for the match.

Enjoy it, wherever you are.

A victory that was as satisfying as it was ultimately comfortable guaranteed that the ‘noughties’ would be completed without a single Spurs victory over Arsenal in the league, a run now stretching to an impressive twenty games. After a week of attempted mind games from various members of the Spurs camp, it turned out once again to be a whole lot of hot air.

Spurs talk a lot about displacing us in the top four, but to reach the Champions League you have to be capable of beating the regular occupiers of those slots. After yet another attempt, they have now failed to win away to United, Chelsea, Liverpool or us in the league since 1993. That’s 65 trips to the top four clubs without a single victory, confirmation if any were needed that they have been a level below for a very long time.

In fairness to them, they came with a gameplan and frustrated us quite successfully for forty minutes. Cesc forced a great save out of Gomes after Arshavin’s run was blocked, Van Persie took a right-footed chance on his left and skewed it horribly wide, and other chances were restricted by our final ball being a little lacking.

But it is quite the myth that you beat Arsenal by parking the bus. It has been effective in recent years, but right now we’re scoring far too freely for that tactic to be effective – it would be much wiser to exploit our defensive vulnerabilities by having a go. Sit back for ninety minutes and you will get punished.

Two goals before half time changed the whole game. First Sagna was given far too much time from a throw in, and for once whipped in a superb cross, which Van Persie anticipated quicker than King, finishing past Gomes, who might have done better. Hilariously, eleven seconds of play later, it was 2-0, Cesc running from the halfway line past two woeful challenges to finish with aplomb.

The scoreline was sealed in the second half, when Eduardo was taken out, everyone stopped, but Clattenburg played advantage, Sagna realised just before the Spurs defence, and crossed for Van Persie. It should never have reached him, but King and Gomes got into an awful muddle and he tapped it into an empty net.

The scoreline flattered Spurs in the end – Eduardo had two wonderful chances, and Diaby shouldered wide when any contact with his head would’ve resulted in a certain goal. As time ticked on, we embarrassed Spurs with some impressive keep ball, but by then they were too demoralised to rise to the bait, seemingly happy to escape without the trouncing they could easily have been dealt to them.

‘Pride cometh before a fall’. Andy over at Arsenal FC Blog made a good point to me after the game – despite Keane’s claims that Spurs now have a deeper, stronger squad than we do, the players they called on to change the game were Bale, Hutton and Pavlyuchenko, hardly an inspirational set. And that’s with only three players missing, less than we have. In future, it may be wise for the Spurs contingent to wait until after the match before running their mouths in the press. Hubris is a painful lesson.

Another reason I am delighted with the win is that I can now wholly condemn the referee’s performance without it coming across as sour grapes. Mark Clattenburg was awful today. And by awful, I mean gut-wrenchingly bad. It is one thing missing things that happen on the pitch, it is quite another to spot them happening and fail to apply the rules. Here is his catalog of errors:

• After a couple of minutes, Bentley deliberately and blatantly handled the ball to prevent a counter attack. Clattenburg spotted it, gave the free kick, but didn’t dish out the mandatory yellow. It seems he was saved by it being so early in the game (is there any sense in the unwritten law that it is really hard to be booked inside the first ten minutes?).
• Just moments later, Bentley went it high, late and studs up on Vermaelen, a challenge that was without question a bookable offence. Coming so soon after the handball, action was inevitable, but again he was simply warned.
• Also in the early stages, Assou-Ekotto kicked the ball away in dissent after a free kick was given against him. We all know that’s a mandatory yellow card, we’ve seen it a hundred times. Again, Clattenburg saw it, and warned the player. You can’t even argue that the referee was showing common sense – they are instructed to brandish a card in these instances, and it is players who boot the ball away in anger that lack common sense.
• The only yellow Spurs did get was Crouch, for throwing the ball away after a decision went against him. It was the same action as Assou-Ekotto, but with completely different consequences.
• The other yellow card in the game was for a perfectly good Vermaelen challenge.

All in all, it was a bizarre day of refereeing, especially in the opening twenty minutes when it seemed he’d left his yellow card in the dressing room. After Bentley could easily have picked up two yellows inside eight minutes, the law of sod suggested he’d go on to have an influence on the game. But after a while, I forgot he was still on the pitch, so anonymous was his presence. It is remarkable that so much money has been spent on a player who is clearly a million miles away from where he should be at this stage of his career.

Overall, it was an immensely satisfying display. The back five were excellent, Song tracked back exceptionally well, while Cesc, Arshavin and Van Persie are a trio who will conjure goals against anyone, at any time. I was less impressed by Diaby, however, who struggled to dominate midfield. He must be looking over his shoulder, especially with Ramsey putting in the sort of display he managed against Liverpool in midweek.

The one blight on the day was Bendtner’s injury, going off in the first half with a groin problem. Afterwards, Wenger was pessimistic about the prognosis:

“It looks quite serious. It is a groin problem and he will be out for four weeks at least.”

Fortunately, two of those weeks are another international break, so aside from Champions League matches in which his absence shouldn’t be an issue, he may only miss two games, Premiership trips to Wolves and Sunderland. In the meantime, Eduardo may get a few more opportunities, and Vela may come into contention.

But that is to worry about later. Today is about basking in the glow of the feeling of putting Spurs back where they belong.

But the confirmation that the Pole will miss a few weeks with a new thigh injury puts Wenger in something of a quandary. Does he stick with Mannone, when he probably doesn’t have complete faith in the youngster’s ability just yet? Or does he return to a demoralised Almunia, who was probably not in his plans for the weekend?

I’d go for Almunia without question. Remember that it was the Spaniard who saved Keane’s penalty in this fixture two seasons ago, the day he perhaps finally secured the number one jersey. Since then, he has done little wrong, and whatever issue is keeping him on the sidelines should be cleared up, and not allowed to affect the team. Mannone may one day be the better keeper, but right now Almunia is the best we have and should start tomorrow.

As for the rest of the team, the Carling Cup tie heavily indicated who would start the derby, especially in the cases of Nasri and Eduardo, who looked exhausted at the end of ninety fitness-building minutes. With Rosicky still missing, I’d expect the usual back four, Cesc-Song-Diaby in midfield, and Arshavin-RVP-Eboue as the front three. I must admit I was surprised to see Bendtner on Wednesday as I figured he’d start ahead of Eboue, but with King and Woodgate available Spurs will be decent in the air.

Spurs themselves are missing players that have hurt us in the past – Lennon, who scored the final equaliser in the 4-4, Defoe, who has a habit of finding the net against us, and Modric, arguably their best player. But with Keane suggesting that their bench is stronger than ours, that shouldn’t worry them, right?

The absence of Lennon means that Bentley will play against us again, and if any extra motivation was needed to smash Spurs tomorrow, it would be to avoid seeing him as smugly delighted as after that sickening draw last season, celebrating as if he’d won the league as we stared in disbelief at the way three points had been thrown away.

Last weekend I was feeling strangely pessimistic about our chances against West Ham, and said a draw wouldn’t surprise me. This time, despite the fact that we often look sluggish in lunchtime kickoffs, I’m expecting a real performance, and a 3-0 win. The odds on that are pitifully weak, so the additional bet is for Arshavin to open the scoring at 11/2.

I don’t need to say how big a game this is, I just hope the players know it. After last season, we owe Spurs a beating. Time to deliver.

Enjoy the game.

A mix of experience and youth was enough to see off the challenge of Liverpool in an entertaining game, made all the more fun by the visitor’s admirable attacking intent. In the end, we sneaked home in one of the most enjoyable games I’ve seen all season.

Carling Cup sides are always difficult to predict, but I got nine of the starting eleven right before the game. Bendtner played, which surprised me as I expected him to be pencilled in for tomorrow’s derby, and Eastmond made a very impressive debut in the holding role. I don’t know what it is about our youngsters, but they don’t seem in the slightest bit overawed by these occasions, and Eastmond was no different, slotting in seamlessly.

The first half was the tale of two stunning goals – Merida lashing in a left foot belter than was hit so early that Cavalieri didn’t stand a chance, before Insua scored an equally impressive strike that dipped viciously over Fabianski’s head.

The latter goal was one of those where you instinctively look for fault in the keeper’s position, but he was only about three yards off his line, and the shot was hit was such venom that he, like Cavalieri, had no hope of saving it.

Elsewhere, Ramsey was running the show, while Bendtner also impressed, albeit seeming to try a little too hard – I got the impression he felt, as a senior player, he should score on these occasions, and he was trying efforts from crazy angles, with teammates better placed.

In the second half, Bendtner visibly relaxed, fitting more into the team flow, and got his reward with the winning goal, some good close control ending with a finish very similar to Torres’ at the weekend.

Liverpool, to their credit, went for it, and Babel came close to equalising before Senderos handled Aquilani’s overhead kick. Despite the fact it clearly hit his hands, they were in a natural position and it would have been harsh to give the spot kick.

Speaking of Aquilani, he looked class. But then his talent was never in doubt. His legs are.

Despite visibly tiring, we hung on, with Nasri and Eduardo completing a crucial ninety minutes for them, which also guarantees neither will start tomorrow.

It is difficult to pick out impressive performers, as there were plenty. Bendtner led the line well, Silvestre and Senderos were decent at the back, Fabianski’s return was assured, but the stars for me were the midfield trio – Eastmond, Merida and Ramsey in particular were outstanding. Diaby and Denilson, be warned.

So the quarter final line-up is complete, the other seven being United, Chelsea, City, Portsmouth, Spurs, Blackburn and Villa. It’s as strong a set of teams as I’ve seen at this stage of the competition. The draw is on Saturday.

And so we move on to the Spurs game tomorrow, which should be an absolute cracker (although hopefully not 4-4 again). I’ll preview that later.

Until then.

These days, it is noticeable how different the media message is. Suddenly, it’s ‘fun to watch the next generation’, rather than a mockery of the tournament. I guess there are only so many times our kids can demolish a lower end Premiership first team before they begin to earn some grudging respect.

Tonight, however, will see us field the most experienced side we’ve put out in this competition since we reached the final a few seasons ago. At one end, Eduardo will feature, as may Bendtner depending on his planned role in Saturday’s derby, while in defence, Silvestre and Senderos will get some much needed match practice.

Wilshere is injured, but returning in midfield is Samir Nasri, making his first appearance of the season after suffering a broken leg in the summer. Nasri is an interesting one, in the sense of what Wenger’s plans are for him. Personally, I think he’ll end up in the central three rather than the attacking trio, although he is probably ahead of Eboue if we continue to have injuries up front. But I actually believe Wenger sees Nasri as Song’s replacement while he’s away in January, and though that would nullify some of the attacking threat the Frenchman offers, he has shown signs of promise in that area of the field.

Wenger alludes to this here:

“I can play him where he is needed basically. I would say more in the defensive role now but, because he can dribble, he can play on the flanks too. He has pace and he can play in a role that is half a winger.”

It seems Nasri is being moulded into a ball-winning and forward-passing central midfielder, which in fairness is also what Ramsey is becoming. It seems that Wenger is not satisfied with the true Makelele-style holding midfielder, i.e. one who only breaks up play and leaves the creativity to others. It is noticeable how much Song’s attacking passes have improved in the last year, and it seems Nasri and Ramsey are his natural competition.

Elsewhere, the inclusion of Fabianski and Szczesny as the two keepers is either good or terrible news for Almunia. If he’s a glass half full guy, he could think that with Fabianski involved here, the Pole isn’t in contention for the number one jersey in the league, and therefore he only has Mannone to get past. Alternatively, if he’s feeling pessimistic, he may think that since Mannone isn’t in this squad either, the Italian is first choice and Almunia is getting well and truly frozen out.

Even Jens played cup football when he wasn’t in favour.

It is a strange one, and one that will play out over the next few weeks. If Mannone continues to be inconsistent, and Almunia fails to displace him, then the future looks bleak for the Spaniard. But I still think he’ll be back, sooner rather than later, perhaps even Saturday.

Returning to tonight, and I expect the team to be:

Fabianski

Gilbert-Senderos-Silvestre-Gibbs

Nasri-Ramsey-Merida

Watt-Eduardo-Sunu

[edit: I had put Vela in, but he's not in the squad - does anyone know why?]

I’m leaving Bendtner on the bench for this one as I think he’ll be starting against Spurs on Saturday. As for Liverpool, Aquilani will be in their squad for the first time, although he is unlikely to start, and I have to say I feel a little sorry for the guy – he is universally seen as Alonso’s replacement and the answer to all their woes, which is a lot of unfair pressure. Still, that’s what comes with his price tag.

I don’t expect Liverpool to field many first teamers – with a tricky trip to Fulham at the weekend, they’ll surely be prioritising that and next week’s crucial trip to Lyon in the Champions League. Lose both, and the main two trophies might be out of their grasp already.

So I’m predicting us to get our first victory against them since that 6-3 mauling in this competition three years ago, by a comfortable 3-1.

Enjoy the game, wherever you are.

Perhaps we can excuse the players for thinking the game was won at half time. I certainly did. West Ham were toothless, gutless, and quite frankly, hopeless in the opening 45 minutes. Upson cut a dispirited figure at the back, trying desperately to hold a wobbly defence together, Carlton Cole was equally alone up front. And we were 2-0 up thanks to a pair of incredibly simple goals – Van Persie tapping in after a complete mix up in the box, and then Gallas heading in a corner from six yards, with Green nowhere. Three points seemed assured.

I was already imagining what I’d be writing today, that West Ham looked a shadow of their former selves, and were truly in a relegation battle if they continued to show a lack of fight. But in the second half, they went for it. Credit must go to Zola, who threw caution to the wind, changed formation and went for it, risking a 5-0 thumping in the hope that he’d nick something.

That the goal which put them back in contention was fortuitous is irrelevant – they should never have been in a position where one lucky goal could see the game come to a tense finish. After a midweek game thrown away because of a lack of killer instinct, the last thing that should’ve happened was for the trick to be repeated. But in the second half, we cruised along, thinking the game was done and dusted. It wasn’t.

That said, the free kick that led to their first goal was exceptionally soft, but Mannone still should’ve made the routine save around the post. Instead, he was beaten in the flight, and palmed it straight back onto Cole’s head, who buried the chance.

Scott Parker then committed an outrageous dive, which the referee waved away but didn’t book him for, before picking up a yellow card just moments later. The inevitable then arrived when Cole was felled by Song – a soft spot kick but it was a foul, and a needless one at that. Diamanti scored.

Parker was then sent off, probably unfortunately, but you sensed our chance had gone. There was still time for Green to redeem himself by making a superb stop from Van Persie’s header, but in the end the draw felt like a defeat, two points thrown away that should have been sealed with ease.

It was certainly a draw that meant more than the Alkmaar one – we are cruising to qualification in the Champions League and those dropped points should be a simple and irrelevant blip. But we had a chance to go top of the Premiership by winning our two games in hand, and we messed it up.

Thinking positively, it is a timely reminder ahead of a North London derby that saw our most infamous capitulation of last season. If we’re two up this time, at least you can be sure we won’t be resting on our laurels. We owe them.

Don’t be too disheartened – we’re still looking very good. We just need to kill sides off, which is a much better situation that this time last year, when the likes of Fulham and Stoke were beating us with ease.

West Ham are really struggling at the moment, deep in relegation trouble, but to be honest that is a little misleading – with the players they have available, and a managerial team of Zola and Clarke, they are sure to pull away from trouble, probably while playing some decent football. They will certainly be up for the game this afternoon, and we’ll have to improve on Tuesday’s lethargic performance if we’re to take three points.

There isn’t a lot of team news – Rosicky, Nasri and Bendtner are all close to a return, but this afternoon may come too soon, while Eduardo will probably start on the bench. So it should be the same eleven as in midweek – even rotation to bring in the likes of Gibbs is unlikely given that he’ll start against Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

Speaking of Liverpool, they are aiming to avoid a fifth straight defeat this afternoon, and amusing as it would be to see them continue such as abysmal run (possibly even making it six against us later in the week), I’d much rather United dropped points. I don’t think Liverpool are a title threat this season simply because I think they did about as well as the could last year with the squad they have, still fell short, and then lost Alonso to Real Madrid and Mascherano’s will to an almighty sulk in the summer. Since then, they’re half the team they were.

United, on the other hand, are continuing their annoying habit of winning matches they barely deserve to – I really haven’t been impressed with them this season yet there they are at the top of the league. You can’t argue with their consistency.

I’m hoping for a Liverpool win, but I’m predicting a draw – Liverpool will be happy to end their run of defeats and United equally pleased to pick up a point at Anfield. That’s my particular bet of the day, and thanks to the folks at Sportingbet offering me a refund if I lose anyway, it’s a risk free one.

As for us, I’m strangely not feeling that positive, and a draw wouldn’t surprise me. But with West Ham in the form they’re in, we would be disappointed with anything other than three points, so I’m putting my optimistic hat on and backing a 2-1 win.

Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy the afternoon. Here’s to three points.

Four weeks later, and he remains the number one custodian despite Almunia’s return to fitness. It was a strange sight to see the Spaniard on the bench against Alkmaar – the one man we considered to have no realistic competition for his place was suddenly out of favour.

It is easy to draw comparisons with the way Almunia himself ousted Lehmann a couple of seasons ago, but the reality is much different – Jens had made a couple of horrendous mistakes, Almunia had been waiting in the wings for a number of seasons, and at thirty was in the prime of his career. Mannone, on the other hand, is a complete rookie, not even exposed to Carling Cup games, Fabianski being the cup keeper of last season. To promote someone of his experience may have been forced by the absence of the first two picks, but to keep him after their return is a massive risk.

The trouble Mannone has is that at his age, mistakes are inevitable, and sooner or later one will cost us a game. So far, his errors have come in games we’ve won regardless, and his best display, that fateful game at Craven Cottage, single handedly earned us three points. That the Alkmaar draw in midweek was his first taste of anything other than a win indicates that he hasn’t yet done enough wrong to warrant removal from the team. But twenty one year old goalkeepers are a liability at times, no matter how talented they may turn out to be – experience is crucial in a position where a single mistake is usually punished.

So, even if Wenger persists with the Italian, it is highly likely that sooner rather than later, he will be given good reason to reinstate Almunia as number one. I have to say I’m not entirely convinced by that approach – it won’t do Mannone’s confidence any good to be axed after costing us a game, but then on the flip side it could be even more of a kick in the teeth to be benched without just cause. When all in said and done, I’d be stunned if Almunia wasn’t back in the side sometime in November.

However, if his exile continues, we can expect the media to amplify the story, with inevitable reports of ‘bust-ups’ between him and Wenger. When that day arrives, I’ll have to crack a smile, as there is little less likely than two such calm characters at each other’s throat.

The one person I have real sympathy for in Fabianski. Certain of his position as number two after a series of promising cup displays (so much so that the first line of his player description on the official site still reads ‘Lukasz is now the established No 2 keeper behind Manuel Almunia’), this is exactly the situation he would have been waiting for. But unfortunately, his knee injury came at exactly the wrong time, and he missed the perfect opportunity to establish himself in the side. Now, instead of competing for the gloves, he finds himself looking over his shoulder at the other emerging talents at the club, and wondering how far down the pecking order he has dropped in his absence.

There is an argument that if Almunia is truly out of favour, Fabianski may get the nod when his returns to fitness in the next few weeks, but I think this would throw even more confusion on the situation. Competition for places is a great thing, but there needs to be some consistency at the back for a defensive unit to operate successfully. It seems to be a straight fight between Almunia and Mannone at present.

I expect Almunia to win out eventually, but as and when he does, his mental state could have a massive impact on our season. If his confidence is destroyed, so may be our chances of winning trophies. However, if he returns as hungry as when keeping Jens out of the side, then this might turn out to be a masterstroke of management.

Much of our season depends on it. Let’s hope the gamble pays off.

So what have I missed? Well, I caught the Alkmaar game in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and for the most part thought we looked comfortable. The Dutch champions certainly played some nice football, including one incredibly lengthy period of possession in the first half, but it never seemed threatening in any way, and once Cesc had fired us ahead after a defensive error, we looked in total control.

But in the second half, we seemed to lose our level somehow, and the equaliser was an inevitability that we were just hoping to avoid. It wasn’t the best performance, it wasn’t the best result, but it should have no bearing whatsoever on the group – we are still in prime position to win it with ease.

What might be affected is the Premiership. After the return match with Alkmaar, we travel to Wolves in the league, a match we would be expecting to win, but after matchdays five and six, we face Chelsea and Liverpool. To qualify after four games would allow those games to take complete focus, a luxury Liverpool certainly won’t have after losing two of their three opening games.

But in reality, we are heading towards such comfortable qualification (a win at home to Alkmaar gives us the mystical ten points), that rotation is still likely for those games. We already know that Wenger doesn’t set much stock in finishing top of the group, and as such I expect those huge league games to have complete priority if we do indeed beat the Dutch side in two weeks.

In other news, Wenger celebrated his 60th birthday today, and in very deliberate timing, the AGM was held, which was far less dramatic that the last one held in the Spring. The keeping situation was mentioned, with Wenger keen to stress that we are well equipped in that department. It is incredible to think that prior to the Fulham game, Mannone was competing with Szczesny to be third choice behind Almunia and Fabianski, and suddenly he is propelled to number one. I’ll cover this more in another article tomorrow.

Inevitably, the ownership issue was also raised, with Peter Hill-Wood not giving a lot away, simply suggesting the club was in good hands. Kroenke stayed silent throughout, but that isn’t a great surprise – if he is planning a takeover, there are strict rules on what you can and cannot say else your move is automatically blocked. In essence, he had two choices – state his intentions clearly or keep quiet. He chose the latter, which will inevitably lead to more questions from those who delight in destabilising us, when in reality it was just good business sense.

And that’s about it – I’ll examine the keeping situation a little more tomorrow.

Apologies for the late nature of this blog, I’m moving house this week and having made the slightly daft decision to do it all ourselves we’re a little under the cosh. Expect sporadic updates at best.

And neatly, sporadic is a good descripti0n of our performance on Saturday – never at our best, in the end we were comfortably too strong for a Birmingham side who were horribly defensive, not seeming to realise the tactic isn’t the best way to get a result against us anymore (that would be to come out and exploit our shaky defence). If you sit back against this Arsenal team, you’ll get punished, but I’m happy for the rest of the league to spend all season working that one out.

Having said the performance was bitty, it certainly didn’t start that way, and the two goal lead after twenty minutes was fully merited – Van Persie scoring for the fourth game in succession after beautifully controllingand finishing Song’s through ball, and then Diaby finishing with aplomb after good work from Eboue and Rosicky.

Perhaps at that point, we relaxed too much, and were guilty of conceding another soft goal, Mannone showing his inexperience by completely mistiming his jump after Diaby’s header had gone high in the air. The ball dropped to Bowyer, who made no mistake.

But in reality, aside from a cross-shot that Mannone palmed away well, the visitors never threatened to equalise, and the win was deservedly sealed by Arshavin, casually side footing home at the end of a quick counter attack. The Russian, so impressive at the moment, was on as a substitute for Walcott, who will miss 3-4 weeks with medial ligament damage in his knee, sustained in a heavy but fair challenge by Ridgewell.

There was nothing wrong with the challenge, but there was everything wrong with a section of Birmingham fans in the aftermath, singing ‘There’s only one Martin Taylor’ and showing themselves up to be complete and utter cretins. Wenger has his say here, and I have nothing to add – anyone with half a brain would condemn their actions.

The win elevates us back into the top four, with a game in hand and the best goal difference in the league, Chelsea and Liverpool losing to seal a wonderful weekend. The latter, of course, was courtesy of one of the weirdest goals I’ve ever seen, and one that should not have stood, after a beach ball deflected Bent’s shot in. There has been a huge amount of coverage of the incident, but the thing that stood out for me is how few people knew what the rule actually was.

Now, I play a lot of cricket, and that has some pretty weird rules (the sort of things that happen once in a lifetime). Believe me, the rulebook is immense, full of utterly crazy ‘what ifs’. But coaches, captains and umpires are all forced to sit through hours of testing on it before every season starts, and this is at club level. How could the referee and both managers not know the laws, being highly paid professionals? Surely they should know every nuance of the rulebook by now?

It certainly has been a fascinating season so far, and anyone who wr0te us off after two defeats is now looking a little foolish – Chelsea are still favourites despite doing the same, and if Liverpool continue their woeful form against United next weekend, they would have lost half of their opening ten games, a truly awful statistic.

I said at the start of the season that I didn’t think the likes of Man City were ready for a top four finish yet, and would only manage it if one of the incumbents had an appalling season. Well, one of them is.

Champions League tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be able to put something up before the game. Until then, enjoy your week.

With both players missing today – Eduardo through injury, and Taylor a combination of injury and poor form – animosity should be thin on the ground. In fact, perversely, the events of last year may actually benefit us, as Birmingham may have to stray away from the usual visiting tactic of roughing us up, else they risk widespread condemnation. For once, Wenger may be able to trust that the opposition focus on the football.

The team news is interesting – Almunia is fit and in the squad, but only on the bench after his extended ‘chest infection’, which now seems likely to have been a simple break to get himself back on track after a poor start to the season. Mannone keeps his place, Gibbs comes in for Clichy, Eboue for Sagna, and Walcott starts ahead of Arshavin, who will be the impact substitute if required.

As I write this, Chelsea are minutes away from losing to Villa, and with Liverpool missing Gerrard and Torres against Sunderland today, we have a great chance to improve our position even further.

Enjoy the game, wherever you are.

Italia 90 was my first World Cup, and I remember the old format – groups of four with one qualifier, groups of five with two, and since there was a lack of genuine minnows (no San Marinos back then), all the games were tough. France, Denmark and, ironically, Portugal failed to qualify despite having far better records against far tougher opposition than the Portuguese have managed this time around.

2. If the European system is bad, then the South American is a joke. Argentina lost six games and still qualified. How can a small nation possibly overachieve for eighteen games and qualify?

3. Argentina might have qualified, but under Maradona they are no threat for the World Cup itself. They look utterly disjointed, lacking in any tactical plan, and reliant on a couple of individuals to fire them through. Look at their team on Wednesday – some of it was excellent (Messi, Mascherano, Higuain), but the rest aren’t likely to scare anyone. Romero, Otamedi, and di Maria are all inexperienced, Veron will be 35 in March, and Guiterrez is hardly lighting up the Championship with Newcastle. And with Maradona in charge, there is always scope for crazy selections – Aguero wasn’t even on the bench.

4. David Beckham looks like an idiot. Seriously, what is with the caveman look?

5. Mind you, he can still play a bit, and will surely go to South Africa. But giving him the man of the match award for a half an hour appearance is a slap in the face for the rest of the players.

6. What has happened to Romania? Once a force in world football, they ended fifth in their group, sandwiched in between Lithuania and the Faroes, having been hammered 5-0 by Serbia at the weekend. Gheorghe Hagi must be despairing.

7. Croatia have fallen a long way since Euro 2008 too, where they were seconds away from the semi final. Ukraine’s inevitable victory over Andorra put them out, and to add insult to injury, neighbours Serbia won France’s group and even Bosnia have made the playoffs.

8. Egypt are doing their best to continue their woeful qualifying record – they haven’t played in the competition since 1990, despite winning the African Nations Cup three times since (twice, ironically, in the year of World Cups they failed to reach – 1998 and 2006). They must now beat Algeria, their undefeated group leaders, by three goals in the final match to qualify. A two goal victory would actually see both sides finish with identical records, and a 3-1 victory would cancel out the scoreline Algeria won their first meeting by, and would result in the drawing of lots.

9. The FIFA World Rankings are a joke. Looking at the top 25 to see who had surprisingly failed to qualify, you’ll find Croatia in ninth, which is a fair reflection of their recent success, the Czechs in 18th after a woeful campaign, Bulgaria in 19th, and then, in 22nd, Israel. Israel??? Fourth behind Switzerland, Greece and Latvia (who are, incidentally, way down in 47th, two places behind Gabon) in the current group, they also came fourth in qualifying for Euro 2008, and haven’t played in a major tournament since their one and only appearance in the World Cup in 1970. Why are they up in 22nd?

10. International fortnights stretch on painfully. Okay, we already knew that one.

At last, it is over, and from tomorrow, the real football returns. I’ll be previewing that later. Until then, enjoy your Friday.

It has been good news on the Arsenal front though – Gibbs scored for the Under 21s, Vela scored a beautifully taken goal for Mexico, Cesc got one for Spain, Gallas one for France, and even Senderos managed a brace – the Swiss was actually on a hattrick as early as the eighth minute against Luxembourg.

Elsewhere, Vermaelen was named Belgium’s captain, adding to the fantastic few months he is having, and while Belgium may no longer be among Europe’s elite, they did manage a decent win over Turkey in his first game with the armband, and it is a continuation of the high regard he is held in – he was Ajax skipper last season and at international level has got the nod ahead of more experienced campaigners such as Van Buyten.

Gunnerblog has a good piece here on how Vermaelen is a promising candidate for Arsenal captain as and when Cesc leaves. It is early days, but I’d tend to agree that the signs are good.

Of course, being a slow news week, the media have been in hyperdrive about a transfer window that is still three months away – Cesc, Merida and Clichy all rumoured to be leaving. Columns have to be filled somehow, I suppose, although I’d be amazed if there was anyone left buying a newspaper to read the ‘latest developments’ on a Cesc-Barcelona story.

One final thing to say today, and that is to ask you to go and download the latest Arsenal FC Weekly podcast on Arsenal FC Blog, which you can get here. It’s an ever-excellent listen, and last week Andy, blogger and host, invited me on to talk about the Blackburn victory, Cesc, Van Persie and also look back briefly over Wenger’s time in charge. Check it out if you can.

And that’s it for today. Less than a week until the real football returns. I can’t wait – can you?