First Knock-out Round, Leg 2

AC Milan 0
Arsenal 2 Fabregas, Adebayor

Arsenal won 2-0 on aggregate

It was such a magnificent performance by Arsenal at the San Siro where the home side, AC Milan had never lost to an English side prior to this match.

The odds were against the Gunners from the beginning and the first twenty minutes certainly indicated it would be a long long night for the men from North London. Milan plan was to look for an early goal with Pippo Inzaghi partnering Pato up-front with World Player of the Year, Kaka playing in the hole.

Manuel Almunia certainly had to be alert but then, the Gunners began to assert control and prevented Milan from creating any clear cut chance.

They went close a number of times during the first half with the closest chance fell to Cesc Fabregas whose effort left Zelko Kalac in the Milan goal stranded but much to the Spaniard's disappointment it hit the bar and went out.

The match was Arsenal to win and a single goal scored by the visitor meant that Milan had to double it. Then five minutes from time Fabregas was given a bit of space and he let fly from 30 metres.

It seemed a bit unreal as I watched the ball travelled ever so slowly past Kalac and only after it hit the back of the net only I believed it had gone in. It was such a joy especially when it was away at the holders' home stadium.

Milan now had to score twice and from the way events unfolded during the match it was very unlikely. Just to add the icing on the cake substitute Theo Walcott's pace brought him past a defender and his low cross was diverted by Manu Adebayor into the net for his first Champions League in Arsenal colours.

It was indeed a magnificent night in Milan for Arsenal.

...

Arsenal 1 Bendtner
Aston Villa 1 Senderos OG

Arsenal again failed to get the maximum points in the Premier League after a battling performance by a resilient Aston Villa side came within seconds of becoming the first team to beat Arsenal at the Emirates this season.

However, Nicklas Bendtner came to the home side's rescue with the equalising goal with what turned out to be the last kick of the match. Arsene Wenger's side was not at their best with Aston Villa winning more of the ball and created the better chances.

However, they would not have breached Manuel Almunia's goal if not for a deflection off defender Phillipe Senderos as he tried to block a Gabriel Agbonlahor's low pass from reaching its target.

It was a case of misfortune which seemed to begin haunting Arsenal since the last few weeks.

Almunia had to work hard. He prevented Arsenal from going further behind when he palmed a Shaun Maloney's pile-driver onto the post and later fielded a goal bound shot from Marlon Harewood as the visitors continued to employ their fast strikers to end the match for the home side.

Abou Diaby seemed a bit rusty and it was not really surprising to see him coming off on the hour mark. Bendtner came on in his place with Theo Walcott pushing out wide on the right and Alex Hleb changed to the opposite flank.

However, Arsenal still could not find their way around the Villa defence which was re-enforced by their whole line-up until the last minute of the match. Gael Clichy floated the ball from the left, and for the first time Manu Adebayor was able to get a clean header.

The ball fell to the big Danish youngster who made no mistake from a metre out to ensure Arsenal remain on top of the league, at least for now.

It was just about what they deserved.

...

Birmingham City 2 McFadden 2
Arsenal 2 Walcott 2

Theo Walcott opened his Premier League goals account for Arsenal but the day will be more remembered as a Black Saturday for Gooners all over the world after a horrendous tackle by Martin Taylor on Eduardo saw the Croatian international being stretchered off just after five minutes with a broken leg.

Taylor saw red for his action.

It was quite a shocker for everybody and it seemed to affect Arsenal more than the home side. The injury caused a delay which nearly lasted ten minutes and upon resumption the mood at St Andrews was quite sombre.

James McFadden put the home side ahead on the half an hour mark with a free-kick but Arsenal forced a number of saves from Maik Taylor who continued to frustrate the visitors throughout the match.

But Arsenal levelled the match after the interval with a poacher's goal by Walcott, his first fro Arsenal in the Premier League. He then showed his class five minutes later with a fine low shot past Taylor after robbing Liam Ridgewell off the ball.

Arsenal should have sewn up the points when a wonderful pass from Cesc Fabregas put Manu Adebayor clear in a 2 versus 1 situation with Nicklas Bendtner providing the support. The Togolese chose to have a go himself and Taylor managed to palm it away.

Had he chosen to lay the ball into the young Danes's path, it would have presented him with an open goal and that would be game set and match for Arsenal.

Adebayor's selfishness came to haunt Arsenal in the dying seconds after Gael Clichy was robbed of the ball by Stuart Parnaby. The French international made a superb recovery and took the ball cleanly but the referee thought otherwise and awarded a penalty.

McFadden blasted the ball home for an undeserved point for the home side, which they would not have gotten if Adebayor had been more generous earlier to Bendtner.

...

First Knock-out Round, Leg 1

Arsenal 0
AC Milan 0

The Gunners dominated most of the proceedings and could have taken a lead to San Siro in two weeks time but a goalless draw against the holders was not a bad result at all.

Milan came with their Brazilian flavour front-line. Kaka had Pato for company throughout the night but both of them could not really find the back of the Arsenal's net.

One thing that will concern most Gooners though was the extent of the injury sustained by central defender Kolo Toure who had to limp off just after five minutes. Phillipe Senderos came on and he put up a reasonable performance though the lack of pace in central defence is something that Arsene Wenger will worry about.

The best chance of the night perhaps could be attributed to Manu Adebayor when he could only head the ball onto the bar after a wonderful cross by substitute, Theo Walcott.

To San Siro then, to finish off the Italian Job!

...

Man United 4 Rooney, Fletcher 2, Nani
Arsenal 0

Arsenal simply did not turn up at Old Trafford for this encounter which saw another big defeat against one of their big rivals in the English game. Manures just simply strolled without breaking any sweat.

The least said is the better.

...

Arsenal 2 Senderos, Adebayor
Blackburn 0

Arsenal went into action later than the rest of the Premier League and after knowing the results from the Manchester derby and the dour offering from Stamford Bridge, they knew this was a big opportunity to open a bit of a gap at the top of the table.

There was no way the 6-2 scoreline from last season would be repeated but what most Gooners were afraid of this morning was the repeat of goalless FA Cup tie that eventually saw Arsenal being knocked out in the replay.

But central defender Phillipe Senderos calmed the home side's nerves with a well taken header from an Eduardo corner. The Swiss had managed to wriggle free from the attention of his marker Benni McCarthy to plant the header past Brad Friedel.

The American goalkeeper denied Arsenal time and time again to keep his side within touching distance. However, they did not create many opening despite another good display from former Arsenal youngster, David Bentley.

It was more or less the same like last season match with Blackburn giving a good account of themselves. Like last season the goals came during the latter part of the match. However this time it was just a single goal in injury time by, who else but Manu Adebayor.

It was a good finish to a good move by Alex Hleb who himself found the woodwork twice during the match. The Belarussian's skills brought him into the edge of the box where he passed it to Adebayor.

The Togolese lifted the ball and in one swift movement volleyed the ball past Friedel who had no chance of getting to the ball despite his best attempt.

Five points clear at the top but it is still a long way to go.

...

Manchester City 1 Fernandes
Arsenal 3 Adebayor 2, Eduardo

It was a fruitful trip to the City of Manchester Stadium after the Gunners collected all the points on board against a City side that has yet to taste defeat at home prior to last night's match.

Manu Adebayor scored for the eighth successive match and assisted the one scored by Eduardo. Gelson Fernandes made the most of an error by Gael Clichy who lost the ball to Vedran Corluka. The Croatian international squared the ball to Fernandes who finished with a low ball past Jen Lehmann.

The goal kept the home side within touching distance of Arsenal throughout the match until Adebayor found the net for the 17th time in the Premier League this season with just two minutes remaining.

Earlier he opened the scoring after his attempt took a deflection off Micah Richard carried the ball past Joe Hart. Bacary Sagna made the all important run on the right which was detected by Cesc Fabregas.

The second goal came from the opposite flank where Glichy floated in a cross which Adebayor nodded down to Eduardo who was left unmarked. With his back to the goal the Croatioan international controlled the ball with his chest before delivering a wonderful acrobatic shot despite the close attention from Hart.

After the rest of the matches were played yesterday Arsenal remained on top, two points clear from manure whose late Carlos Tevez's goal spared them from defeat at Sp*ds while Chelski also had to share the spoils at Portsmouth.

It was a good weekend for the Gunners.

...

Arsenal 3 Adebayor2, Butt
Newcastle United 0

Arsenal 3 Adebayor, Flamini, Fabregas
Newcastle United 0

Kevin Keegan had two shots at bringing down Arsenal but failed to even score a goal against the Gunners, which saw his team being eliminated from the FA Cup and remained winless since he made his second comeback to the Geordies.

But for Arsene Wenger, the most important thing for him to emerge from the two encounters was the fact Manu Adebayor has proven he is more than ready to take over from Thierry Henry as Arsenal main source of goals. The lanky Togo striker has scored nine goals from his last seven matches to become the club leading goalscorer.

During the two matches against Newcastle, Adebayor scored using his head, left foot and right foot and demonstrated that he has the strength and determination to hold off challenges from defenders.

Comparisons with the legendary Henry are inevitable but both of them differ in their approach to the game thus it would not be a like to like measurement. However, they share a common commodity which is goals. Now it is easy to see why Wenger is happy with the striker he signed from his former club AS Monaco during the summer of 2007.

One must note that it is not about Adebayor either. Another important player to emerge this season is Matt Flamini who capped a fine performance in the second meeting with a gem of a strike from 30 metres. The French utility player is steadily cementing his place in the middle of the park since the beginning of the season.

The fact that he has yet to sign a new contract with Arsenal is a worrisome situation for many Arsenal fans despite the assurances by both Wenger and Flamini himself. Even though there are a number of players who could easily fill the position such as Gilberto, Abou Diaby and Denilson; losing Flamini would be categorised as a 'disaster' to Arsenal.

The two wins over Newcastle saw Arsenal moving into the fifth round and a showdown with arch rivals manure in Manchester and also moving three points clear of the Red Devils at the top of the Premier League, at least for 24 hours.

Before the visit to Old Trafford sometimes in February, there is an earlier trip to the city with the blue half of Manchester expecting Sven Goran Eriksson to avenge their 1-0 defeat at the Emirates earlier this season, which saw them losing the top spot and Kaspar Schmeichel conded his first goal in the Premier League.

This time around, the red half of the city is equally praying hard for their neighbours to do them a huge favour.

...

Preview
Arsenal versus Newcastle United

It is going to be an interesting match when Arsenal receive the visit of Newcastle United in this 4th Round tie of the FA Cup. Earlier this season Nicklas Bendtner scored twice to dump the Geordies out of the Carling Cup in our 2-0 win.

Things have changed a bit since that night. Big Sam Allardyce had departed and was replaced by Toons' favourite Kevin Keegan, taking charge of United for the second time in his managerial career.

With the elimination from the Carling Cup by local rivals Tottenham Hotsp*ds in midweek still fresh on his mind, Arsene Wenger would take this opportunity to restore morale to the Gunners ranks by dumping Newcastle out from the cup.

Although, it is easier said than done with a growing injury list and unavailability of key players away at the African Nations' Cup right now. However, Wenger would be able to call upon Gael Clichy and Phillipe Senderos again to form the back-line with skipper William Gallas and right-back Bacary Sagna.

With Robin Van Persie still unavailable, it seems the partnership of Manu Adebayor and Eduardo again will feature with Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky providing the width and support from the flanks.

As usual, Cesc Fabregas is expected to be the focal point for our creativity and the cover to the back-line would be provided by the reliable Matt Flamini. Jens Lehmann who turned down a move to his native Germany last week is expected to man the posts.

Probable line-up: Lehmann; Sagna, Clichy, Gallas, Senderos; Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Rosicky; Adebayor, Eduardo

...

Tottenham 5 Jenas, Bendtner (OG), Keane, Lennon, Malbranque
Arsenal 1 Adebayor

Arsenal lost 6-2 on aggregate

I missed the match. When the pages of ESPN Soccernet and Arsenal.com were fully loaded on this screen I scarcely could believe the scoreline. It has been a while since we last taste defeat at the hands of Sp*ds and I have had this feeling it is something that was inevitable to happen.

Well, it happened last night, or rather this morning considering our time.

After luckily avoiding defeat at the Emirates during the first leg, I had been bugged by the feeling that the second leg encounter would see us losing to them for the first time, especially Juande Ramos would definitely name his best eleven against our youngsters.

Nevertheless, we have last season experience to bank on when we came back from two goal down to draw at the Lane before finishing the job at the Emirates. This time around, there was no such performance from us.

We trailed by two goals after Jermaine Jenas had opened the scoring just after three minutes and the unfortunate Nicklas Bendtner headed past Lukasz Fabianski from a corner. Then the score became 4-0 after Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon finished the chances that came their way.

Despite Manu Adebayor's scoring his 16th goal this season with twenty minutes to go, there was no comeback this time from the young Gooners. Steed Malbranque nothed the fifth at the end but Arsene Wenger was not that worried with the scoreline. Instead he saw it as a learning curve for the youngsters.

Furthermore, he insisted that his priority lies with the bigger prizes such as the Premier League, the European Champions League and the FA Cup. Hey! It seems that we are still on course for the 'Treble'.

Not bad, not bad at all.

...