Infrequent visitors will be pleased to note that I do not post frequently. This is mainly because I can't usually think of anything worth saying, but I am also one lazy arse when it comes to typing. However, every now and then I am galvanized into action, usually after a painful defeat or superb performance. Tonight is no exception, but I have a strange feeling of hope about me.

I think it is because we have reached the nadir of our incapability in Europe. We can now go on and win Europe's top prize knowing that fate has left the bad times behind.

You may think I am barking *woof woof* but I think it was Naz and the Plastic Population who put it so eruditely when they bemoaned that "The only way is up".

Oh, plus we need to spend a few shekels on the sort of experienced players that those clubs that are consistently competing for the top honours routinely buy. I'm not saying we should spend £20-30 million on individuals but our squad has typically been decimated with injuries for the last two seasons and our strength in depth just is not there, or if it is, it does not get a showing. Where are the utility players, the ordinary players that we complain about in other squads? The consistent players. The ones who slot into the squad seamlessly and do not become instant liabilities?

We have become like a team of savants at times, capable of moments of sublime brilliance, but prone to forget the basics; the getting back to defend, the attacking of the loose ball in the opposing team's penalty area, chasing the opponents in possession and closing down the space, as well as the the need to be more direct. We also seem to be the most wasteful team at set plays. How many times does the corner ball sail harmlessly over the 18 yard box and out for a throw/goal kick, for example.

The trouble with hot house kids is that they become specialists in generally one area - the brilliant nuclear physicist who cannot change a plug, the virtuoso violinist who fails to see the lack of green man at the pedestrian crossing. By all means drive your kids forward to be geniuses but don't forget the basics in English and Maths.

Result – one on-line dictionary defines it as a desirable or beneficial consequence, outcome, or effect. Progression to the last eight of the champions league would certainly seem to suggest that that is indeed the perfect definition. Most Gooners reading this will certainly know that the team rode their luck in Rome and the result is all that mattered on the night. However, after the wreath of laurel leaves lies discarded at the airport and the cold light of dawn has turned a few times since, many fans are reflecting upon where the current team is going and whether or not it has the capacity to get there. Several blogs have stated in no uncertain terms that Arsenal, out of the remaining clubs, have the team least likely to progress to the semis, let alone having any chance of returning to Rome in May.

But why the negativity? We would certainly not be the first team to get so far winning ugly or via penalty shoot outs, as we would also not be the first team to go the distance having so few chances. We would not even be the first Arsenal side to do it that way – Copenhagen '94 was hardly a night of footballing genius on our part. Even the '05 FA Cup was won in a similar way, but history does not show the quality, just the result. Arsenal have been on the end of those sort of results as well, despite our ability on the pitch. The fact is that winning ugly is what football is about for 90% of the time, so why as fans should we not be willing to see our team shrug of its propensity for flair and attractive football in favour of the insipid, ground out, uninspired and dare I say unsightly version of the game? Why should we not be prepared to see our team win ugly more often and why seem so disappointed when we do? Have we become such footballing purists that we cannot accept anything but free flowing total football? For some I suspect that is the case, but actually history is more likely to point to the fact that the result has always mattered more than how it was obtained. Yes, it is a fantastic feeling to know you have won in the best way possible, but moral high ground, while easy to defend and hang on to, is often more easily bypassed as the battle for results moves swiftly passed.

If we do return to Rome in May, don't expect it to be because we are masters of our own brand of breath-taking football, but instead because we are capable of rolling with the punches when we need to and standing up to the test when it counts.