Arsenal fell flat on their tummies last Sunday, flat as flat can be.

OK, it was one of the worst pitches that they've played on in centuries, and it was impossible for their Gunners to play their slick passing game, but we knew about this already. Chris Kirkland kindly informed us about a week ago that their pitch was utter shite, saying something along the lines of - "They've got skillful world class players, but goodness knows how they are going to pass the ball on our pitch". Steve Bruce said something along those lines a few days ago, and really everybody knew that trying to pass a football at the JJB was going to be something akin to passing gas on a first date with the girl of your dreams... i.e. this was not the place for it.

Arsene actually seemed to have the right idea up front - big boys Ade and Bendtner starting together for the first time should have provided an aerial threat. However, what seemed like a ploy to play more "direct" football was in reality just the fact that we only had two fit strikers in the squad.

And the great irony in this game was that we consistently refused to try the long ball apart from a short spell in the first half, opting instead to try our quick, short passing game on a pitch that had "DON'T PLAY A QUICK. SHORT PASSING GAME ON ME" written all over it. Or something like that.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, utterly outplaying Milan one night, and utterly dismaying on another

Well, Arsenal are back at the Emirates briefly (Chelsea up next week, so at least that's still in London). Boro are the visiting side, and Arsenal will be wanting to put this one right - they have lost just one game this season in the league, away to Middlesborough, and it was an embarrassing, excuse-less night for the Arsenal, they were poor.

The big news for this game is that Robin Van Persie might start - it's a welcome bit of news given that he needs match fitness for the run-in, and Middlesborough are a decent side that try to play football, and (hopefully) won't try to break anyone's legs. 

Theo Walcott is back in the frame, and that's another (albeit unreliable) goalscoring option to help relieve the burden on the somewhat exhausted, stretched Emmanuel Adebayor, who has performed well above expectations this season.

Predictions? 

The story was basically this.

Arsenal played 4 halves of football against AC Milan, over two legs, over two weeks. They dominated each one of those, and in the 4th half, they scored 2 goals. Think of it as superiority paying off.

"We're on our way, we're on our way,
We're going to Moscow, we're on our way,
How we get there we don't know!
How we get there we don't care!
All we know is that we're on our way!"

It was a cold night at the San Siro, and with near 5,000 of us packed high up into the away end at the San Siro, we needed to be in good voice and good spirits to keep warm. The atmosphere of the San Siro was eventually slightly overrated, the Milan fans made a bit of noise pre-kickoff, unleashed a whole bunch of glitter and cheers as the game started, had a few bouts of whistling, and went absolutely crazy for about 3 or 4 seconds right at the start when Kaka did a trick. Otherwise, they were mostly a passive bunch, and got quieter and quieter as the saw Arsenal take control. The euphoria for us of Cesc's goal was met by a steady flow of Milan fans making way for the exits.

The Arsenal dominated Milan on the pitch, and the Arsenal fans dominated Milan fans in the stands, and you can't say that victory for either was undeserved.

There have been enough details about the game all across newspapers and the web for me to not bother too much with details, but the team was just outstanding. Manu Eboue was the only lacklustre performer, seeming more mentally uninvolved than anything else - wasting the ball, avoiding tackles, and running lazily. He dived, and was fortunate to not be severely punished when badly fouling Paolo Maldini. Even Abou Diaby, he of recently lazy form, stepped up his game to an acceptable level.

Milan were disappointing really - although Flamini had Kaka in his pocket (and Cesc made sure he put him back in there whenever he popped his head out), the Brazilian didn't really know what to do or where to go. As a result he tried to go it alone, and with young Pato confused, and Pippo Inzaghi having one of his more primadonna-esque games, he failed to have an impact.

They missed Seedorf, yes, but I'm not sure that Milan could have put out a better side with this squad that they have. It's far too aged and predictable, and they will really be doing some serious shopping this summer. They lack dynamism, and need a bit of freshness.

Pato will of course be a big plus for them, he was their best attacker on the night, and at 18 he already has the ability to compete, all he lacks is the experience.

For Arsenal, it will be a huge boost after a bad Novemeber. They are only a point clear at the top now, and will need to refocus now; the win in Milan will have given them the belief to do that.

Of course, the big challenge now is to go to Wigan and win on Sunday. On Tuesday, Arsenal outplayed and outfought a Milan side on a great pitch with great players who had to attack to win. On Sunday, Arsenal will have to play a Wigan side on a simply awful pitch, against some dodgy players who will be fighting to not lose. It will involve a fair amount of steel, patience, and tactical flexibility. Nicklas Bendtner might have a role to play, since Arsenal will need to seriously consider the direct route - through balls, and little one-two passes are going to be disrupted by the rough surface and the (possibly) rough tackling.

They can possibly lose just one more game this season, and draw two at the maximum, without losing the title - even those estimates are probably a bit generous.

It's great to hear Cesc Fabregas talk about his commitment to the Arsenal, and how he wants to stay, but it's a little weird to hear him talk about a contract extension, when he signed an 8 year deal just two years ago.

Fabregas's excellent performances during the run to the Champions League final, and the promise of his fellow youngsters had led to him penning an 8 year deal, until 2014. This was designed to ward off interest from other clubs, as well as show that Arsenal were keeping their top players and building a consistent base for future success.

Transfer speculation of course continued, primarily because football clubs and newspapers in Spain would probably crumple up and die if they didn't produce copious amounts of transfer bullshit everyday, but Fabregas kept reaffirming his commitment.

Well today, he has come up with these quotes in an interview with Cadena Ser:

"I have a contract in force until 2014, I have six years remaining and I am talking with my club, who are interested in renegotiating it. I want to succeed at Arsenal and that the club wants me is fundamental for me."

It would be interesting to know what kind of terms this extension would be on. Still, Arsenal being Arsenal, we'll never find out anything other than "on a long-term deal, for an undisclosed fee". I'm sure his wages were already quite good, but they'll be bumped up a fair bit now.

Excellent news though. Arsenal have been playing some fantastic stuff, and Cesc is always at the heart of it, and will be influential to the future of it as well. Cescy football.

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the table to 5 points today, which a 2-0 win over Blackburn in London. Senderos set them on their way quite early, heading home an Eduardo corner in the 7th minute, after some awful marking from Blackburn. Arsenal then dominated the next 20 minutes or so, without scoring, and that allowed Blackburn to come back into it. Rovers couldn't really fashion any chances though, and the Arsenal defence was excellent. Then late on, Alexander Hleb (who had been very good) found space on the right and squared the ball to Adebayor (who had been very shit), and the Togo-stick took either a really brilliant or awful first touch with his left, and thumped the ball home with his right. Game set and match.

Hleb excepted, the best players on show were the defensive ones. Adebayor can't be expected to be amazing in every match, but he was really crap today, although much improved in the second half. Flamini had a very strong game and was really influential. Cesc was craft, if subdued, and Gilberto and Eduardo were erratic but OK. Gilberto doesn't seem like he will be here next season.

The defence though was excellent. Lehmann was calm and solid, Sagna was his usual supercharged, all-action self, and Clichy was solid and alert. Senderos continues to grow in confidence with every game, and his goal was the icing on the cake in this performance. Gallas however was exquisite. Every tackle and interception was excellent, he read the play flawlessly, and made a few drives upfield trying to spur on and support the attack. He was especially important when the team kept conceding possession and gave Blackburn the advantage - he popped up time and time again to win back the ball, and allowed the team to keep its head.

For the first time in a long while, the main Arsenal centreback has the ability to play on either side of central defence. Gallas normally plays on the left when Kolo Toure is in the side, but has been equally adept and impressive on the right side, something which has allowed the defence to stay sharp and settled.

There were previously always problems on this front. Tony Adams preferred the left side of central defence as well, and this worked fine with Steve Bould or Martin Keown complementing him. Adams was accomplished enough to not let playing on the other side be an issue, but his preference was well known. Sol Campbell then arrived, and he too preferred Adams' part of the defence. However, they overlapped for only 1 season, most of which Adams was injured for. Campbell was truly god awful when played on the right-side of central defence, but luckily this was not a problem, as Kolo complemented him perfectly. Senderos too, like Campbell and Adams before him, prefers the left-side, and as a result the Campbell-Senderos partnership was one of the worst seen in recent years.

So after the hiccups and injury problems of 2006/07, the Arsenal central defence finally looks like a top notch unit. Toure and Gallas were hailed as a potential "dream patnership" when the latter signed, and although it took a season to realise that dream, it has happened. Gallas is imperious at the back, and the club finally have a range of good options in central defence. Because of his versatility, Kolo-Senderos, Kolo-Gallas, and Gallas-Senderos are all viable options.

And don't forget about Johan Djourou. He played on the left-side in Arsenal's win at Old Trafford last season, but plays on the right for club and country when paired with Swiss teammate Senderos. His return from injury will be much appreciated methinks.

Well, that's only half the story, but yes, the usually uninvolved Arsene Wenger has decided to interfere in player affairs.

Adebayor's celebration this season has largely involved running towards the fans, sliding across the turf on his knees. However, Wenger has asked him not to celebrate in this way because of an incident that happened in 1997 with Patrick Vieira.

Vieira went for exactly the came celebration, but ended up injuring his knee, and spent 5 weeks out. At the time, Arsenal still had David Platt, Manu Petit, Ray Parlour and Gilles Grimandi to provide cover in central midfield, but if Adebayor got injured now, the team would be in serious trouble.

This also reminds me of another incident back in 2000 (or maybe it was 1999), where Thierry Henry ran towards the corner flag to celebrate - he pulled it back, and unfortunately was injured when it rebounded and hit him!

Do you know of any weird celebration related injuries? Let us know below! 

Sky might have awarded Man of the Match to Emmanuel Adebayor, but Mathieu Flamini was the really outstanding player in this game.

That's not to say that Ade was bad - he gave their defence a torrid time as usual, and of late he always looks like he's going to score. His header, the opening goal, was perfect, and set the wheels in motion.

However it was Flamini who provided the cross for that goal, making a wonderful run from midfield down the right, before taking his time to choose his options, and delivering an arcing, dipping cross that was perfectly weighted for Adebayor to run onto.

Flamini has been in good form for a while now, tackling, passing, and occasionally running with the ball. He's also happy to drop the "Arsenal approach" once in a while and have a shot from distance when he sees the opportunity, and adds an element of directness when the play is too intricate.

It was these qualities that saw him add the coupe de grace with a magnificent long range goal. Cesc passed the ball square to him near the left-centre, and what happened next seemed almost scripted. Mathieu took a single touch to set himself up, and fired a thumping, bending shot with his right foot high into the far, opposite corner. There was absolutely no hesitation on his part, and it was the sign of a player in form.

The crowning goal came from Cesc, and was his first league goal since November. Nicklas Bendtner brought down a high ball and cushioned it perfectly for Cesc to stab home with his left foot. Cue overexuberant celebrations where the rest of the team, especially Adebayor, did their best to congratulate Bendtner in some sort of show of solidarity.

It was a great performance, and Newcastle were helpless. I think they managed just one shot on goal, and Keegan will once again be wondering what he needs to do to make Michael Owen once again look like a top striker again.

As for Flamini, he can't sign a new deal fast enough. It's not just his tackling, intercepting and attacking play that his made him outstanding this season, it's his leadership and enthusiasm. The 4 starting midfielders - Cesc, Flamini, Hleb and Rosicky have a great friendship amongst them, Senderos and Clichy have been there a long time as well, and Flamini has started to boss them all. They're all familiar with each other, and the Flamster keeps them alert - telling them to mark people, making sure they're aware on free-kicks and corners, and keeping a watchful eye on any gaps that open up. He's also got a real fighting spirit, and has gotten involved in all the scraps this season - his feistiness is a tremendous asset! 

Having been vanquished in the FA Cup on Saturday, Kevin Keegan's men return to the Emirates Stadium in what will probably be a much changed encounter, in terms of both personnel and tactics.

Keegan has struggled to provide any kind of attacking impetus, which is what he's known for. Granted, it's only been two games, but all they've managed is a single, solitary shot on goal.

They passed well enough against Arsenal on Saturday, before being taken apart after Adebayor scored the first, but that was a cup-tie, and the league will be different, because there are points at stake.

So it remains to be seen whether Keegan will ditch his attacking mindset and come in an go with a 4-5-1 and try to battle for some kind of result. After all, he wouldn't want his comeback to have ended before it's even begun.

Arsenal will change a few personnel around - Theo Walcott and Justin Hoyte both started at the weekend, and I expect them to be rested.  Almunia will return as well. With injuries to Rosicky and Van Persie, I don't expect too many changes elsewhere in the side. Theo will feature as a sub, but might even be in contention to come in for Hleb.

GK: Almunia

RB: Sagna
CB: Gallas
CB: Senderos
LB: Clichy

RM: Hleb/Theo
CM: Cesc
CM: Flamini
LM: Diaby

ST: Adebayor
ST: Eduardo

As for Newcastle, they always have ever-changing team news, but today's lineup should look almost exactly like the one at the weekend (4-4-2):
GK: Given, RB: Carr, CB: Taylor, CB: Rozehnal, LB: Enrique, RM: Milner, CM: Butt, CM: N'Zogbia, LM: Duff, ST: Owen, ST: Smith

There's not too many changes that Kevin can make, but Rozehnal might be better equipped to handle Ade's aerial threat. They will probably start Smith, because he grafts and can drop deep to make it a 4-5-1 when needed, but if not then Viduka will have some part to play after returning from injury.

Well, the title is oversimplifying it a little bit, but let's not lose sight of everything in the midst of all the fallout from the Adebayor-Bendtner incident, and Spurs' champagne-spraying celebrations (as if they'd won the Champions' League or something).

The Carling Cup is, and always has been Arsenal's 4th priority. The Carling Cup, as Juande Ramos told us recently, was Tottenham's No. 1 target, and Dimitar Berbatov even said this was their "match of the year".

Hence we saw an extremely pumped Spurs team, at home, on the cusp of a Wembley final, playing a disjointed Arsenal side that have the slight distractions of competing for the league, and being in the Champions League AND the FA Cup.

The Spuds haven't won in this fixture since 1999, and that pathetic record of theirs was bound to end sometime. This was the perfect opportunity for it - at home, Carling Cup semi-final (which they messed up last year), and against their local rivals' second/youth side. They played like it was their "Match of the Year", and sadly we played like it was our lowest priority competition. However, while defeat is somewhat (only slightly) palpable, the scoreline was the shocking bit.

And on that, I have nothing to say other than "WHAT THE FUCK?". At 2-0 I shook my head, but though OK there's a chance. At 3-0 I grimaced, and at 4-0 I burst out laughing from the sheer absurdity of it all - who would have thought? Spurs up 4-0 against the Arsenal in a cup semi-final. Happily for them the record books will not tell us that the Carling Cup is a mickey mouse tournament, nor that Arsenal played a secondary side, but that's the price of losing.

Credit to them, they were excellent on the day, and quite clinical, but some of the Arsenal players were god awful. It wasn't even that weak of an Arsenal side, with Gallas and Sagna drafted in because of injury, and Hleb playing on the right to add some creativity. Fabregas even played most of the game after Denilson had come off injured after 20 minutes. Some of the players just did not seem up for it, and captain William Gallas particularly was awful.

Arsene Wenger gave in to the temptation of including some senior players, understandable given the size and nature of the fixture, but I understand completely his regrets in not letting some of the youngsters have a go and playing the players that he did, because some of them were just not in the game. 

The players will have to respond at the weekend against Newcastle, and it will be difficult with the cloud of the whole Bendtner-Adebayor clash hanging over them. Adebayor's behaviour was seriously, seriously out of order, and no matter how much he's done for the club, striking a junior teammate in public, in a game such as that, is completely unacceptable. While Bendtner is a cocky, mouthy lad, he is one of the family, and i'm sure the players and other people within the club are just shocked by what Ade has done.

There is some serious patching up to do.

Arsenal struggled, and probably came away with an undeserved 1-1 draw against Spurs in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi final at Ashburton Grove. It was Tottenham who created the most chances and controlled most of the play, with Dimitar Berbatov especially impressive, but Theo Walcott shot deflected in off his own chest to steal a draw for the Gunners after Jermaine Jenas had given their local rivals the lead.

Let's keep this all in perspective however - Tottenham's first team put in one of their best performances of the season, and Arsenal's second team put in one of their worst performances of the season, and Spurs still couldn't beat us.

The goals are below:

Unfortunately Arsenal's thinning squad took further blows as Robin Van Persie, Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos were all injured. With Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Alex Song away in Ghana for the African Cup of Nations, and Lassana Diarra looking likely to leave, there suddenly looks to be a big shortage of defensive talent in the squad.

Gallas is the only recognised first-choice centreback, and although Justin Hoyte filled in well in the second-half for Djourou, he is not going to win many balls in the air. That might mean Gilberto dropping back alongside Gallas, but then with Diarra possibly leaving, it leaves Mathieu Flamini as the sole recognised defensive/holding midfielder.

Van Persie's unfortunate attempt at a comeback will be regarded less seriously at the moment due to the fine form of Eduardo, but things can change very easily. It's a big month or two for Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger just might look into bringing some players in, perhaps even on loan.

A fact that many people are unaware of, but which is still quite outstanding, is that Arsene Wenger has never lost to lower-league opposition in his 11+ years as Arsenal manager. His 616 games as an Arsenal manager have included 98 cup ties, but none of them have ever been lost to lower league opposition, and that continued to be the case today as Burnley were edged out by a patchy Arsenal side.

It was a mix of youth and experience - Sagna was restored to right-back, Toure and Eboue played 90 minutes and gave whole-hearted "last" performances before leaving for the African Cup of Nations, and Gilberto and Lehmann got some first team action. There were no real surprises in the line-up, with Traore coming in for the rested Clichy, and Diaby and Denilson completing the midfield. Up front it was Eduardo and Bendtner, and the side was altogether too strong for Burnley.

Eduardo scored the first goal after being put through by a nicely weighted Toure long pass, which he controlled and then carefully poked past the onrushing Gabor Kiraly. The Crozilian then played a simple slide rule pass into Bendtner's run, and the Dane rounded Kiraly before slotting home in one cool movement.

Burnley didn't offer too much, but they had the first chance of the match, with Kyle Lafferty thumping a header against the bar. Lafferty was then sent off for a clumsy lunge at Gilberto. It wasn't two-footed, but the foot was high off the ground and it could have done some serious damage if Gilberto's leg had been planted.

Overall, Owen Coyle can be proud of the effort his boys put in, but they will need much more than fighting spirit to improve things in the league.