So after all their chatter and all their talk, Tottenham Hotspur's brilliant plan to end their decade-long winless streak against Arsenal was to adopt a five-man midfield and hoof it long to Peter Crouch.  Or basically, the kind of "attack" that Harry Redknapp might have used at Pompey.

Yeah, that was going to work....

On a day where Arsenal were missing Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela and Johan Djourou, a day where Samir Nasri and Eduardo were on the bench after returning from injury and a day that saw Nicklas Bendtner leave early with a knock, Arsenal didn't change their style or their expectations.   That's depth.  That's strength.  That's what separates a title challenger like Arsenal from a pretender like Tottenham.

Now, for much of the first half, the Spurs' gameplan worked well for them.  They harried and hurried the Arsenal...

I've been away due to, well, life issues.  Let's just say they go around the current economic situation AND how it's affected the job market. 

A few thoughts ahead of the big North London derby:

1. I'm expecting Vito Mannone to start ahead of Manuel Almunia.  And if he does, this'd be the end of the road for Manuel with Arsenal.  It's a sign that the manager has lost confidence in his abilities -- and confidence is paramount for a keeper.  I'd hope this would mean Arsene will go into the transfer market and target a #1 GK because, between Mannone's youth and Fabianski's injury woes, we cannot expect to contend for silverware with this present situation.

2.  Given their goal and form from midweek, I'd hope to see Fran Merida (piss off Atletico) and Aaron Ramsey in the bench and ready to contribute if called upon.

3. 'Arry Redknapp says...

We entered this game with major health issues at key positions; none more than goalkeeper where a virus kept Manuel Almunia on English soil.  It has been speculated that Almunia’s virus was one of those unofficial reprimands for poor performances.  Uh-huh.  Anyone want to keep believing that bit of nonsense?  Arsene Wenger is many things, but a fool he is not.  Only a fool would keep his first-choice goalkeeper thousands of miles away while starting an untested, 21-year old in a Champio...

Holy hell.  2 games, 2 losses, 2 awful days for the lads in the Northwest.

The games against the two sides from Manchester could not be any more different.  Where United was awful, City were flying.  Where United hung on like a boxer waiting for the final bell to ring, City fought like a rising young boxer that's pushing and trying to prove their mettle against a former champ. United's pedigree demanded a better performance.  City's spending spree set to prove that pedigree is overrated.

And yet, the result is the same for Arsenal: 0 points.

I guess we should have gotten the sign of how the game would go when Almunia headed a goal that'd be shot by Micah Richards into the back of his own net.  To wit, that's two own goals scored consecutively by Arsenal players.  Are the coaches not stressing mental strength when the ball's played inside our own...

I'm not even going to try.  I'll just cut-and-paste some thoughts I left over at the World Soccer Daily boards and let that be my thoughts on this game:

On Man Utd: they were shite. Utter shite. I can't be nice about it because to do so would excuse our failings. Manchester United were Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic + 8 muppets. My God, Nani couldn't score in a Leeds barn. Antonio Valencia is trying to win "Worst Transfer Buy of the Year". Berbatov is only good for scaring the children with his looks and his shots at the crowd. And Giggs should be put out pasture -- he is done. How many passes went nowhere? How much of the ball did that midfield turn over? Vidic saved their asses in the back and Rooney was the only creative force available to them. Again, complete and total shite.

On the refs: what the f--k is it about Anfield and Old Trafford that referees/officials just lose their f--k-ng minds?...

Since I've been away, I haven't had the chance to comment on "The Dive". I want to talk about the game against the Mancs later on, so better to get these thoughts out first.  Here goes:

1. It was a deplorable dive. What's worse, is that it was unnecessary. But that's not the point. He should have been booked for simulation. And regardless of what happens, I hope he takes this event and learns the lesson that it's not worth it to dive -- once the stink of being a diver is on you, it never comes off.

 2. Over 2 legs, the differences in quality between Arsenal and Celtic were revealed. The dive, as big as it was, did not affect the overall result. It's amazing to see that Tony Mowbray and Celtic have accepted that but the Scottish FA have not.

3. Just 2 weeks ago we saw that Crystal Palace were robbed a point because the English FA acted on the belief that the referee's decision had to...

After the Everton drubbing, the question surrouding Arsenal was "were the lads that good or was Everton was that poor?"  Maybe on that day both things were in effect, but after Everton took Sigma Olomouc behind the woodshed for a 4-0 beating, I think we can state that Everton simply had a poor day at the office last Saturday and it may not have been indicative of their overall quality.

But what of the Arsenal boys?  Did they just take advantage of the locker room turmoil at Goodison Park?  Could they repeat their feat at Celtic Park and could they do it at home?

Everyone will be quick to say that Arsenal should have won against Celtic 2-0.  And on a neutral ground, that'd probably be a fair assessment.  But at Parkhead, where clubs like Manchester United and AC Milan have gone and gotten beat, a 2-0 win is a tremendous result.  More importantly, with back-to-back wins at difficult...

Ah, the first day of a brand new season.  Ain't it lovelier than a toddler pushing a stroller with a kitten in it?

Of course, when you start it off watching Hull giving Chelsea all they can handle and follow it up with Wigan playing Aston Villa off the park, you got to think that everything that's been said and written and prognosticated by the punditry, the experts and the bloggers is about as useful as thongs at the Vatican.  Or to put it in simpler terms, nothing said or written before yesterday is worth a thing.

A great example is the lads' performance at Goodison Park, a place that's tough to go to and get a result in.  Everton, consistently the best non-"Big 4" team in the Premier League know how to play with the big boys and have talent like Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Tim Howard, Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellani; all of whom would be right at home in Old Trafford or Stamford ...

Christmas morning.

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).

The day girls start wearing those really short shorts that signals summer is here.

I gotta say that the day the season starts (Kickoff Day?) is right besides them in terms of anticipation and excitement.

The season is perfect right now.  Good things are possible for every club out there.  

Come on you Gunners! Prove the world wrong!