So, twenty five minutes into Dizzee Rascal's set yesterday, surrounded by the biggest bunch of dickheads you'd find outside of White Hart Lane (sorry Randall), I think it's safe to say I was not having a good time. To the point that Jo leant over and, amidst the thumping beats of DJ Semtex, asked me if I wanted to go home. We very nearly did.

Glad we stayed though, as from the last half hour or forty minutes, whatever it was, resembled Dizzee's very own hit parade. Climaxing with an euphoric rendition of Bonkers, I think Dizzee can consider Brixton to be the latest town to fall for his Rascally charms.

Why am I talking about Dizzee? Maybe it's his Holiday song, which is what I'll be on in, oooh about 3 and a half hours time and maybe it's because, despite more news emerging from the AGM yesterday afternoon, I don't think  any of it adds substantially to what I mentioned here yesterday.

I notice, though, that Mark Hughes reckons referees are influenced by the power of the top four, saying that Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are treated with "reverence". And he's quite right, isn't he? I mean we all saw how harshly Mr Adebayor was treated when Robin van Persie tried to headbutt Adebayor's studs, Cesc tried to shin them and then Alex Song apparently headbutted Ade's palm didn't we? Er, no, that isn't quite what happened is it? I'm sure that Gareth Barry got away with a handball that should have resulted in a penalty in that game too. It's not as if Arsenal get a ridiculously high number of yellow cards compared to the number of fouls we make either, is it? 

What a dick.

Anyway, speaking of White Hart Lane, Andrey Arshavin has said that he would have been happy to sign for Spurs last summer. Well, I think we can consider that both Arsenal and Arshavin have had very lucky escapes in that regard. Hopefully, Andrey will be able to show the Tottenham board who, no doubt, didn't have the energy to deal with Zenit's negotiators just what they've missed out on in 8 days time. But that is far ahead of us, and you can be sure that there will be more to say about our Halloween encounter with Tottenham in the days ahead.

For now, it is the short trip to east London and a struggling West Ham side on Sunday afternoon that concerns me. I listened to a bit of the West Ham game against Stoke last week and it sounded like they paid the price for a very slack opening ten minutes. On top of that they suffered some ref justice, Arsenal style, when Robert Huth decked Matt Upson but managed to escape being red carded by an oblivious official. It does seem to me, though, that they might not be far away from turning the corner. I'm reasonably hopeful that they still won't be far away from turning the corner come 6.15, Sunday evening. Upton Park has been a relatively happy hunting ground for us recently, Marlon Harewood's 90th minute winner a couple of season back notwithstanding, and with the way Arsenal have been putting away the sides at the wrong end of the table so far this season, I'd be very disappointed were Arsenal to come away with anything less than three points. But I don't expect it to be an easy game.

We wait to see whether Tomas Rosicky and Nick Bendtner will provide some alternatives in the midfield and attacking areas, but it seems as though Eduardo will be back in action at some stage on Sunday and looking to improve Arsenal's chance to conversion rate which hasn't been great recently. I'd be surprised to see him start though, which means the same side beginning the match as in Holland in midweek. Two tough away games in 5 days, yes, but the kind of challenge that must be met if this Arsenal side are to fulfill the manager's conviction that silverware is imminent.

Once West Ham are done with, one way or another, the senior players can look forward to a week off before the chance to avenge last season's Tottenham debacle (ideal preparation to get the game going 100%, I think) whilst the youngsters can look forward to the visit of Liverpool and, if their season so far is anything to go by, their first team on Wednesday night.

Enjoy the game, wherever you are.

My day, as I alluded to on Saturday afternoon, began unusually early for a visit to the Grove. Calculating the amount of time it would take to traverse the distance between the London boroughs of Bromley and Islington, we decided that the 12.12 train out from Grove Park would see us nicely into Estadio Emiratio with time to spare.

But we didn't reckon on the uselessness of South East trains (a recurring theme this morning, let me tell you), the uselessness of the Piccadilly Line, in its usual Arsenal are at home state- ie not working very well, Jo wanting a Frappuccino (so we got off at Angel rather than carrying onto Kings Cross, a move justified by said uselessness of Piccadilly Line, and finally, me deciding to stop for a can of lager as we wandered down Holloway Road. All said and done, we were outside the Grove about five minutes before kick off when we heard sustained and quite loud applause. Ah! For the beloved manager I thought.

By the time we made our way round to block 22 and Jo decided she wanted a wee, the teams were about to enter the arena, so I went to find our seats, which were conveniently located next to the aisle and by the time she joined me, I had found out that the team I predicted here on Saturday afternoon was indeed the team beginning the game. The crowd seemed in good voice and despite the inconvenience of N'Zonzi beating Vermaelen to a massive Paul Robinson hoof and his header leaving Vito Mannone stranded from Blackburn's first... to call it an attack is being generous I think, but I suppose that is what it was, that didn't change. Even with the Blackburn fans who had bothered to make the journey cavorting around in the block to our right.

As Arsenal pressed for a quick response, Cesc nodded against the bar with a looping header and, coming forward seemingly at will seemed certain to be the man to make the difference in the match. You could almost say he was on a personal mission. Just past the quarter hour, with my neighbour back from the loos minutes earlier, Thomas Vermaelen strode forward, got fouled, got up, took a pass from Cesc and ripped the ball into the far corner of the goal below us. An absolute screamer from this season's top scorer, I think it was even better than the Wigan goal.

There were more chances, Cesc forcing Robinson into a parry low down that RvP was just a fraction slow in reacting to. So, it was somewhat surprising, irritating even, that the next goal came for t' Rovers. A long ball out of the back, Sagna and, on the far side, Clichy were not too interested in getting back, David Dunn shot, the ball flicked off the isolated Gallas' leg and wrongfooted Mannone to give the idiots the other side of the stewards more of a reason to jump around.

Not that that bothered Arsenal unduly. It seemed like seconds later as the stadium echoed to what seemed like the umpteenth rendition of "Stand up for the Arsenal" led by a Lewis Hamilton lookalike- was it Theo's younger brother?- that Cesc took a quick free kick to Diaby, back to Cesc and a lovely through ball that gave RvP all the time he needed to smash home our second equaliser of the game. And silence the bastards next to us. Not that they needed much help in that regard. An almost carbon copy of the movement for the second goal saw Arshavin played in, again by Cesc, and again the same result. With minutes to go till half time, the Gunners had finally hit the front.

"Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry" sang the crowd. "What the hell is going on?" thought I. When the DJ played the Thierry Henry song at half time, the penny began to drop. The great one had come to celebrate his mentor's 13 years at the club. It hit me this morning, when I saw a picture of him on the pitch before the game that that was the applause I'd heard outside the stadium. Colour me gutted.

But that was the only thing I had to be gutted about really. The second half began, as they tend to, with the players emerging and Cesc sharing a word with former Real Madrid defender, Michel Salgado. People may say Cesc was enquiring about life in Madrid, I think he's more likely to have been asking how a formerly great player has come to be sitting on the bench for a club like Blackburn Rovers.

Cesc got the goal that his performance demanded to kill the game off early in the second half, and it was a wonderful strike. Chesting a ball from Rosicky down, his half volley from the edge of the box found the top corner. He celebrated like a man possessed, even indulging in some badge kissing. For someone whose form was being questioned like a week ago, he's come back strong this week. Nine Arsenal goals, one goal, 6 assists and one "pass before the assist" represents quite some output from the little genius.

I think it was before that goal that Vermaelen may consider himself lucky not to have conceded a penalty. From where I was standing, er, sitting, it looked like he made a good tackle. But perhaps the foul had been just before.  Anyway, it wasn't given and there followed an almighty scramble of Arsenal boots trying and failing to clear before Clichy did what all good defenders need to do from time to time and smashed the ball up and away.

Once Mannone had made the kind of flying save I don't believe Almunia has in him anymore and Vermaelen made a good intervention with his head to flick a goalbound effort onto the post, that was pretty much Blackburn done.

But not us. It's fitting that as Arsène celebrates becoming the longest serving manager in our history, we marked the occasion with an Arséne kinda goal. Cesc passed to Arshavin inside our own half, the little Russian positively tore down our left, bringing fans to their feet as he passed them, before squaring the ball to Cesc. Cesc might have shot, but chose to touch the ball onto Walcott so perfectly that Theo lashed the ball past Robinson without breaking stride. My suspicion Thierry was in the ground confirmed by the big screen's shot of him applauding Walcott's goal.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Theo is back. With a vengeance.

He replaced Rosicky who might have completed a perfect day for the front three when his shot from the left flew narrowly wide in the second half. Bendtner then replaced Arshavin and Cesc exited stage left to a standing ovation, replaced by Aaron Ramsey. But this didn't affect the quality of the play. Ramsey was finding gaps throughout the Blackburn defence, a backheel from RvP might have allowed Bendtner to score. There was a wonderful move that culminated in Diaby shooting just wide. Theo was played in, and probably should have scored, the chance was cleared off the line, Paul Robinson made some great saves. But, as the ground began to empty- "Is there a fire drill?"- Nick Bendtner finished his week from hell with a goal straight out of Pro Evolution Soccer, collecting the ball on the left and, given all the time in the world, cutting inside before unleashing a ferocious drive that just caught the inside of the post as it flashed home.

Game. Set. And match. 

A fantastic end to a fantastic performance. People may say, yeah, but Arsenal always batter week teams at home. I don't think that's true and I don't think people should be looking to pick the bones out of what was a truly wonderful attacking performance. So Cesc abdicated his defensive duties? So what? I say. And so should everyone else after an attacking performance like that.

As I logged on today, I caught the opening paragraph to today's Arseblog, and him saying that he isn't going to preview tomorrow's game today. Well, as I'm going to the game and am not prepared to get up an hour earlier on a Sunday just to write a blog... you've guessed it, I am going to preview the game now.

Starting with the news that Vito Mannone will keep his place in goal as the Spanish waiter is yet to regain full fitness following his chest infection. I wonder if he will have learnt to come and catch a cross when he does make his inevitable return to the first team? Not wanting to get to negative on your ass on a Saturday afternoon, who would have thought when Vito conceded 2 goals in his first five minutes in the first team (and he could do little about either) that he would go on to keep his sheets clean for the next 355 minutes? Okay, you can argue that after those opening 5 minutes, Standard Liege offered almost nothing, we then beat a very poor Wigan team and Olimpiacos may have the distinction of being the most negative team to have ever come to the Grove (and that's some accolade) but Don Vito earned national respect with his perfomance at Fulham. Not to mention the fact that thus far this season, Almunia has proved incapable of repelling almost anything thrown at him. Or fired his way, if you prefer.

Clearly, the defence picks itself. It is strange how the massively improved Eboue, last seeing calling Wenger his "dad", is trusted to come and play on the right side of defence instead of Sagna as and when, yet Keiran Gibbs can't get a start for love nor money on the left. That's unlikely to change with the improved Clichy performance on Tuesday night. Vermaelen and Gallas pick themselves.

As do Cesc and Alex "security" Song. Diaby, Rosicky or Ramsey to fill the third spot? I'd like to see Rosicky in there, but perhaps the manager will be wary of over using him having managed, seemingly, to get him back in one piece this season. Especially with the added physical challenge that Blackburn are likely to provide- so it's got to be Diaby, hasn't it?

Up front, Nick Bendtner, who missed chance after chance in the corresponding fixture last year, has recovered sufficently from his car crash to take his place in the squad. He does so with a timely reminder from the manager that he  needs to improve his "movement and finishing". I guess there won't be too many, least of all Bendtner himself, disagreeing with that. Of course, his return to the fold offsets the fact that Eduardo managed to aggravate a thigh muscle complaint on Tuesday night and is once again unavailable. Crowded House's best of album was called Recurring Dream, this situation seems to be turning into a recurring nightmare for Eduardo.

So we will miss his finishing ability and intelligence, Bendtner will give us added strength and aerial power and the returning Theo Walcott, albeit surely from the bench, will provide the game stretching acceleration that nobody else in the squad can provide.

I wonder though if Rosicky might be moved up into the attacking three, leaving Bendtner on the bench, joining Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin in the attack. Arshavin is a man that the boss has also had some words for this weekend. He says the Russian can exist in the same category as Messi and Ronaldo, but he needs to win things. In many ways, he's in a similar situation to Dennis Bergkamp when Dennis arrived in north London a UEFA Cup Winner (twice?) and massively respected as an international footballer. But with little else to show. Dennis and Arsenal were very good for each other, at least until he turned 30 and then got subjected to the ridiculous yearly extension policy. Arshavin doesn't have to worry about that so much just yet, but for him the clock is ticking. He seems like an intelligent fellow and I'm sure he's in a hurry to stamp his mark on the club as Dennis did. We can only benefit from that.

Of course, "stamp his mark" is an apt choice of words coming into this Blackburn game because it was against them last year that somebody stamped his mark on Andrey's foot, Blackburn style, in the first half. Only for him to come out for the second half and stamp his mark on the game, Andrey style, with that wonderful goal.

This week has been all about one man and something he once said,

"The imprint you make in the spirit of the people is more important than the result."

We've seen that week, with even people who have questioned pretty much the majority of his post 2004 decisions (and even some that year) lining up to acclaim him as the genius he is. Ever the ideallist striving for perfection, Wenger said, as he prepared to face the club against whom it all began 13 years ago,

“I haven’t exceeded my expectations in my time here, because I always expect much more.

“My expectation is to win every single football game I manage and I didn’t do that so I can never exceed my expectations. There are still more targets to achieve.

In thirteen years at Arsenal, so much has changed, the club have moved home and the playing staff has evolved almost beyond recognition and yet one thing never changes, and that is the desire of the manager. As we head into a match against a team managed by a man who took much of what Wenger brought into the English game and perverted it to produce an almost exactly opposite philosophy, we should remember that we're lucky to have the man we've got.

Enjoy the game, wherever you are.

Regular readers of this blog may have sussed by now that sometimes this blog is written in my head, at least partly, by the time I sit down and spend my lunchbreak typing it out. And sometimes I sit down without a clue of what I'm about to say. Well, this afternoon I can tell you that having thought about the game last night, I have no idea what I'm going to say today.

Which is exciting for me, if not you.

Let's start chronologically, I sat down having had the quickest of quick showers- even a gettting up late for work shower takes less time than the one I had last night. But still the game was just about underway. It was a pleasant surprise to sit down with dinner three minutes later and see that the score was still 0-0. Of course, if someone had said to me that Arsenal were going to play spectacularly for half an hour and the score would still be 0-0, I would have laughed. I would also have thought here we go again. It seems like there is always one performance a year in the Champions League where we batter a team 0-0. Last year it was Fenerbahce who frustrated us, I seem to remember a team from Prague doing the same two years back and there was a ridiculous game where Thierry and Tomas contrived to miss an open goal each amongst countless other chances created in 0-0 draw the season before that.

Last night, Fabregas, van Persie and Arshavin created and missed a whole heap of chances between them. The Greek goalkeeper Nikopolidis equal to everything thrown at him, though in truth he didn't have to move much for most of it. The one time he was clearly beaten, from a wonderful Fabregas effort, the ball smashed back off the crossbar. Though Rosicky was first to the follow up, the Greek was equal to his outside of the foot effort.

There is always a worry when a team so completely dominates a game without reward that the second half can change things around dramatically and though Olimpiacos never really threatened that, they did come closest to breaking the deadlock as Don Vito, who might as well have had the cigars out all night, flicked away a header from Mellberg. Clichy, who I thought back to his turbo charged best last night, looked to be in a position to clear anyway, but who knows what might have happened?

One thing I had said to Jo as I asked her for a score prediction at half time, was that Arsenal needed to get the ball wide more often and that they needed Olimpiacos to come out and play a bit because the Greeks had pitched a ten man tent in front of their goal. They also needed the intelligence and predatory skills of Eduardo on the pitch rather than on the bench.

 By the way, she predicted 2-0 very confidently, if only I had an internet betting account..

As it turned out it was a combination of those three things that brought about the crucial moment in the game. Eboue began a move in our own half which eventually saw RvP passing to Cesc, who in turn played in Eduardo- who had replaced Rosicky- who drove to the byline before cutting the ball back for the onrushing RvP to crash the ball home. I thought Robin lived up to his manager's pre match words rather well last night, I hope he keeps it up. "Eboue. Eboue" Jo said to me, a smile on her face. He did play well last night, I must admit. But then, I think everyone did.

Just before the goal, Carlos Vela had also joined the fray, in place of Abou Diaby, which saw a welcome return to the 4 strikers on the pitch approach, the likes of which we've not seen since the days of the 2002 era Arsenal. It didn't last very long, as the game began to stretch, so the goalscorer was replaced by Aaron Ramsey and- as so often happens in football- a goal quickly followed. I can only imagine the furore had the goal gone against us, but it didn't.

Arshavin played the ball to Ramsey and made a run for the return ball, which Ramsey ignored and played in the wider Cesc. Cesc drove his cross across the six yard box and Arshavin who hadn't checked his run and was offside when the ball came in, beat the keeper to it and backheeled the ball into the corner of the net. A good end to a curious night for the Russian. Some of his dribbling, and his ability to shoot in tight spaces is magical, but he looked knackered after half an hour and, well, a bit grumpy at half time. But then he scores a goal like that, how can you complain?

Carlos Vela then had a clear run from deep, where he could have played the ball either way much earlier than he did. Perhaps he was trying too hard given the limited time he's had this season, but the chance Fabregas eventually had was more difficult than the one he should have had and so he smashed the ball wide. And, basically, that was that.

The Merse, in Sky's studio, said afterwards that he felt the game was made hard work when it didn't need to be. And if there was one complaint about last night, it would have to be the finishing, on this occasion, we were okay. But we can't afford to miss the quantity of chances we did last night on a regular basis. He (Merse) thinks we need another centre forward. I disagree, but I do agree with him when he says in games like last night, where we know we're going to dominate possession, we could easily make room for Eduardo.

And if that means Abou Diaby missing out, then so be it. 

Following on from the day of no lunchbreak, today I had the day of an- unbloodybelievable, I've procrastinated about writing this blog for the last 40 minutes, I sit down to write it and Jo rings me!

Anyway, as I was saying, before I was so pleasantly interrupted, I had an early start today, no lunchbreak and therefore an earlier finish. But due to the nature of the last couple of days, not to mention the fact that I don't really do early starts, my brain has turned to mush- turned to? Yes, turned to- so you'll have to bear with me a touch.

Now, Tom the cat wants my undivided attention...

It turns out though, my procrastination may not have been a bad thing, because the blog that was set to feature the news of an argument between the boss and the Bordeaux president and the wildly exciting and in no way irrelevant news that Arsène has officially opened the Highbury Square development. And very little else.

But as it is now, I can bring you team news, yes glorious team news! And this team news is oparticularly glorious, because - cd change, Catatonia's International Velvet, just because I can- Andrey Arshavin should return for the short trip to south west London and Fulham. As a double bonus, Theo Walcott (I was desperate, for some reason, to type "Thoe" there) is also available. Though he may not be risked, with a Champions League game on the horizon. On that note, just by way of an aside, the splash on Arse.com saying something like "This is what Champions League night looks like" as they try and sell £43 tickets for a game against Olimpiacos would surely be more accurate if it featured fans sitting in glum silence adjacent to banks of empty red seating as opposed to the guys featured in the photo.

I wonder if the penny is beginning to drop within the green buildings that definitely don't look like Portokabins yet?

Anyway, back to that team news for Fulham. I'm sure there will be those of you out there gutted to hear that Manuel Almunia has yet to recover from a chest infection sufficiently to keep goal, but I'm not one of them. Arsène- Jo's back now, so I may get disjointed again- said this,

"Normally Mannone [would deputise] but we are 48 hours away from the game.” about who would keep goal in the waiter's absence. Which makes me think that perhaps Chesney did enough on Tuesday to suggest he might be a better bet than the decidedly jittery looking Mannone. So that's one to keep your eyes on.

Speaking of Highbury Square, which I mentioned seemingly a lifetime ago, I've just seen a report on it on the BBC. Apparently the worst case scenarios is that the board will only break even at the conclusion of the project, Ivan Gazidis has commented that the project is on a "sound financial footing". It may well be, but what about the football club, Ivan?

There's stuff on the official site about it, but to be honest, I'm not sure any of it is of that much interest- we all know how special Highbury is after all.

I also mentioned a contretemps between Mr Wenger and the Bordeaux president, Jean-Louis Triaud. Incidentally, if he's the same guy that sold us "So Vain" Wiltord for thirteen million quid, I would like to shake his hand on a job well done. Or do I mean wring his neck? Anyway, he is upset because he thinks the boss  declared an interest in Marouan Chamakh before contacting his club- as if a football manager would do such a thing. The boss says there is no issue and that he would be happy to have a press conference with the president and explain what happened.

And then he added, "The boy is fantastic". Which would have been hilarious had he done so with a wink as he finished speaking. Unfortunately it seems that it was in response to a question about whether the Bordeaux stance had altered his view on Chamakh. So, he may yet become an Arsenal player. Bordeaux may not want him to join us, but in just over 3 months, it won't be their decision.

That's all folks, hopefully I'll be back at my usual time tomorrow afternoon.

It seems that I spoke too soon and Guus Hiddink is a bit of a Raymond Domench after all. We get Andrey Arshavin back from Russia and, due to his groin injury, he's not good to us for the next three games. Though Arshavin might feel particularly responsible for his country as he captains it, he also- as has been noted elsewhere- has a responsibility to listen to his own body and manage it accordingly. Playing a full ninety minutes with a groin injury, especially with the game wrapped up after an hour, surely comes under what Guus Hiddink termed earlier in the week, a "stupid risk"? I know one thing, it doesn't matter how talented Arshavin is, it's a good thing George Graham is long consigned to the Arsenal history books, because Arshavin would be history himself if GG was still in charge.  I'm sure Arsène can be relied on to be a little more measured though.

Whilst I'm talking about the Arsenal past, Arsène Wenger's  "we promote, educate and integrate" defence of the club's youth policy brings to mind Paul Merson's comments about the Arsenal approach to scouting when he was a lad. I think the focus on educating is probably stronger than it once was, but when Arsène says,

"It is ridiculous because I heard some people say we sign here 30 or 40 players," said Wenger. "We have no room for 30 to 40 players; we sign one or two"

it's the same as it ever was. Arsenal have not, historically, been interested in signing a batch of kids in the hope that one or two come through, the players signed are players that are genuinely thought to have a chance of making the grade.

 "There are some places in Brazil where the boys do not have the same conditions or treatment we have here. It is less well medically, psychologically and footballistically. Here, if we have any little problem, you [the media] are here to punish us."

I can understand that FIFA want to protect young boys from the sharks of the football world, but it would be difficult to argue with Arsène Wenger's assertion that the conditions at Arsenal are far more beneficial than in places like Brazil. Maybe that is not the case in places like France and Spain, but would players like Clichy and Fabregas made the progress they have had they not moved to Arsenal? Look at Fabregas and the fact that Barcelona are desperate to re-sign a player they lost for a minimal fee just six years ago. I don't understand, either, why the governing bodies feel they need to use a word like "kidknapping" or "child trafficking" when talking about these practices. That implies these kids come to Arsenal, or wherever, against their will- that they are not paid as they should should be, that they are just treated like pieces of meat. I don't think anyone could seriously level that charge at Arsenal Football Club.

Moving on, I wonder what kind of team we will see in Manchester tomorrow. Harry Redknapp last week joined Arsène Wenger's previously stated call for international games to be played Wednesday/ Saturday rather than Saturday/ Wednesday and it's easy to see why. There's no point in even trying to guess at a team for tomorrow as we sit here on Friday afternoon, because we have no idea of the physical and mental conditions of the players who were on international duty just two days ago. So, apart from stating that I think we will see the usual back five, Denilson, Cesc and RvP, I'm not even going to guess. It would be nice to think that Rosicky might be available for the bench, though.

Apparently, Arsène did get that apology from Keith Hackett regarding the farce played out at Old Trafford, is it too much to expect Mike Dean and Lee Probert to be big enough men to apologise personally?

It's the AISA AGM tonight, my first one, so I have no idea what to expect, but I will, of course, let you know how that goes tomorrow.

Till then, Batfans.

Whisper it, whisper it very gently indeed, but it looks as though the Arsenal Internationals Brigade will be returning to north London completely intact.

In fact, Tomas Rosicky and Cesc Fabregas will return to us in healthier condition than they left. Cesc scored the first goal for Spain last night, whilst his best mate managed around 55 minutes for the Czech Republic last night. Apparently Andrey Arshavin played, and set up a goal, for Russia. So, bearing in mind Guus Hiddink's antipathy towards "stupid risks" it seems reasonable to assume that our little Russian genius is firing on all cylinders again. Eduardo, of course, didn't quite manage that hat-trick, but he did manage to get Croatia's consolation goal having been apparently roundly booed throughout last night's match.

And, whatever Arsenal's stated objections to UEFA charging Eduardo, this is why I think it was such a horrible move. In a game where players routinely fail to stay on their feet in the hope of gaining an advantage. In an age where the game is so extensively covered, it wouldn't be difficult to root out these guys and deal with them accordingly- perhaps UEFA have it in mind that were they to proceed accordingly, fans would be turning up to empty football pitches, I digress- but UEFA have singled out one player, one person, with whom contact was actually made, and labelled him a cheat. I guess Eduardo can count himself unlucky that he's had to play at Old Trafford and then Wembley since the incident, but if this is the state of things to come, he's in for an uncomfortable season.

On that note, the boo boys will be having a field day in Manchester on Saturday, won't they? You've got Eduardo (if he plays) certain to be booed and, of course, City have that bloke that used to hang around up front for us, who will no doubt be warmly welcomed by the travelling Gooners. I don't expect to hear much singing anyway.

As we move towards football we can all get interested in again, I note that Thomas Vermaelen has been named Arsenal.com's player of the month, scooping 34.9% of the vote. With William Gallas the next player on the list with a quarter of all votes polled, it seems that the Arsenal public are happy indeed with the new centre back pairing. And, so far, we have every right to be. As I have said before, it seems Thomas has reinvigorated big Willy, whilst being the presence at the back we've needed since Sol Campbell left us. Let's hope that is still the case after Saturday. On the back of these results, it's one of those little football ironies that we reunite with deposed centre back and new Manchester City captain, Kolo Toure this weekend. Whilst the the centre backs, whatever we think of him, are sure to be tested by the gangliest man in football- Peter Crouch excepted, of course.

Andrey Arshavin polled third, which I find a touch odd. Given his start to the season, not that it's been a bad one, but perhaps quieter than we might have expected, you would have thought someone like Cesc might have been to the fore. I guess that's what an Old Trafford exocet does for your profile. Not that I'm complaining, keep them coming Andrey.

Final thought for today, and it's back to Eduardo again. Hasn't the poor lad got enough on his plate without his own club putting up "Wanted" posters on the website?

Someone at Arse.com has quite the sense of humour. Maybe they're just trying to help UEFA find him and bring him to Switzerland, which is where he they wanted him to be yesterday, in front of their kangaroo court. Not at Wembley and not scoring for Croatia. It's almost like the lunatics have taken over the asylum, isn't it?

I spent a bit of time yesterday afternoon talking about the new single from one of my favourite bands. It seems appropriate today as Eduardo and Arsenal Football Club endure a "massive attack" following the dubious penalty awarded to us yesterday evening. A penalty so dubious that even Arsène had to admit it was "not a penalty"

It was a historic moment, wasn't it? The first in a soon to be lengthy list of penalty box misdemeanours created by strikers the world over. Never let it be said that Arsenal are nothing if not innovative. From the creation of the "WM" formation; the floodlights, the renaming of a tube station, the numbers on players' backs, the idea that players might need proper diets, full backs as wingers, central midfielders as wingers, wingers as centre forwards, Arsenal have given the football world so much. Last night, our number nine added the word "diving" to the football lexicon and so shocked ITV commentators that they couldn't stop talking about it throughout the match. Well, apart from those occasions when Clive Tyldesley felt the need to keep reminding the Arsenal fans watching about Ronaldo's free kick and Manchester United's subsequent win at the Grove last season, that is. Did he mention the similarly soft circumstances that free kick had been awarded in? Of course not.

Whilst on the subject of ITV, if anyone can explain the presence of Kenny Dalglish in the studio last night? Celtic (and Liverpool) legend he may be, but last night his every utterance just screamed "Drunk man at the pub". Perhaps that's a touch harsh, I don't know, he certainly wasn't on Tony Adams' level from a couple of years back. But it winds me up that from Sky to ITV, us Arsenal fans seem doomed to be treated as the enemy. A perfect example is the way the commentators last night repeatedly suggested the penalty award turned the game somehow. At that point in the match, Celtic had added precisely zero shots to their total shots on target from the first leg, this left their total at the decidedly unlikely to win a 2 legged tie total of 1. One shot in two hours of football. And a total they didn't add to until injury time and that spectacular consolation goal. 

So, it wasn't a game turning moment. And for that, I guess Celtic can feel fortunate. When I say game turning, it wasn't like when Mike Riley decided to give Manchester United a chance on goal they'd never have created for themselves in 2004. It wasn't like when Arsenal dragged themselves to the brink of the Champions League semi final two seasons ago, only for the referee to buy Ryan Babel's dive with only two minutes left. Where was the UEFA investigation then? I wish Eduardo hadn't done what he did, this single act will remain in the average football fan's mind longer than the tackle he suffered last February, it will have eroded much goodwill felt towards him. But then again, we're Arsenal, we're used to people hating us and so should we care what anyone else thinks?

It was ironic that as Eduardo (who had as many shots on target as the entire Celtic team across two legs) was recasting himself as the pantomime villain, Emmanuel Eboue was busy having one of the best games of his Arsenal career, topping it off with the goal of the game, following good work from Diaby and Bendtner. A comment from Jim Beglin about how Eboue seemed freed up in the new system put me in mind of the 94 World Cup, Nigeria and a Lenny Henry joke:

"Brilliant athletes- they didn't give a fuck about the ball".

With Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy as brilliant as ever, Denilson showing what a good player he can be and Gallas and Vermaelen showing they could stand up to a hurricane- a good thing, with the Manchester double header imminent- it was a night of many positives. But the most positive, for me anyway, was the introduction of Arshavin and Wilshere with twenty minutes to go. Okay, it was Arshavin who opened his account for the season with that smartly taken goal, but in the visible speed of thought and movement, these two lads- separated by 11 years- showed how destructive a pairing they could prove to be. No, Arsenal might not have Cesc Fabregas on Saturday evening, but we might not need him.

And it is that thought I'd like to leave you with today.

We have quite a big game tonight, don't we? So it was no surprise to arrive at the gym around 6pm last night and see the boss talking. It was equally unsurprising to plug into the treadmill and hear that he was talking about injury doubts over Cesc Fabregas, over Denilson and Bac Sagna.

Disaster! However; if all three, subject to fitness tests today,  were to be missing tonight, Emmanuel Eboue can replace Sagna on the right side of our defence, whilst Aaron Ramsey could step in to replace Cesc, as he did on Staurday and the fit again (for now) Abou Diaby would presumably replace Denilson. It's funny to think Arsenal played the first leg of the qualifier in similar circumstances last year. Though, I think it's safe to say that a) Eboue will not be partnering Aaron Ramsey in the heart of our midfield and b) even if Cesc and Denilson do miss the game, Ramsey and Diaby are certainly capable of filling in on the night.

And what a night it promises to be, Arsène spoke of the special atmosphere nights like these, and clubs like Celtic, can generate. But he also said that he wouldn't be taking an Arsenal side fearful of that. And when you consider some of the places these boys have played, I think that's right. Ok, we didn't exactly cover ourselves in glory in Roma's Stadio Olimpico, but on the other hand Abou Diaby ran riot at Fenerbahce last year. The Mirror pointed out today that Arsène is yet to win a European clash against a "home" nation. He won't get a better chance, I feel, than over the next week.

He will have to do, tonight, without the Newbury flier, Theo Walcott. Theo has yet to recover from his back injury and stopped training yesterday when he failed a fitness test yesterday. I think his speed on the break would have been an invaluable outlet on a night like tonight when we can expect to be pressed for our lives. On that theme, call me mental but I can't help feeling the defensive strength of Song makes him the one of our central midfield from Saturday who I wouldn't have wanted to miss tonight's game. Though, naturally, I'd much rather we had Fabregas' quick brain and finishing ability available to us tonight than not.

If he does fail to make it tonight, we shouldn't despair though, because in Andrey Arshavin we have a player who can "make the difference" in any given moment. One of the big plusses this season is the thought of having Andrey's genius available to us across all competitions. Except the carling Cup, I think it's safe to say. Noteworthy in that article is the boss talking up the importance of the team above the individual. Similarly, the official site has the boss talking about a focus on improving defensively. I suppose in the light of such a commanding performance on Saturday, now is the time to be talking these things up. It does look, though as I said yesterday, that the team have heeded the lessons to be learnt, let's hope they carry on in that vein tonight.

Gym. Magners. Football.

I. Can't. Wait. 

If last season's Emirates Cup saw Jack Wilshere announce his precocity by mugging Michel Salgado, the veteran Real Madrid full back, then this year's edition and Wilshere's consecutive man of the match performances were further evidence that this teenager is a special one indeed.

But I don't want to talk about him just yet. We arrived at the Grove on Saturday about quarter of an hour into the first game, up the escalator- is it me or is it wrong that Club level and Box holders get an escalator when the people sitting in the upper tier have to use their legs to get up there? We wandered around Club level for a bit, before I realised that the boxes were actually upstairs for Club level. I knew that anyway, so why I was dragging Jo around Club level, I'm not sure. Anyway, we made our way to the box, past the "Ian Wright Associates" one, the Ian Wright?

We were greeted by Les, a Charlton season ticket holder, and the very kind supplier of tickets, and then we went out to watch a bit of the PSG- Rangers game with Kevin, a PSG supporting work colleague. It seemed like, whilst Rangers had the who area immediately behind the goal, Kevin might have been the only PSG fan in the stadium. Half time swiftly followed, joined by a chilli wrap with wedges- that ordinarily would cost an extraordinary £19. This was washed down with a choice of Kronenbourg or a rather nice red wine. I had both. The second half of the PSG game proved less appetising than the opportunity to talk with a couple of Gooners, one less than complimentary about my favourite Dane, drink some more beer and catch up on some gossip. So, it was here that I heard that Philippe Senderos had signed for Everton on Saturday morning- maybe that should have been my Facebook update and not "Box 138.." Still the news hasn't been announced, and it maybe due to the fact that this is the trigger that will see Lescott arrive at Manchester City with Micah Richards making a long rumoured move to Arsenal. Or not.

Anyway, such a move would provide cover at right back as well as centre back and therefore allow us to sell the hapless Emmanuel Eboue. But that really would be asking too much, wouldn't it?

Soon enough, we received a team sheet, I was disappointed to see no Vermaelen, the boss said later that it was due to a small muscular problem but otherwise it all looked okay. The game was preceeded by a period of appreciation for the late Bobby Robson, a "good friend to Arsenal Football Club". The applause appeared to emanate from the north west corner of the ground and were a fitting tribute to a great man.

I spent much of the game chatting with Pete, another work colleague. We couldn't understand the continuous booing of Jose Reyes- okay, so he didn't exactly cover himself in glory- but he was only ever guilty of being a homesick mummy's boy. Worth booing? I prefer to remember, as I said before, the good things he did for us. Funny that Diego Forlan, whose dive at Old Trafford triggered the 2003 ruck, was basically ignored. So, an ex Arsenal player was booed remorselessly, whilst a Manc was let off, scott free. Can you work that one out? Me neither. It was unneccessarry, and to me, slightly classless. So I made sure I stood up and clapped him off when he was replaced.

It was a dull game really, RvP sent a first half free kick over the bar, some other stuff happened, nothing to write home about really. Excepting Tomas Rosicky's return to action, of course. He tucked away a very smart finish early on but it was ruled out for offside. Everything he did though only served to highlight just how much we have missed the Czech's guile in midfield, welcome back Tomas!

The second half, until the last 5 minutes anyway, belonged to Jack Wilshere. The kid has so much in his longer, it'd be quicker to make a list of things he lacks. I can think of one thing- height. The rest? It's all there and his play livened up a truly grey August afternoon. As did the sight of Arshavin, Cesc and Eduardo all warming up on the touchline. As Pete said to me, "That's a hundred million quid right there!"

It was the latest Arsenal hero who opened the scoring with five minutes left, slamming home a Fabregas cross at the far post. If we thought that was it, it wasn't. A through ball two minutes later, our defence parted like the red sea and had Atletico had any fans in the ground, they would have gone nuts at the equalising goal. But not as nuts as we went when Arshavin ran past the keeper, sliding to hook the ball from an impossible angle into the far corner. Game set and match.

We retreated to the box, everyone else left straight away, whilst Pete helped me finish off the red wine, I had one last pee in the private toilet and we headed off into the rain. And boy, did it rain.

I've run out of time to say much about yesterday's game, but it must have been galling for the Rangers fans to see their champions of Scotland taken apart, not just by a team expected to finish fifth this season, but an Englishman. Well, an English boy really.

More tomorrow.