Arsenal (1) – (0) AS Roma
Van Persie (37′)
The Emirates Stadium, London

Most people didn’t know what to expect before watching the game last night, but I knew Arsenal would be up for this one. The performances in the league haven’t been terrible, it’s just that we can’t put the ball in the net – like against Sunderland for instance.

We wasted chance after chance.

Eboue and Bendtner were guilty of the worst misses, and throughout the game I wondered if Arsene actually practised shooting in training, because the finishing really was shocking.

No-one watching the game would have argued if we won the game 4-0. The chances were that clear cut.

And if Eduardo was available last night Roma would have been dead and buried. Apart from Van Persie, Eduardo is the only player I would be confident in scoring if presented with a half-decent chance. Everyone else just can’t shoot.

And that might really come back to haunt us if Roma nick an early goal in the second leg.

Football is a funny game, and despite our dominance you wouldn’t be surprised if they still managed to get through. And quite frankly that’s criminal considering how sh*te they defended last night. Roma must have celebrated well into the night after last night’s game – for them to still be well in the tie beggars belief.

At least we kept another clean sheet.

Middlesbrough (1) – (1) Arsenal
Adebayor (17′)
The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

It’s becoming a season of disappointments, and today’s game at The Riverside was no exception.

After the spineless showing at Porto, Arsene Wenger amazing went for the same trio in midfield with Denilson, Diaby and Song who had shockingly bad games in midweek. And today wasn’t any different.

They were terrible.

Throughout the game, all I kept thinking that Cesc deserves much better. As the little Spaniard stroked the ball around, held up the ball and made things happen it’s completely obvious that he isn’t just on another level to his midfield team mates, but this guy is on a different planet.

It’s a far cry from when Fabregas first started out in the first team, when he learnt his trade alongside Vieira, Gilberto, Bergkamp, Henry, Pires and the others. And these bunch of players weren’t just world class, they were more importantly winners.

This current side are only interested in the big games.

Away games at Fulham, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Stoke and Manchester City have shown that Arsenal just can’t be bothered performing in the less glamorous matches.

The only players in the squad who you can say are world class and consistently play well are Fabregas, Sagna and possibly Gallas – although he seems to have struggled a bit since losing the captaincy and disillusioned at the attitude of the young squad. A lot of people will point to injuries to key players like Nasri, Rosicky and Eduardo but the fact is the depth and strength of the squad is down to the manager.

It’s so hard to watch Arsenal when Fabregas is playing because in terms of ability, temperament, dedication and loyalty he is miles ahead of any of his team mates.

And it’s his loyalty and attitude ever since he’s been at Arsenal that makes you want Fabregas to be a huge success with us. But looking at the current set-up that seems light years away.

Can you blame him if he moved on? I wouldn’t, and I’d wish him all the best for the future.

How much longer can Cesc put up with playing in a team of average players?

There is no balance, and even worse there’s no fight. Last season Flamini set the tempo with his energetic running but today it was lethargic, like it has been for most of the season. Without the ball, we just don’t close down like we used to and with it only Fabregas could use it intelligently. Diaby on several occasions in the first half could have played in Van Persie and Adebayor for simple chances but both times decided to shoot from positions where scoring would have been a miracle.

Adebayor’s fury at Diaby’s inability to play him in said it all.

And Song passing the ball in-between Fabregas and Van Persie in the second half from only 5 yards away (and giving away possession) just summed his performance up.

Arsenal scored after 17 minutes from a Fabregas corner and some Arsenal type defending let Adebayor score from 4 yards out with a free header.

As you expected, this sparked a Boro response and 12 minutes later it was Aliadiere who equalised with a diving header after some amateurish and naive defending from Clichy.

You would expect Arsenal to step up a gear, but it was Middlesbrough who looked more likely to score the winner.

Last season we were fantastic until the depth of the squad was exposed in April, but this season it’s already happened and it’s not even Christmas.

Chelsea (1) – (2) Arsenal
Van Persie (60′, 62′)
Stamford Bridge, London

Well where the hell did that come from?

Once again, like the Manchester United game – Arsenal were underdogs going into the game, and the match was billed as a big test of character. And once again we came out 2-1 winners.

And yet again there was a double-goal hero, this time that accolade going to Robin Van Persie.

In a simply stunning couple of minutes, Van Persie literally exploded – his first goal was a rocket into the top corner with his weaker foot and his second was a beautifully-taken precise snap shot into the bottom corner.

Van Persie is an impact player, and given the chance today he didn’t disappoint.

The first half was a bit hot and cold, and while Chelsea had most of the possession it was Arsenal who created the most chances. And it was William Gallas who had the best chance to score the opener after he just failed to meet a Cech save from a Fabregas shot.

The full time whistle amazingly saw the home side only having one shot on target in the entire 94 minutes.

While Arsenal managed 11 attempts on goal, with 7 of those on target.

But despite all the statistics, it was Chelsea who scored first – and it came completely gift wrapped.

A Chelsea corner was well caught by Almunia, who decided to quickly throw it out to Nasri on the left. Unfortunately, the throw was too long and it was intercepted by Bosingwa, who played the ball inside to Lampard, who passed it to Anelka who then gave it back to Bosingwa out wide. His low cross was then deflected into the net by Djourou.

Talk about making it hard for ourselves.

It was a wicked cross from Bosingwa and Djourou was put in the horrible position of having to deal with it, and his outstretched boot only succeeded in giving the home side the lead. But you have to say Almunia made a howler with his throw out.

But through adversity comes great strength.

And in the second half it was all down to Van Persie’s killer instinct.

Surprisingly, after Arsenal took the lead Chelsea’s expected onslaught never really came. Arsenal comfortably saw the game out and defended well as a unit. And despite my concerns of Song in the starting line-up, he actually did well at times.

And Cesc Fabregas won another game as the leader of Arsenal. Yes, he’s only got two games under his belt as captain but a win over Chelsea is a very impressive achievement, especially when you consider it was Patrick Vieira who was the last man to lead Arsenal to victory at Stamford Bridge.

But Arsenal need to make this victory matter.

They beat Manchester United impressively but followed that up with consecutive defeats to Aston Villa and Manchester City. And with very poor performances as well.

This current Arsenal side need to make sure they’re not just up for the big games, and need to take this confidence and belief into the next few months – no matter who the opposition are.

And if anyone can get the side motivated for the rest of the season that man is Cesc Fabregas.

Arsenal (2) – (1) Manchester United
Nasri (22′, 48′)
The Emirates Stadium, London

I haven’t really been taking in much Arsenal news really. There’s always going to be a lot of hype about who will play, what injuries we have and all the boring talk from the players about how much this game means. We know what it means, we’ve all been watching these massive games for years now.

So I thought the only way to enjoy the game (and not get caught up in the negativity during the build up) was to just avoid the press and just sit down and watch the match.

And what a match.

The news before kick off was that Adebayor and Van Persie were injured, so Bendtner would be starting with Abou Diaby playing in behind. Adebayor’s touch can sometimes be hit and miss, so I was more than happy for the Dane to play against United – his touch is far better and he always looks to play in other team-mates. And we know that on his day Diaby has excellent ball retention.

Arsenal started very sloppily and a pass back from Silvestre in the opening 30 seconds was short and Almunia had to pick up the ball in his own area, giving United an indirect freekick inside the box. Luckily they couldn’t take advantage and after that Arsenal really upped their game.

The game was wide open, with both sides trying to score the opener.

But it was the little Frenchman Samir Nasri that made the first real impact on the game.

A freekick from Fabregas on the right hand side was headed away by Berbatov, and the ball came out to Nasri on the edge of the box. He controlled the ball well with his first touch and lashed a left-footed effort towards the crowded United goal and into the net. Replays showed it took a nick off Gary Neville but it was a well-taken shot and if you don’t buy a ticket you can’t win the lottery.

The frenetic pace continued throughout the first half, with Nicklas Bendtner missing two excellent chances from fantastic crosses by Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri.

United had their chances too, with Rooney blasting over from a Ronaldo lay off and Berbatov was just offside from a Rooney shot which Almunia saved. Ji-Sung Park also had a left-footed chance saved well by Almunia who looked more confident after the criticism during the last couple of weeks.

There was also a penalty claim from United when the ball appeared to hit Clichy’s arm from a Rooney cross, but in all honesty I thought that would have been harsh to give. The clumsy challenge on Berbatov by Denilson was more of a penalty in my opinion.

You just felt that with the nature of the game Arsenal needed that second goal just before the break to calm things down but the Nasri did the next best thing.

Continuing the high tempo from the first half, we came out of the blocks in the second period and some excellent build up play from Fabregas saw Nasri through on goal who then emphatically smashed the ball passed Edwin Van Der Sar.

Arsenal were 2-0 up!

Then the real tension began. Would Arsenal collapse like they did against Spurs? Would they have the bottle and kill the game off?

Well the early signs weren’t great.

United had nothing to lose and really piled on the pressure. And Gael Clichy’s wild challenge on Ronaldo minutes after Nasri’s second goal was worrying. And Denilson’s inability to hold onto the ball gifted United possession time and time again.

And for about 15 minutes Arsenal were really under the cosh.

Ronaldo somehow beat about 4 men and ran into the heart of the penalty area, but luckily could only shoot straight at Almunia from the byline. Rooney also had a header which went down the keepers throat. And from a United corner, Almunia sustained a head injury from a Michael Carrick swipe which saw him come off a few minutes later, replaced by Fabianski.

With about 20 minutes left, Ryan Giggs came on for Anderson, and Alex Song replaced Theo Walcott.

And from a excellent Arsenal break, Samir Nasri was hauled down by Nemanja Vidic for a clear penalty. Replays showed that referee Howard Webb didn’t have the best angle to see it and if anyone should have awarded it, it should have been the linesman. But it was the same official that didn’t give one to United so I guess he evened things out.

The last few minutes were madness in all honesty, with either side capable of scoring the next goal. Tactics, formations and positions seemed to be irrelevant as United chased a goal that could get them back into the game.

To his credit, Fabianski was aggressive and came out at every opportunity to make his presence felt.

With 5 minutes left, Arsene made his last substitution which was Kolo Toure for Diaby. I thought the best change would have been to take off Denilson since Diaby was always a threat going forward.

Then it happened again. We conceded a goal in the final minute of the game.

Arsenal seemed to be coping (although my heart wasn’t) with United and seeing the game out, but a fantastic left-footed volley by Rafael went just inside the far post.

And the fourth official indicated 6 minutes of injury time.

From then on it was just a daze.

Bendtner had a chance to kill off the game, as Arsenal broke on the counter attack in a mad finally few minutes, but Arsenal held out and defeated the Premier League Champions.

I’ve only just recovered from that game – it has to be one of the best games this season. Both sides deserve a lot of credit for going for it and entertainment-wise it was fantastic. Not sure I can cope with many more games like this this season though!

And didn’t you just know Arsenal would win today?

Every time we get written off Arsenal step up and rarely let us down. And this result is even more impressive with the fact that players like Adebayor, Van Persie, Eduardo and Rosicky weren’t even involved.

Player Ratings

Manuel Almunia: 8/10
Looked much better today. He was positive from defensive positions and his bravery from the United corner summed up his performance.

Bacary Sagna: 8/10
You’ve heard it a million times, but he was solid yet again. Up and down the touchline throughout the match and kept Ji-Sung Park quite for large periods. Almost did two jobs with the below-par performance of Theo Walcott.

William Gallas: 9/10
Made some really vital interceptions at key moments and couldn’t have played much better. Kept Berbatov quiet and an all-round excellent performance.

Mikael Silvestre: 8/10
Played well alongside Gallas, and obviously upped his game against his old club.

Gael Clichy: 7/10
Linked up well with Samir Nasri and defended well in the most part against Ronaldo. Switched off when Ronaldo had a big chance at the far post, but was up and down the pitch as usual.

Theo Walcott: 6/10
Couldn’t get into the pace of the game, and was sporadic throughout. Always a tough game to play in and Evra didn’t give the young lad much space to play.

Denilson: 7/10
Defended well at times but almost seemed too complacent on the ball when playing out of defence. Not his style to punt the ball away but sometimes his short passes from the back gifted United possession and put the pressure back onto Arsenal.

Cesc Fabregas: 8/10
Ran the team again and had a massive hand in both of Arsenal’s goals. Seemed to tire near the end but that’s expected when he covered as much ground as he did. Looks much better with a haircut too.

Samir Nasri: 9/10
Brilliant performance. Dangerous, fearless and never afraid to shoot. For all our possession, we needed someone to hit the net and Nasri obliged. Great goals and finished both excellently. First game against Manchester United and he didn’t disappoint – superb temperament and to play like that against the Premier League Champions is sensational. Well done son.

Abou Diaby: 8/10
Linked up well with Cesc, Denilson and Nasri throughout and played with confidence.

Nicklas Bendtner: 7/10
Did well at times but squandered several chances to score at important times of the game. Made some well timed runs and caused Ferdinand and Vidic problems. Tired near the end of the second half but ran for the team throughout the 90 minutes.

Alexandre Song: 6/10 (Replaced Walcott on 77′)
Alarm bells started ringing when he came on (a la Spurs) but to his credit got stuck in and made some decent tackles.

Lukasz Fabianski: 7/10 (Replaced Almunia on 78′)
Played the best part of 20 minutes and did well. Came out for everything and relieved the United pressure.

Kolo Toure: 6/10 (Replaced Diaby on 85′)
Played on the right wing and didn’t really have a chance to influence things.

Arsenal (1) – (2) Hull City
Paul McShane OG (49′)
The Emirates Stadium, London

Arsene Wenger’s sobering interview after the game summed up how I felt after the match.

He was hugely disappointed with the commitment shown on the pitch, as was every Arsenal fan watching. We all hoped the Fulham game was a one off and the team would have learnt that substandard performances aren’t good enough to win games in the Premier League. But yesterday there was no desire yet again.

While it was a result that has shocked the Premier League, watching the game you knew that our lacklustre performance might cause us a problem. After all, we became unstuck at Fulham only weeks ago. All it takes is one piece of brilliance or a mistake to let the opposition back into the game and unfortunately for us both of those happened.

We saw Geovanni do it on the opening day of the season against Fulham, and he scored another fantastic strike to equalise last night. Then a mistake from William Gallas (yet again from a set-piece) gave Hull their winner.

The wonder strike coupled with amateurish defending was a trend which cursed The Emirates Stadium when we first moved in.

Teams would visit our new ground and sucker punch us with the opening goal. Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, Everton, Newcastle and Hamburg all did it, thanks to a combination of poor defending and a moment of brilliance.

So you weren’t shocked when Hull scored the winner.

Maybe the players just thought it would never happen. Our record at home is fantastic so what’s the likelihood Hull could actually nick a winner?

Usually though after seeing a performance like that I would be angry, but for some strange reason I wasn’t.

Everyone point is vital if you want to win the Premier League, and maybe that’s exactly why I wasn’t too upset. Maybe I don’t truly believe we can win the league this season.

People will say that it’s just a bad day at the office but you can see performances against Fulham and Hull happening time and time again this season. Put this result in perspective – Hull are only the second team to beat us at The Emirates in 3 seasons. And apparently Hull were 20-1 to win yesterday. You couldn’t get longer odds!

The problem is we’re far too hot and cold. We put in excellent performances against teams like Blackburn, Newcastle, FC Twente and Bolton Wanderers but stutter against Fulham and Hull City.

Arsene Wenger must be completely baffled, and I feel for him.

But what’s the problem? Is it inexperience, or is it misplaced faith in players like Adebayor – who was shockingly bad yesterday. Or maybe the squad isn’t good enough. I’m sure the debate will go on for months about what’s missing from this current Arsenal side.

I think the main problem this season now is that teams will face us knowing that while they may not have the talent to compete with us, as long as they put in 100% they will have a chance of getting something. We’ve given opposing teams belief that they can take us on and that’s bad news.

All teams like Fulham and Hull City have to do is be organised, committed and take the few chances when they come along. And Arsenal just don’t have any answers to that.

The worrying thing is that if a manager like Phil Brown (no disrespect, but he is hardly hugely experience in the Premier League) can work us out and execute a game plan with Hull City then God help us all.

The only saving grace is that even with their game in hand, Arsenal will still be above United in the table. But how long is that going to last I wonder?