Written by George Sezer Tuesday, 09 March 2010 16:01

GunnerTalk Blog

By George Sezer

I wasn't worried, were you? Losing our captain and one of our main defenders for one of the most important games of the season; no problem! Having to play a game of this magnitude without an established striker; no big deal!

No, really, there was so much stacked up against us, even the most devoted fan like myself wouldn't have dreamed of a night like this against all the odds. But we are the Mighty Arsenal and are at our best when our backs are to the wall and last but not least WE HAVE SAMIR NASRI!

Any kind of written description would not do a goal like his one a justice. It was a goal you may only see once in a lifetime. Not only the way he wiggled passed 3 defenders, the timing of it was immaculate as we were under a bit of pressure from a Porto side who needed to get back in the tie after going down to two Bendtler goals in the first half. No you have not misread it! Bendtler scored twice in the first half before completing his hat trick with a well taken penalty just before the final whistle. What a contrast to weekend's game: 5 chances, 0 goals; tonight's game: 2 chances, 3 goals. All credit to him for not letting his head go down and proving the doubters wrong in the best possible way.

It was a great first half performance from the lads, midfield quintet of Song, Diaby, Rosicky and of course twinkle toe Nasri were excellent. The fifth one? Ah, what can I say about Arshavin, he had one of those mixed bag of a performance. He made me ask myself "how can a player like him do this /that" many times during the game, in another words he was driving me crazy, then again he was heavily involved with 3 of the 5 goals, putting in a great low cross for Bendtler's second goal to give us an aggregate lead in the first half and a great run with the ball before releasing it at the perfect time and with precision for Eboue to score to make the game safe in the second half.

A big shout goes to Vermaelen for a colossus performance yet again.

This big victory comes with a bonus: confidence, one of the most important component in a successful team. I hope that we have found the final ingredient that will help us win the title.