Written by Lindsay Melrose Thursday, 16 September 2010 19:20

GunnerTalk Blog

By Lindsay Sheehan

When we are good we are very very good and when we are bad we are (Sunderland away?)

 So that was a bit bloody good wasn't it? T’was worth the admission price/ sky subscription tenfold.

Firstly let me say I am not going to get carried away on a magic carpet of total football and into a world filled with a million naked Cesc Fabregases.  As every pundit, paper and penis (Andy Townsend) said "It was only a very poor Braga side". These were the same people touting a possible upset before the game saying "No mugs this Braga side, finished above Porto last year, beat Celtic and Sevilla you know" So somewhere in the middle lies the truth about our opposition. What is fact is that we were awesome.  When it clicks like that there is no better team for passing, movement, creativity and downright cuteness. Real breath taking stuff from The Arsenal.

With so many strong performances, it seems harsh to highlight only a few. Shall we start with da man CF04? So many people have told me what a mistake it was to keep him ‘against his will.’ They also used Henry’s last season as an illustration of what can happen when a players head is somewhere Spanish. I’d like to shove this opinion where it belongs with the following statistics so far this campaign: Played 4, Goals 2, and Assists 6, a true professional. Ok he has had an ickle grumpy face at times this season but 10 minutes into the match he proper cheered up. By the full time he was practically beaming.

The wily old boss laid on the pressure; sorry I mean praise, on Cesc after the match. He emphasised another truly world class performance by our captain, waxed lyrical about Fabregas’ love for the club and then explained how, with us, his role takes on another dimension. At Arsenal he can be free to be the player he wants to be while also becoming teacher, mentor and inspiration to the younger players.  Keep it coming Arsene - keep reminding him Norf London’s where it’s at. Don’t mind a guilt trip tactic myself.

Next candidate for a gold star was one of said youngsters, the baby Englishman Jack Wiltshire. Not only can he have a punch up late doors like the best of us, but he is also turning into quite the footballing product. Committed, intelligent and a little bit cheeky, he is clearly revelling in his first team chances. The back heel was lovely, he made a goal and he himself could have had a few.  I love the edge he has to his game – I doubt there will be many who get away with bullying him without a bit straight back at em. Should we thank Bolton or has he always been a little bit ready for a ruck?

I laughed my arse off when ITV’s Southgate sounded concerned about how Jack may develop at Arsenal.  Clearly, Le Boss has no experience bringing through young players and may need to call Gareth for some advice on the matter. I am completely confident that one of the future stars of English football is in safe hands there but if for any minute I begin to doubt it we’ll send for the Southgate immediately. Wanker.

Against Blackpool Arshavin managed to miss, fall, be tackled and hit the netting rather than score. Against Braga (when he was not giving the ball away) he was fabulous and his goal was superbly placed. He mentioned last week that although he is a more efficient player at Arsenal, he feels some of his “sparkle” has gone. Hopefully another goal on his tally will convince the fairy to start sprinkling again and he can experience a revived and glittery mojo. Honestly sometimes you do have to wonder if there are any sane footie players. 

And Chamakh? He is taller than the average Arsenal star Yogi but that aside he seems to have been cut from exactly the same cloth. They way he has fitted in is astonishing, usually foreign players take months to get it but he looks relaxed after 4 matches. Another strong player, he stays on his feet under the challenge and was the victor many times yesterday. He gives us good hold up play and a great aerial threat about which he said “my heading is a good attribute. But it’s not all about the high ball, I’m not afraid of playing with my feet either – we play the ball on the ground, passing it, moving it rapidly, and I like that.” So do we Marouane, so do we..

With attacking bliss in full flow what of our new defence? To me they seemed to win every header and kept calm on the odd occasion Braga did approach our goal. We appeared to have concentration throughout but at 3-0 Braga had effectively fucked off in all but body so to say there will be greater tests is an understatement and October 3^rd will be a better day to gage them by.

In conclusion, we've seen it all before, beauty sweeping away the opposition with a tidal wave of style. Doesn’t make it any the less enjoyable though. There are signs of improvement on last years’ squad but it won’t be that easy on a rainy Saturday evening at the Stadium of Light, a fixture we lost last November.  

I’ll leave the final summing up to Cesc "I’m not going to read too much into it – in previous years we might have done the same thing before collapsing against the big sides, so it’s best that we just keep going, keep improving and keep making things difficult for whoever we face.”