The Beautiful Groan

Arsenal 5 (Bendtner 10, 25, pen 90, Nasri 63, Eboue 66) Porto 0
(Champions League 1st Knockout Round, agg 6-2)

How quickly fortunes can change. Three days after missing a host of chances against Burnley, Nicklas Bendtner performed like a complete centre forward – dominant in the air, leading the line well, and ending the game with the first hattrick of his fledgling career.

If Saturday was playing on his mind, it didn’t take long for those memories to be wiped clean. After an inauspicious start, Almunia’s long ball found Arshavin, who was retreating from an offside position. If the Porto management blame that for the goal, they will be missing the critical fact that the Russian then won a header against their centre back despite giving up nearly a foot in height. Nasri played a through ball back to him, defender and keeper collided, and Bendtner reacted quickest to level the tie.

It wasn’t the first header Arshavin had won – he had already forced a good save at the far post, and the space he was being afforded was almost embarrassing given the supposed strength of the Champions League. Minutes later, he whipped in a terrific cross that Bendtner just failed to connect with, but on 25 minutes, the pair did combine for the second.

Arshavin was again the creator, showing great trickery to turn three defenders inside out, but Porto fans will be rightly laying into their men for failing to put in any sort of challenge. It was almost as if they didn’t believe Arshavin had the skill to get past them – he did, he squared it, and Bendtner tapped in for 2-0.

It should have been three soon after – Arshavin blazing over an empty net following a Nasri cutback, and Diaby having a header superbly saved, but at the other end Porto were threatening. Sol was looking shaky, Clichy had a couple of dodgy moments, and you felt we needed the third to seal the tie.

The nerves began in the stands, but spread to the players at the start of the second half. Falcao hit a decent chance straight at Almunia, and Nasri blocked a header on the line. We needed respite, we needed someone to provide a little spark to put our minds at rest.

Cue Samir Nasri. Picking up the ball on the right hand side, he went out to the wing before cutting back inside. With three defenders in front of him, he seemed to be heading down a blind alley, but quick feet saw each of them bamboozled in turn, before he lashed an unstoppable shot in off the post. Miserable defending once again, but it was a moment of true magic from the man stepping into Cesc’s shoes for the evening. He filled them perfectly.

Samir Nasri celebrates his wonder goal

With that, we relaxed, but there was more to come. Just a couple of minutes later it was four, with a counter attacking goal the Invincibles would have been proud off. From a Porto corner, Arshavin broke away, sprinted past two men, before slipping in Eboue with a perfectly timed pass. The Ivorian rounded the keeper and finished coolly.

The tie was over, but the icing on the cake was still to come – Eboue was clumsily brought down after twisting into the box, and Bendtner dispatched the resultant penalty to cap a perfect night.

The Dane will get the plaudits, and rightly so – lambasted for his apparent over-confidence, his strength of character was needed to stand up in the face of intense criticism and prove his doubters wrong. He was terrific all night, but for me, there were three others who stood out even more.

At the back, Vermaelen was an absolute rock, putting in block after block to protect the clean sheet as if his life depended on it. We looked nervous in the early stages of the second half, in the knowledge that the 2-0 lead was not as safe as it sounded, but while Sol was edgy and Clichy error-prone, Vermaelen was the picture of determination. Even at the end, with the tie won, he was still flying into tackles, unwilling to concede a millimetre. Signing of the season?

Then there was the little Russian, who picked up three assists and left the Porto defence dizzy with some dazzling footwork. He may not have scored himself, but it was his early work that set us down the right path. He played us into trouble at times with risky passes, but when you have someone who can frighten opposition as he can, you have to take the rough with the smooth. He was excellent tonight.

But my man of the match was Samir Nasri. Entrusted with the Cesc role, he put in a defensive shift where necessary, drove the team forward, and scored the third goal precisely when we needed it. It seemed everything we did went through him, and the way he pulled the strings made you wonder if he’d taken on Cesc’s captaincy mantle at the same time. Almunia might have been wearing the armband, but Nasri was in charge.

There was other good displays – Song and Diaby in particular, and while there are still worries about our defensive stability with Sol or Silvestre in the side, tonight was proof once again that going forward, no-one can touch us. Porto are not an elite team, but they are better than we allowed them to be tonight.

It is natural to hope we avoid Premiership opposition in the next round, although it was interesting to hear Wenger say he would quite like to face United or Chelsea to prove that we can beat them. It is an interesting thought. But having seen Bayern progress tonight, they would be far more favourable opposition, and it would feel like a true European tie.

But that can wait – the draw is not until the end of next week, after the protracted round is finally done and dusted. For now, we can bask in the glow of a stunning night’s work.

Take a bow, lads.

Having lost 2-1 in Porto, we go into tonight’s second leg in a dangerous position – score first and we’re ahead in the tie, but concede first and we face a real uphill battle.

History is either with or against us depending where you look. On one hand, we haven’t overturned a first leg deficit in thirty years, while Porto have won the last 24 ties where they’ve taken a lead from the home leg. But in six trips to London, they’ve gone away with nothing, and were hammered 4-0 on their last visit.

With Cesc absent, the role of central playmaker will go to Nasri, with Song making a welcome return to shield a back four that is still missing Gallas, who is ‘back to square one’ with his injury and will remain absent for some time.

Campbell was immense against Stoke, but their style suited him, whereas Porto are quicker and more skilful, traits any 35 year old will struggle with. Vermaelen and Song must protect him well, while Sagna is a certain starter at right back to provide a little more stability.

Looking further forward, and Diaby may get an attacking role behind a front three of Arshavin, Bendtner and Walcott. When you look at where the goals could come from, Cesc’s injury should not be a critical factor – there are plenty of others who have the ability to step up.

One such candidate is Bendtner, who will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s display of comical finishing to prove that he can be our main man for the run-in. After Campbell’s returning heroics in the first leg (which was my bet of the day at that occasion), I’m tipping the Dane to open the scoring at 9/2 with Sportingbet. The bet of the day pick has been on form recently, hopefully that will continue tonight.

The worry is what happens if and when Porto score. Having one away goal is so dangerous – you can be 2-0 up and cruising, but a single response levels the tie, and means a second goal would almost certainly knock you out. It is a night for ensuring we stay alert to the inevitable counter attacking possibilities, as Porto will look to contain and hit us with pace.

That said, I’m reasonably confident. Fabianski’s nightmare overshadowed the fact that Porto really weren’t that impressive in the first leg, and if we play anyway near the level we can, they won’t be able to live with us.

With no midweek games scheduled between now and the end of the season, we have plenty of space for the Champions League. Let’s fill it.

Enjoy the game.

Arsenal 3 (Fabregas 34, Walcott 60, Arshavin 90) Burnley 1 (Nugent 50)
(Premiership)

The best way to answer criticism is to get your head down and perform. By that marker, Theo Walcott is progressing just fine, and the 20 year old (yes, he is still only 20) put in comfortably his best Arsenal display this season to shut a few pundits up, for now at least.

Having been quiet midweek, he tore Burnley apart consistently and could have had three or four assists had Bendtner had his shooting boots on. To say the Dane had a bad day at the office would be putting it mildly – had he tapped in his sitters he would have walked away with a hattrick, but ended with nothing. That said, he has struck in his past three games, so it would seem a little churlish to criticise too heavily – he is getting his first real run as our spearhead and will have days like this. As long as it doesn’t repeat itself, we can write this off as a blip.

That he was getting so many chances was down to Walcott and Eboue, who combined magnificently down the right hand side against a Burnley side who simply could not cope. Of course, it has to be taken into account that Burnley are the most accommodating visitors in any league, but you can only beat what is in front of you. We could easily have scored seven.

That said, we could have conceivably dropped two points – Burnley had a couple of presentable chances at 2-1, and we only felt safe when Arshavin lashed in at the near post in injury time.

In a way, it was a typical Arsenal display. Two lovely goals – Nasri’s delicate chip finding Cesc, who nutmegged Jensen on the half volley, and Walcott’s curler with his left foot (a notably composed finish for someone supposedly lacking a football brain) – surrounding a truly awful concession of a goal, Silvestre and Vermaelen completely static as a simple header bisected them for Nugent to equalise. And of course, we picked up an injury.

Cesc had been feeling his hamstring before he scored, and while it didn’t look a serious one, the Porto game may come too soon for him. If he does miss Tuesday’s game, he will be a big loss – it is a huge match and one he will be desperate to play in. But any risk might see him out for longer, and he certainly wouldn’t want to miss next weekend’s trip to Hull – he never seems to get on the pitch against them anymore. Mind you, he would at least have another chance to wind up Phil Brown with his state of attire in the stands.

We could have gone top, temporarily, had we battered Burnley but that matters little. If we win our remaining games, we will almost certainly be champions, so what matters is that we don’t drop stupid points. We ran the risk of that in this game, but came through it unscathed. Nine more of those please.

The headlines go to Walcott and Bendtner, for opposite reasons, but Nasri was excellent, Clichy back on song, and Denilson good in central midfield. The team looks united and hungry, but more than that - they actually look quite fresh. Perhaps the fact that so many have picked up injuries means that they aren’t jaded at this point. Who knows.

Final word to say congratulations to everyone who contributed to one of the banners unfurled around the stadium prior to kick off. I imagine it meant a lot to Ramsey – a teenager who now knows just how much support he has. Sixty thousand messages followed by sixty thousand fans singing your name – if that doesn’t lift your spirits, nothing will.

Until tomorrow.

Reading the newspapers, listening to Five Live, and watching Arseblogger get more and more irate by the Soccer Saturday coverage of the Ramsey incident, it strikes me that the written and spoken press are completely missing the crux of the issue.

• Shawcross did not mean to break Ramsey’s leg, but that is not the point. 

• Gallas put in a poor challenge on Davies, Vieira and Lauren used to put in hard challenges, and Arsenal are no angels, but that is not the point.

• Wenger was emotional after the game, but that is not the point.

• Shawcross cried, but that is not the point.

• The Stoke fans contained some of the absolute lowest of the low, but that is not the point.

• Ramsey was quick, but that is not the point.

• Shawcross has injured before, has broken legs before, but that is not the point.

• Ramsey has suffered a dreadful setback, and while that deserves more of the focus than any of the above, it is in some ways, also not the point.

No, the point is that we have cultivated a culture in English football in which weaker sides can do more than harry and press, they can close the gap using methods other than the legal approach of working harder, being better organised and coming off the pitch exhausted.

In addition to all of that, it has become accepted to put in sly tackles, flail elbows, and deliberately foul to put your superior opponent off the game. It is even accepted to come out before the match and declare this as your intention. Instead of applauding the workrate of the strugglers, the pundits snigger at the late challenges, the full blooded swipes, irrespective of the danger they cause.

No other country allows this to happen. Wild tackles are punished no matter what the consequences, but they only come into focus here if they result in a serious injury. Even then, they are defended – how else can the smaller team compete, they ask? The answer is simple – by playing football better than us. The clue’s in the name of the game, you morons.

I get it, you get it, the blogs linked to the right get it. So why do 90% of those paid to analyse the game miss what is the real story here?

It has been a long week. If it feels like it to you, imagine what the players have been through. If you find yourself angry at the slew of articles sniping at Wenger, Cesc or us, the fans, at a time when all focus should be on Ramsey, just stop for a moment and put yourself in the shoes of the team. They must be steaming.

Ramsey himself is doing well, and put out an official statement focusing on the messages that have flooded in:

“I have been overwhelmed by the terrific support I have received from so many people including fans from many different football clubs. In particular, I would like to thank the medical team here at Arsenal for their efforts as well as the staff at both hospitals. Glenn Whelan was especially kind and I really appreciated his immediate assistance on the pitch as well as the medical support from Stoke City. I also want to say thanks to Arsenal for helping my family this week.”

“Last but certainly not least I have been blown away by the fantastic messages of support from the Arsenal fans.  I am proud to be an Arsenal player and your support has been incredibly touching. Finally, I want to wish my teammates all the best for the remainder of the season. I know that we are capable of winning a trophy and I will be backing them all the way.”

Class. Nice touch to give a nod to Glenn Whelan, who stood head and shoulders above the rest last weekend, and I’m sure the flurry of supportive messages will help him get through the first major obstacle of his career. He’ll be back.

There will be tributes tomorrow – banners are planned, and you can expect to hear the Welshman’s name sung from the rafters – it promises to be a very special day. From a football point of view, you could not ask for much more than a home game against a side who have managed just a single point on the road all season. We need to build some momentum, and there is no more appropriate fixture.

I could talk about Leon Cort’s inflammatory comments, predicting a series of mistimed and hard tackles tomorrow, but there seems little point – he has served only to warn the referee that he is a prize idiot, and I can’t see the benefit to him or his team for that. I mean no disrespect when I say that tomorrow should not be about Burnley. If last week’s team unity and drive re-emerges tomorrow, then they won’t have an answer.

Diaby, Denilson and Arshavin return, but Ramsey (clearly), Song and Campbell are out. Sol will probably return against Porto, and Wenger probably believes this is a game we can win even with Silvestre in the side. Diaby and Denilson are likely to slot straight into the midfield alongside Cesc, with Arshavin replacing Walcott up front.

I cansee us absolutely smashing Burnley tomorrow. Leaky at the best of times, they don’t look set up to contain, and are on poor form – they lost to Portsmouth last weekend and conceded five in their previous road trip, to an Aston Villa side that couldn’t buy a goal at the time.

So with the Bet of the Day in good form, I’m going for a 5-1 victory, which you can get at 28/1 with Sportingbet here. We don’t tend to keep clean sheets when hammering opponents, and Burnley score a fair few goals, so a win to nil isn’t likely. Elsewhere, you could get 5-2 at 80/1, or 6-1 at 50/1.

But I’m sticking with a 5-1 victory. Come on you reds.

Before I go, I just want to congratulate the ladies team, for completely humiliating Spurs in the form of a 10-0 drubbing in a cup semi final. Priceless.

One of the hallmarks of Wenger’s previous title-winning sides was their ability to have a game won by half time. Fingers crossed we can take out all our frustration on Burnley, leapfrog Chelsea in the league (they are on cup duty) before inviting Porto to the Grove for some sweet revenge.

Let’s make it a good week for you, for me, for Aaron Ramsey. Enjoy the game.