Cesc has, it seems, adopted a similar philosophy that Robert Pires held dear to his heart, namely that providing goals is as meaningful as seeing the back of the net bulge through your own efforts. It is indeed a rare breed of footballer who genuinely takes pleasure in seeing others take the ‘Glory’. In a sport renowned for rampaging egos, such selflessness should be acknowledged. Too often the providers are forgotten in the multitude of words and headlines that scream at us everyday; those in the midst of all of that have been known to forget that the team requires all characters to prosper, Didier Deschamps famously dismissed as a ‘Water Carrier’ by Eric Cantona, the latter all too eager to put himself forward as the ‘hero’, omitting to acknowledge that he could not have acheived any of the heights without his accomplices.

Meanwhile, the media would have you believe that he is turning into the antithesis of everything that Arsene stands for; in other words he is a bit of a thug. Well, if that is the case, long may it continue. The ‘nasty’ side of football is something that all of the successful clubs have had in their armoury and if that is an element he develops then so be it. Having been on the receiving end and mocked for it, the stench of hypocrisy in media criticisms wafts towards us.

Alas, as a Club, Arsenal rarely will get the plaudits that their performances deserve; ‘They don’t score enough‘, ‘They are easily bullied‘ regular criticisms for every win, draw or defeat. Had the Prague performance been turned in by Chelsea or United, it would have been below par but praised for their ability to be, well, ‘hard’. Instead the slings and arrows of disdain are fired in Cesc’s direction. Curiously enough though, very little attention is paid to Repka’s reported words before the game, morallistic comments directed at Cesc take little account of the fact that the circumstances of the match demanded a physical response. Do I have any sympathy with Repka? None whatsover. Had he been a lightweight left winger then perhaps but Repka has made a career out of being an ‘uncompromising’ defender so to hear his bleating is amusing. As the old saying goes, ‘If you can’t take it, don’t give it‘.

This weekend will apparently see the full debut of Eduardo at Ewood Park. Arsene noted yesterday that of the injured list, the Croatian and Denilson were the only ones who are likely to have recovered although Eboue looks to have joined Diaby and Adebayor in the treatment room, receiving a knock on his ankle on Wednesday. Gilberto meanwhile, has caught the covetous eye of Juventus yet again, this before he has even kicked a ball in anger, something expected to happen at The City Of Manchester Stadium on August 25th.

Should Eduardo appear, the likelihood is that tactically, we will field more of a 4-4-2 formation than the 4-5-1 which has been successfully implemented so far. And yes, it has been successful. The performances may not have been stunning but results are what count at the end of the season. Should Eboue not recover in time, his place would I think be filled by Hleb. However, if he makes it, I would not be surprised to see Rosicky foresake his starting line-up place with Hleb shifting flanks. It may not be the position that he wants to fill but there is little reason to put a centre-forward in a wide midfield position, somewhere that the close attentions of a full back can marginalise him with relative ease. In a 4-5-1, I suspect that van Persie would feel more comfortable in the advanced midfield role than Eduardo. However, with the ease that the players rotate their positioning, the formation on paper (or screen) bears little or no resemblance to that which operates on the pitch.

Rosicky is reported in the press today as saying words to the effect that we have yet to see the best of him due to injury. That is a pretty fair assessment of last season. Each time he was coming into form, he was subsequently absent through injury. This time, he has yet to get into the habit of scoring, something that he acknowledged is necessary from the midfield this season. The players have to score to supplement those from the strikers, so far the unlikeliest source has come through. Let’s be honest, it would not have surprised anyone if Hleb had chipped in with one all season, amazing what a bit of confidence in front of goal can do for a player.

’til Tomorrow.