It seemed for a while, well OK seventy nine minutes, as if this was heading the same way as so many matches have done in The Emirates, a draw. The luck in front of goal was not there; a missed penalty, which was frankly awful compared to the one that RvP scored against Fulham.

City defended well and we toiled away. Whilst it was nice to sit in the sun, being a player in it would not have been so much fun, especially for City with their policy of defending deep and hitting on the counter-attack. To surrender so much possession meant they chased shadows for most of the afternoon and in the end that policy very possibly cost them a point.

The City defence were stout in their work and brought a fair amount of luck with them; Caspar Schmeichel flapped and clawed several times at the ball but each time got to it, as well as producing some good saves. Richards and Dunne were resolute, the former confirming his reputation as a genuinely promising talent who is equally comfortable on the right or in the centre of defence whilst his partner there is unrecognisable from the man turned inside out, upside down and back to front during the 5 – 1 win at Maine Road a few seasons back. The new faces may mean City are unrecognisable but three wins out of four has meant that they are playing with confidence.

I think Arsene contributed to this though. The injury beforehand to Senderos would not have helped nor would Sagna’s departure but the absence of a dedicated defender on the bench exacerbated those losses. However, both Gilberto and Flamini did well enough when required. I do however think Arsene got it totally wrong with Adebayor. It was obvious that he was making his first appearance as a player this season, his touch understandably awry; there is no doubt in my mind that he should have been given half an hour yesterday as a sub and then start in midweek. That he did not give up trying is a credit to him but there were a couple of times yesterday when the more predatory striker that we are led to believe Eduardo is, may have been more centrally placed to receive the ball in the area. However, that is a lot of if’s, but’s and maybe’s; in the end it does not matter because three points were taken and it is good to see that even though the season is only three games old, the only reason we are not equal on points with Chelsea is the three points we have to take from the game in hand due to the ECL Qualifiers.

The goal was a well taken. Hleb had put in the performance on the right to suggest that his move to right may not detract from those in the first games. The timing of the release of the ball into Fabregas’ path was, as it turned out, perfect and the finish too powerful for Schmeichel to keep out.

Overall, it is fair to say that the rhythm and passing is not working at the peak level we know that it can with a number of stray passes yesterday afternoon. In defence though, we have regained the concentration required, two goals conceded in four games is an excellent return. Almunia had a bit of work yesterday but nothing too taxing to deal with. The key though is that when required, he was up to the task and more importantly the four immediately in front of him seemed to have confidence in him to do it. Toure and Gilberto worked well, both mopping up behind the other when required. Had Eriksson known about Senderos in time, I suspect Bianchi might have played from the outset with specific instructions to get ‘onto’ Gilberto, to pressurise him in his first game back. Flamini was competent as cover at right back; the injuries suffered by Sagna and Senderos are not believed to be serious enough to preclude their participation on Tuesday night. Denilson deserves credit for his performance yesterday, solid in his work with decent passing to boot. Fabregas though must be looking forward to the return to central midfield of Gilberto, to free him from some of his defensive duties. He has worked well with the ’stand-ins’, providing cover to the back four which is perhaps some of the reason that he has not yet appeared to reach the heights of performance from last season.

We need to remember that it is still early in the season. From nothing in terms of competitive football to two games a week takes a leap. It is no wonder that some of the passing is sluggish, particularly in testing conditions as they were yesterday. New partnerships up front are forming, the players understanding where their colleagues are favouring making their runs. A couple of occasions yesterday showed that it was not quite clicking yet but it will come.

Onto the papers. Despite protestations to the contrary from Arsene, it seems the media want us to buy someone. The News of the World reports that we have made a £9m bid for Obefami Martins which they believe will tempt Allardyce. Gael Clichy is reported in the same paper as saying,

Losing Thierry Henry this summer was a bitg shame but you can play without him. But to cope without of the best managers in the world – well that is different. For him to sign a new deal and for us to work with him for many years to come would be great for the team.

Well, it seems he may well get his wish with the new contract supposedly ready to be signed. In the same way that transfer gossip is treated, I’ll wait for the official confirmation of the deal being done.

’til Tomorrow.