The ideal start in terms of the result. It was not a vintage Arsenal performance; too many passes went astray and certainly in the first half and the team rarely got into top gear. That was not the indication from the beginning when Arsenal started brightly but that was matched by Sevilla. That is not to say that the visitors were a more potent threat, more that their passing was probably a touch more cohesive. Yet they failed to create many genuine attempts on target. For me, the team missed the calm presence in midfield of Gilberto, someone to put their foot on the ball. The missing essence though in that time was replaced by endeavour, all of the players covering a lot of ground to pressure their opponents into surrendering possession or denying them space to create real opportunities.

The Sevillianos width caused problems in the opening half, their willingness to push the balls to the flank and the discipline of Navas and Capel in holding their positions took some time for midfield and defence to adapt to, almost as if the expected were somehow unexpected. Yet Arsenal identified their opponents weaknesses, particularly the suspect nature of Palop’s handling, and sought to exploit that. Twice, early in the first half, he failed to deal with long shots comfortably, parrying the ball in front of him.

Adebayor surprised the visitors defence early on, closing down Dragutinovic and controlling deftly the ball to dispossess the full back. Thereafter there was uncertainty in the defence when he got the ball, requiring on occasion two players to close him down. It is a mark of his worth to the team that he is not a straightforward centre forward for the opposition to mark. Yet his shooting was wayward; the prime example being the creation of space shortly after the goal, comfortably rounding the centre half only to send a weak effort well wide. It summed up the Arsenal first half in a nutshell.

The game seemed to be drifting with both teams passing the ball but surrendering possession cheaply in the first half when the goal I felt it needed arrived. Cesc has obviously noted that a number of Frank Lampard’s long range efforts take deflections on their path into the net, Escude obliging to divert the ball well away from Palop. A lead yet it did not totally settle the side, Kanoute perhaps could have made more of a half chance at the end of the first half.

The restart seemed to bring new vigour to Arsenal. Gradually the passing game came together and led to the second goal. A quickly taken free kick was too fast for the official’s liking. The retaken effort was a perfect delivery, Sagna’s glancing header onto van Persie, who did well to fashion the chance into a controlled volley into the net. The second goal ensured the result would be three points for the hosts, visibly relaxing afterwards. The final goal from Eduardo was simply the icing on the cake for the result. A simple tap-in after good work by Fabregas and Hleb to break the offside trap.

Of the performances, I thought Flamini was possibly the man of the match, a diligent performance that put him above the rest of the team. Too many appeared subdued or below par, perhaps a hangover from the weekend or international week. Not that they played badly, more that the performances were not as good as they have been this season.

A final word on the official. It is not very often that I think Referee’s at European games control the match without being overly officious. Too often a match is broken by the shrill peep from the Referee. Last night though, he let the game flow where possible and was spot on to book Alves for showing an imaginary card.

A good result, three points and another confidence booster. ’til Tomorrow.

Addendum

So Mournho’s gone then. The likelihood is that Juande Ramos will be back at The Emirates this season if Guus Hiddink’s appointment is deemed politically incorrect in certain Russian circles. It is hard to feel sympathy for Mourinho, his tiresome tirades degenerating into paranoia far too quickly and regularly. His team were bereft of style and grace, seemingly extolling the virtue of winning at any cost. I heard that Chelseawant to be ‘loved’. Well, that is some way off; the same players will still be on the pitch. It seems curious timing with their visit to Old Trafford. No doubt they will put in the performance of their season there. However, it is an opportunity for Arsenal to take advantage of any slip. Already two points clear with a game in hand, to stretch that lead to five and a game in hand would be the ideal result this weekend.