Arsenal 1 – 0 Everton

1 – 0 Bendtner (77)

A real end-of-season game with three points gratefully received at the end and not entirely deserved. A reasonably bright start faded, as Everton were more than comfortable in containing Arsenal’s forward line, Adebayor marshalled tightly by Yobo for the whole of the ninety minutes. The visitors had set their stall out to get a point or to nick something more, Andy Johnson denied in the first half by a good Fabianski save and then Denilson cleared off the line from the resulting corner.

The match had snapped out of its’ sleepwalk as Adebayor latched onto a through ball to force a save out of Howard, a rare opportunity in the first half. If the Arsenal back four watched their opposite numbers carefully, they will have seen a well-drilled unit in operation, undone finally by an excellent cross from Traore, met with a firm Bendtner header with thirteen minutes remaining.

Fabregas, omitted through injury, was sorely missed. Denilson, a decent prospect, lacks the authority of his more experienced peer as you would expect at this stage of his career. Walcott was busy on the flanks but made little headway in the first half on the left. Switching to the right later on, he improved although like Eboue before him, the tendency to drift inside rather than take people on was infuriating. The Ivorian had what could only be described as a shocker yesterday; little that he tried came off, the only cross I can recall reaching its intended destination was in the first half was glanced wide by Adebayor.

It is not just I who thought it was a poor match, Arsene agreed observing afterwards,

The fluency was a bit difficult sometimes and you could see that it was a bit of an end-of-season-of-season game. Everton did not open up at all but we were controlled at the back. We did not create as many chances as usual but scored a great goal and just about deserved the win today

A win that kept the team unbeaten at home in all competitions this season that goes some way towards creating an intimidatory arena for opponents to step into. The step next season is to turn some of the draws into victories to allow the team to push on for another tilt at the top spot.

Jens Lehmann got to say his goodbyes and deservedly got his applause for his on the field contribution to the club’s success over the past seven years, fittingly keeping a clean sheet for his time on the pitch. Arsene was fulsome in his praise for the German,

He was the best ‘keeper in the Premier League. He reads the game well, he is brave and had all of the assets to come into the Premier League because he is not frightened of anybody

His achievement in being part of the ‘Invincibles’ will not be easily forgotten nor should it be.

Mathieu Flamini need not expect such plaudits despite a good season with the club. Reports this morning suggest that Flamini has arrived in Milan for a medical Money talks loudest in his world and that is fair enough, it is his choice but do not expect any tears to be shed from this direction. It is a curious thing that Arsene has lost two central midfielders in six months and may lose a third although he said after the game that he would like the Brazilian to stay, hardly surprising given the paucity of cover at the club at the moment!

Reports at the weekend suggest that there will be two new arrivals at the club before the end of the month, leaving Arsene with the whole summer to find a new defensive midfielder.

‘til Tomorrow.

Everton arrive at The Emirates this afternoon knowing that a point will secure them European football next season following Aston Villa succumbing to Wigan yesterday. With that in mind, it will be no surprise if they string five across the midfield in an attempt to secure a repeat of last season’s draw at The Emirates.

In this morning’s Observer, they produced a raft of statistics that showed the various top passers, scorers, etc., by team and individual. It is no surprise to read that United had the most shots on goal both on and off target. What might surprise people is that Adebayor is marginally more accurate than Ronaldo, Arsenal are only just shy of United in shot conversion.

What is evident though is emphasising everything you knew about Arsenal; five of the top ten passers are from the club with Fabregas, Clichy and Flamini occupying the top three slot, Hleb at five and Sagna ten. That he has been offered a new contract already by the club is good news on two fronts. Firstly, it is recognition of his season. He has been so consistent that at times it is difficult to remember this is his debut season for the club. More importantly though is the fact that the club are being proactive in retaining the services of key players. This is a change from recent seasons when they have tended to focus on the top names. It needs to be more focussed on the whole of the squad, not just the relative few.

Back to the stats. They give the overall impression that United pose more of a threat to the opposition, rightly or wrongly. It also creates an impression that United put opponents under more pressure. They are the top tacklers in the country, Arsenal not registering in the top six. They have scored more and conceded least. Most of this will be derived from their home form; United have been pretty much phenomenal at Old Trafford, dropping just five points all season. The Emirates has yet to inspire capitulation in the same way Old Trafford does. An undefeated season would help that but there is still a perception that Arsenal can be blocked out in a way that United do not allow opponents to. That will improve over time but it is a slow process.

Arsene yesterday moved to quash speculation about Alex Hleb’s future stating that he was not for sale. As rebuttals go, it was not convincing simply for the fact that if Hleb does decide to leave then it will be his decision not the clubs, using the provisions of FIFA Article 17. Nothing that Arsenal can do about it yet it is worth provoking the player into a response by perhaps starting contract negotiations. Any reluctance upon Hleb’s part should be viewed with suspicion in those circumstances. Yet we all assume that Wenger wants to keep him. Perhaps a more accurate reflection might be that he wants to keep him right now.

One area of doubt has to be the lack of goals. For all of the appreciation I have of him as player, and he is hugely talented, I do wonder if he has reached his plateau? It seemed at the start of this season he might have addressed the issue but he slipped back into old habits of spurning shots to pass to a team-mate. Hleb freely admits that this stems from his youth when it was drilled into him that he had to “pass, pass, pass” but he needs to free himself from those mental shackles if he is to improve his performance level. Undoubtedly he has been destabilised by his ice cream in Milan but the question yet to be answered is that why a happy player would have attended such a meeting in the first place? He had to be unsettled to even consider it given the situation surrounding his tutti-frutti.

Back to Everton. There seems little room for Arsenal to juggle the squad. Fabianski ought to continue in goal, it is all good experience. Denilson in the centre of midfield will find Everton a different kettle of fish to woeful Derby. However if he is to develop into the player that he has the potential to then this is the sort of game where he has to learn to impose himself upon. The only possible experimentation would be to put him on the left, Gilberto in the centre and Walcott as support striker to Adebayor, dropping Bendtner to the bench. There seems little point in that to me but you never know what weaknesses Arsene has seen until the match unfolds.

Apologies for the lack of links to The Observer article but this is being typed in a well-known coffeehouse on the way to the game and with their charges for the twenty minutes I have for typing, it is pushing it a bit. Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.

The departure of Keith Edelman continues to rumble on with Arsene professing surprise at the changes in the Boardroom,

We didn’t expect that and I don’t know why. Does he go somewhere else or has he chosen a different direction? You have to respect that. He has done well in a very difficult period and everybody is conscious of that

It is suggested that Danny Fiszman is the protaganist, miffed at missed signings and asserting his power in the Boardroom. The truth will no doubt out at some point in the future, if it has not already. Those pining for the return of David Dein have had a small prick applied to their balloon for his is an ex-Dein, he has ceased to be and is going to remain pining for the fjords of The Emirates powerbase because Jeremy Corbyn MP has decided he will do everything in his power to stop Alisher Usmanov having anything to do with the club,

Edelman was strongly against foreign ownership at Arsenal and will be missed. I have asked for records of Usmanov’s human rights record in Uzbekistan be made public. I want to keep watching the situation to make sure that Arsenal is safe for the fans

All good PR stuff but can the Right Honourable Gentleman actually do anything about the ownership of the club? He stopped short of saying that but did the most that he probably can in the circumstances by keeping the Uzbek’s, ahem, dubious past in the public eye,

Many people hugely appreciate the football club and look to it and its players as role models and that is why I believe the public needs, and is entitled to know, the character of the person who has bought such a large stake in the club

Not that Jezza is entirely happy with the current owners of Arsenal, blaming Edelman (who he likes, remember) for being one of the key decision-makers in reneging on a ‘promise’ to build a new sports centre in the Borough,

Arsenal are now saying they will just do up the Sobell Centre. It actually means we will have fewer sports facilities than before the new stadium was built. I am determined that any new development contains a new sports centre

A row that could rumble on for some time.

Talking of things rumbling, Arsene has predicted a riot, sorry, an end to the Mathieu Flamini saga this weekend which seems to have gone on longer than The Archers has been running. The media are preparing everyone for his departure by claiming that he has demanded Arsenal match the Milan offer of £144k per week. By a quirk of fate, the net salary is more or less equal to the £85k per week that was reportedly asked for by his ‘crew’ as a gross salary some months ago. Who said that journalists do not have cunning and devious minds? According to The Mail, and this is where the 2+2=5 scenario arrives, Arsene said,

Flamini had 48 hours to decide if he was going to accept Arsenal’s deal which, with loyalty bonuses, would be worth £21m over four years

Hold on, no-one except The Mail has said Arsenal will match the offer. And I do not think that Arsene would have said,

He tells me he wants to stay and I want him to stay, but it will be down to numbers as well and we want to respect our wage structure

Erm, £144k a week is not mentioned by him nor is it showing anything resembling a bow and a scrape or doff of the cap in the direction of the clubs salary structure! Still, it would be nice if the whole thing was sorted this weekend, one way or another. If he does go, Patrick Vieira believes the club has a ready made replacement,

I really like Diaby from Arsenal, he has great qualities even though they play him on the left. However he is a very strong central player

OK so he was talking about his successor - presumably at Internazionale - but if he is good enough to do that, PV4 must believe he is good enough to do it for Arsenal is. Were Diaby to be considered the man for the job, quite feasibly he might edge Flamini out of the national team, a delicious little irony. Leave for pastures new, be replaced by the new model.

Diaby is one whose name is not circulating as the man of the moment, mainly because he is injured so frequently. However, it is the position for which he was signed so perhaps PV4 is not that far off the mark with his suggestion. A final thought of Flamini’s situation. It strikes me that much of the sympathy / goodwill that was generated through his performances and the fact that the club whilst not treating him shabbily, contributed to the current scenario more than just a little bit, has been lost. The player will need to improve on this season’s levels to regain that feeling were he to stay due to the delays and dilly-dallying over the contract. Were he not to do so, I do not think it would be long before detractors start observing that perhaps the club should have let him go this summer.

As the comings and goings begin, at least one player has done his damndest to make everyone aware that he is happy at the club. Step forward Gael Clichy,

I feel that Arsenal are one of the best clubs in Europe so I really hope I will stay there

That’s my boy. And if you are feeling sorry for yourself this day about the lack of trophies, fear not for Gael is hurting bad for you as well,

The first thing is that, in football, you have to entertain people and they want to see good football but of course you cannot be proud of just playing well without winning any trophy. But you have to keep that in mind because that’s amazing to play every home game in front of 60,000 supporters and you have to give credit to the fans.

To be honest I feel really sorry for the fans. I know that next season we’ll be better and we’ve got to win things. That was the time to win something this year because we had a really good season so I really feel bad for them because we let them a little bit down.

Of course you cannot say that you want to play good football for 10 years without winning anything. But I’m sure that if we stick with the game we play and the quality we have, we can do both: entertain people, have pleasure and win trophies

Oh, come on, admit it. You love him just a little bit more but cue the comments that say, “You let us down more than a ‘little bit’”…

Finally, my apologies to Dr Jeff Halperin for not mentioning his site before. Jeff runs an NHS Project on stress - Sort Out Stress - that is specifically aimed at stress and its impact on young men. There is a features section which contains some interesting thoughts on Arsenal this season here.

’til Tomorrow.

Leading into the Everton game, the thigh of Robin van Persie has struck back with the Dutchman being rested for the match. Given the injuries that he has suffered this season, the thought of him participating at Euro2008 beggars belief. For all of FIFA and UEFA’s protests, the health of the players is the least of their worries. All that they care about is having the ‘stars’ at their events and to hell with club football.

Yet international football is not the lifeblood of the game; it is the cherry on top of the cake. Whilst it is right that injuries are assessed prior to international fixtures, there is no ‘give’ the other way in that a player who has suffered a disrupted season, as van Persie and Rosicky both have, should not be allowed to take their place in an international squad unless their club have agreed to it. If they participate having missed over half of the season through injury, there is a high probability that one or both will suffer a recurrence of their woes, which is disruptive for their employers and disappointing for the fans.

UEFA and FIFA have just about settled their differences with clubs by agreeing a compensation package of sorts but they could take one-step further and implement such a rule. Instead of constant bickering and sniping, the governing bodies might just find that an olive branch offered on this subject gets something in reward for the rest of the international calendar. As it is, they use psychological pressure – ‘the tournament is the pinnacle of the player’s career’ – to induce the players into playing when rest would have more benefits in the long-term.

With a link so tenuous that even Terry Wogan would be scared to use it during a Children In Need appeal, I stumbled across some memorabilia last night, these files are my ticket and a matchday programme of sorts from the trip to Austria for the 1991 European Cup-tie at the Prater Stadium (now the Ernst Happel Stadium where the final of Euro2008 will take place).

The journey was a nightmare and the last time I have taken a coach to a football match. A cobbled together unofficial trip in the days when you did not have to buy a ticket beforehand, it was Arsenal’s first foray onto foreign fields following on from the ban on English clubs following the Heysel Stadium disaster. Suffice to say, we knew we were in trouble when the drivers pulled in to a service station just outside Dover and bought a map of Europe. It took thirty hours to get there, the drivers obsession with turning off the French motorway network became wearing very quickly; the residents of Lille looked totally bemused seeing a coach with Arsenal flags draped over the windows in their backstreets; being refused entry to Germany until we had paid the Border Guards with football badges; bribing our way in and out of Luxembourg with football badges (who knew they would be such a useful currency?) and drinking in Viennese brothels after the game because we could not get into any bars in the city centre. You know when it has been a bad trip when the drivers had a whip-round, bought several slabs of Stella on the ferry on the way back, and gave them to us for directing them back to good Old Blighty. We flew to Lisbon for the next round…

Back to the here and now. Mathieu Flamini is due to return to training today and Arsene has hinted that he might be on the bench on Sunday for the visit of Everton to The Emirates. Given that there is no public indication that he is going to stay at the club, I believe it is time that Arsene planned for next season and for him to exclude his compatriot from this match and the visit to The Stadium Of Light the following weekend. It is not personal but Arsene needs to plan for next season. Denilson should start as he did at Pride Park or if Bacary Sagna is fit, put Toure or Song there.

In this month’s issue of FourFourTwo, Nicolas Anelka answers readers questions. He is hard pushed to say which team was the better, 1998s Double Winners or the current squad whilst asserting that it was his decision to leave and nothing to do with his brothers as Arsene is supposed to have said at the time,

He knows very well that everything was down to me – it was what I wanted. I have no regrets because at that time, what I wanted was to leave…I wanted to go to Real Madrid, who wouldn’t. That said, when you look at what happened afterwards, you can always say, “Ah Well, he should have stayed”, but it is too easy to say that. There’s no point in living with regrets. I’ve always loved Arsenal; the club, the supporters and the players. I don’t have any problem with anyone there but once you’ve turned that page, you’ve turned that page

The magazine also has a double page spread on Dennis Bergkamp’s hat-trick at Filbert Street in 1997, still the only time the same player has had the 1-2-3 in Match of the Day’s Goal of the Month competition. Answering the question, ‘Was the Bergkamp goal to make it 3-2 one of the best you have seen?’, Leicester’s Steve Walsh replied,

One of them. I was only too pleased that he made a fool out of Matt [Elliott] not me! Seriously, there was not a lot any defender could have done. Fortunately, I was on the other side of the defence

Who says it is all for one and one for all in a football team? More like, there but for the grace of God…

And so to Edelman’s departure. Safe Hands Ken Friar returns but it is all of the media this morning that Arsene has won a ‘power struggle’ in the Boardroom and wants a footballing man in situ from now on. Edelman’s focus was right for the time he was at the club, growing the business but if he is not interested in becoming a ‘football man’ then it is right for him to move on. Anyway, you can read The Times, The Guardian, The Sun and The Mirror views and work out where they will fit the club in crisis routines in over the summer. Arseblogger has an interview with Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters Trust in this weeks Arsecast where it is discussed.

The upshot of it seems to be the reins being slackened and Martin Samuel makes a persuasive case for signing Michael Johnson or Gareth Barry but shhhh, don’t tell Arsene they are English.

’til Tomorrow.

Cesc Fabregas spoke after the victory at Pride Park on Monday of Arsenal’s season,

We can see the games against Birmingham City at home [1-1], Birmingham away [2-2] and Aston Villa at home [1-1] where we can regret that we didn’t get more points. If we could have had these points that normally if you want to win the title you have to get, then we would be at the top

Add to this Wigan, Middlesbrough [home and away], Newcastle and a record of six points out of eighteen against the other teams in the top four and you can take your pick as to what matches caused the title to be cast aside when a good position to seal it was in hand. The pain that this has caused still rumbles on with fingers being pointed around at various players in such a scattergun approach it is little surprise that there appears to be any number of victims to this pointless witch-hunt.

Fabregas is not blind to the strengths and the weaknesses of the squad,

I don’t think that we can allow teams to score these kinds of goals when we are having the ball 90 per cent of the game. We know that we can score when we push forward, but we still need to improve defensively…If we had defended well as a team, they would not have scored any…We can learn from it. Definitely. Because we are young, because we want to play, because we are hungry for titles. We will improve for next season. In fact, I would say that it has already started for us. In our last two games we know that we have started a new season. For us, it is now

Aside from the obvious of winning titles, there is not much more Arsenal’s own Bruce Forsyth can say. He has been pivotal to the team’s improvement this season and will no doubt be as important next year. Concerns about what would happen if he were to be injured or unavailable for long periods miss one crucial point. Fabregas is the sort of player that you cannot directly replace, the dynamic of the team has to change in his absence, the style becomes different because no two players have the same vision and that is one of Arsene’s biggest challenges, preparing for injury meltdown – not just to the Spaniard - again.

Much has been lost in recent seasons through a lack of depth in certain positions – look at the scoring charts last time around and this to see what happens when a forward line gets decimated – and that needs to be rectified but the squad has sufficient quality that once a replacement for Flamini is found, adding to the numbers can take place.

On that subject, Gael Clichy has added fuel to the fire by suggesting that Flamini is expected to leave and that Lassana Diarra was too eager to jump ship,

From my point of view it’s always good to have a little bit of patience. I have been second choice left back behind Ashley Cole and I knew it was difficult for me to play if he was there. You have to believe in your own qualities and wait for your time. If Mathieu wants to leave it’s up to him and we wish him good luck if we win. But we hope he will stay

The clubs wage structure is under severe pressure when players are targeted to become ‘high earners’ in foreign fields. In every walk of life, there are higher earners for the same job. Should the club look to change their internal finances is a tough choice. They are financially sound without needing a backer to fund ordinary activities but it does put them at a disadvantage in a minority of cases.
The question that knee-jerk reactors need to ask themselves is whether or not they want the club to be beholden to one man with a risk of meltdown in the future when the backers money runs out or whether immediate glory is all and to hell with the consequences? Personally I will take the former and if that means that serious title challenges have to put up with cyclical rebuilding, then so be it.

Given that Arsene’s rebuilding of this squad should end in the summer, have the past three seasons been so bad? Disappointing in that there is no silverware, yes because we all want Arsenal to win the title but to counter that, the club are in a better long term position than they were three years ago and one might hasten to add, than their rivals who have to buy each summer to maintain their position rather than organic growth.

The spending is now going to be more sharply in focus with the top two in the Champions League final and yes, it is an envious position. It does not take rocket science to work out that the coming months are going to be more intense in terms of ‘Fantasy Football’ signings to keep up with the Joneses. The reality is that if Arsene gets the signings right this summer, there is no reason why the squad cannot match their peers in every department.

The Boardroom is expected to take on a different dynamic with Keith Edelman reportedly jumping ship in a move that will give the media their chance to enhance their club in crisis – all the players want to leave now it’s the board’ type stuff. Edelman has done well in a difficult period of the clubs history with the rebuilding on and off the pitch.

Emmanuel Adebayor is the latest player to be linked with a move to Italy after media outlets reported that his agent had met with representatives of AC Milan’s board. No doubt the comment that he will be sitting down with Arsenal to discuss the future in the summer will be seized upon by Adebayor’s detractors as a sign of him getting too big for his boots, conveniently forgetting the fact that they – if employed – probably sit down and have an annual appraisal with their bosses, looking to get due reward for their own efforts in the past twelve months, wanting to know what plans are, etc. Oh, and as usual, the Mr20%’s talk out of their Arsenal’s.

‘til Tomorrow.

The criticism that Emmanuel Adebayor gets, is for me, too much this season. The lad has scored over twenty goals in the Premier League alone this season which is twenty more than many thought he would get at the start of the season. Given the low returns he had managed in his previous campaign and a half for the club, some praise is deserved. And not the stuff that comes followed by a ‘BUT’ either. Let’s be honest her, van Persie was the Great White Hope to replace Henry but has proved to be injury-riven this season. Back in the team, he has managed a couple of goals in his four or five games since returning which is fair enough considering that he has missed a huge portion of the season. But it begs the question as to what you want from Adebayor and more importantly, what you would have made of some of the games‘ ‘greats’ had they worn the red and white of Arsenal?

I mean what would you have made of Pele? Might have scored over one thousand goals but what about the standard of opposition? How many penalties? What a waste, shooting from inside his own half and missing when he had dummied the ‘keeper. Ferenc Puskas? Doesn’t score enough, too concerned with creating for others. Cruyff? Far too arrogant, a ringleader and troublemaker who will be off before you know it. Gerd Muller? Overweight and contributes nothing to the team other than goalhanging. Maradona? Stumbles through the opposition and then flukes it into the net; not a team player, can’t like anyone because he never passes to them.

Adebayor is not in their class and may never reach those rarefied heights but for Christ’s sake, can we just enjoy the moment and give out some praise where it’s due? If you really want something to complain about, look at Tottenham’s season; it was the one earmarked out for Arsenal. Oh no, I forgot, winning the Carling Cup makes a season of total underperformance on and off the pitch completely alright. And selling your best forward? No worries because the papers tell us that Daniel Comolli has started ‘informal’ negotiations with Valencia which translates as he phoned International Directory Enquiries for their phone number but because he is a good, cost-conscious employee, he noted the number down rather than asking to be put directly through, saving a whole fifty pence in the process.

Anyway don’t just take my word for Adebayor’s good form, Arsene said,

I didn’t think Adebayor would reach 30 goals this season. I thought he would get 15. In this team you can score goals when you play up front because we always go forward and you get good service. But, I feel there is more in his locker than what he is doing at the moment. You cannot ask a striker to score 50 goals but if he repeats this amount every year, that is a mark of class

The ego that some seem to hate will have been further boosted when Cesc, who is hurting from the Champions League exit, said

He makes a difference every time he plays; he’s a striker who can do everything. We should feel fortunate to have him

But it seems that not all do and no doubt if he has not scored twenty by the end of August in the new season, there will be criticism of the Togolese international. It seems he ought to have scored more which, so the logic goes, would have put the team top of the league, ignoring the fact that he has done what he was supposed to but the goalscoring support from elsewhere in the squad has been inconsistent or even non-existent in some cases. Still Robin van Persie was removed as a precaution on Monday so there is a goalscoring threat there still.

The unity of the squad has been a feature of this season despite the odd outburst from individuals. Gael Clichy has leapt to the defence of the defence,

I think with William (Gallas), Kolo (Toure), Philippe (Senderos) and Johan Djourou we’ve got some great centre backs. And once again when you make mistakes people are talking about you. That’s a shame for Philippe because this game, away at Liverpool, was a big game, he made mistakes, of course. But I’ve made mistakes as well, everyone makes mistakes and you cannot just judge a player on one game. Philippe has been there for five years now and he has done well. He’s the one who replaced Sol Campbell for many months, and Sol Campbell is one of the best centre backs. So that means the guy has qualities and you cannot deny that. You have to take your responsibilities and that is what he has done against Liverpool. I think with all the players we have got, with Alex Song, we’ve got enough quality.

But it is up to Arsene to decide according to Gael, as to whether or not there will be defensive reinforcements this summer which I suspect there will be. It might be that Senderos is sent on loan to regain his confidence if someone is signed but were that to happen, you would have to seriously question whether he would return to the club or not given the centre-backs below him in age are knocking on the first team squad door, certainly for the Carling Cup.

Let’s continue this theme today of the unpopular players. Emmanuel Eboue has spoken of his season,

I have enjoyed playing there throughout the season. The manager asked me to play there and I felt I could do a good job in that position. It was not easy, first because it is such a different position to right-back. I needed a bit of time to adapt myself and I feel that, little by little, I got better. I have worked very hard to change my game to be able to play in midfield. Now, I want to keep playing there and keep improving to become a better right midfielder. I need to do better and be more effective next season. I want to show the coach that he got it right by asking me to play there. I want to pay him back

Crisp fivers is also an acceptable method but regaining the forward foraging that he showed in his first season at Right Back would be a good start. He and Walcott are more than likely to be rotated next season, presuming that the left hand side of midfield can have its problems solved. Eboue also said,

We don’t have to be ashamed of our season. We have given everything we had, it was not our time but we have learnt a lot this season. All the members of this squad have matured so much. We have all developed into better players and we will definitely come back stronger after what happened to us this year. I have faith in this squad, in these players and in our coach, Arsene Wenger, to bring us to the top. We have to keep working like we have done this season, keep improving in all aspects, defensively, offensively, individually and as a team so we can compete again for the title next season and this time be crowned champions

Indeed but it strikes me that too many are ashamed of the season. Recognise it for what it was; an exceeding of expectations. It was disappointing towards the end but they over-achieved based on the beliefs at the start of the season. So, learn and be positive. Wallowing in a pool of your own misery will not achieve anything.

‘til Tomorrow.

Derby County 2 – 6 Arsenal

0 – 1 Bendtner (24)
1 – 1 McEveley (30)
1 – 2 van Persie (39)
1 – 3 Adebayor (59)
2 – 3 Earnshaw (76)
2 – 4 Walcott (79)
2 – 5 Adebayor (81)
2 – 6 Adebayor (90)

Three very welcome points that draw Arsenal to within four of the summit. Arsene was true to his word and rang the changes through the team for this match and was rewarded with four different scorers against the Premier League’s whipping boys.

When Arsene said that he was planning for next season already and would be rotating the squad accordingly, not many would have put the midfield together that he did. Denilson in the centre, supporting the newly-crowned Young Player of the Year, Cesc Fabregas with notionally Eboue and Walcott on the flanks although the fluidity of the Arsenal positional play renders that somewhat irrelevant.

If the opening parries and thrusts threatened an even game, there were sufficient warnings for Derby that this would not be their night for glory. Beset by defensive problems all season, Arsenal ensured their woeful run continued when Bendtner intercepted a pass from Moore to free van Persie, who returned the compliment allowing the Dane to take his time and pick his spot to break the deadlock.

The lead did not last. Savage’s freekick enabled Moore and McEveley to out jump Song and Gallas, the ball squirming behind the two Arsenal defenders, McEveley reacting quickest to fire home. Would a more experienced ‘keeper than Fabianski have come for the cross in the first place? He certainly thought about before retreating to his line. This is the sort of experience he needs to gain before pressurising Almunia effectively for a starting line-up place.

Parity might have been restored but the gulf between the two teams was becoming more evident, emphasised when van Persie controlled Toure’s long pass and stroked the ball home five minutes before half-time. It was to be his final telling contribution before being replaced by Emmanuel Adebayor. Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that the Togolese forward was his choice as Player of the Year (well, he cannot vote for himself). Adebayor provided the central focus of the second half if he was not perhaps the outstanding individual. That ‘accolade’ belongs to Theo Walcott. Just under an hour played and he made a mockery of Stubbs, leaving the defender sprawling helplessly on the turf before pulling the ball back to Eboue. Stumbling over the ball and stifling a cry of ‘Penalty!’, it squirmed to Adebayor who had the simplest of tasks to score.

Robert Earnshaw reduced the deficit with fifteen minutes left, Gallas and Toure bisected by a pass that allowed the Welshman to finish. It brought about the barnstorming finish that the Derby fans would have dreaded. It could hardly be said that the hosts were pushing forward in search of an equaliser such was the short time between Earnshaw scoring and Walcott picking the ball up thirty yards out before moving into the area to curl the ball into the far corner. No challenge of any note was made on Walcott and that is the epitaph of Derby’s season.

Barely had they got their heads around the two-goal deficit being restored than it was a three-goal gap. Hitting Derby on the counter-attack, Clichy outsprinted the defence to curl a pass into Adebayor’s path to finish. The hattrick goal arrived when Fabregas topped off a good couple of days with a pass that bisected the defence from well inside the Arsenal half. Adebayor gave it the finish it deserved by rounding the keeper and slotting home.

Six goals away from home are not as important as the three points. It has left a tangible improvement compared to last season – third place. It is worth also noting that if United win the title, they will do so on the back of a phenomenal home record. To date, they dropped just five points which has covered their away record. Arsenal and Chelsea have both ‘wasted’ double that number of points at home, despite both being unbeaten.

Post match, Arsene was purring,

I love this team, love the way they behave and the way they play

Poetry in motion might have been an apt description for the second half. The manager noted that Adebayor took advantage of the hard work carried out in the opening forty-five minutes. He also emphasised his desire to keep the squad together,

This team for me has a good future. We have seventy-seven points and we wanted to win our three games remaining this season. The team is stronger than at the start of the season but we went through a difficult period in March and have paid for it.

The price has been hard but it is part of the learning curve. Given the paucity of the opposition last night, there is little point in looking for negatives; experience has been gained by some, confidence returned to others, positives for the next campaign. It was in any case, good to see Walcott produce the sort of performance that we have been led to expect. Other plus points were the return to fitness of Denilson and Djourou; some depth returning to the squad.

That Arsene will buy in the summer is of little doubt, the man himself has said he will be strengthening. Where those players will fit in depends on the outcome of this week with Flamini and keeping Hleb for one more season at least.

I’m going to enjoy the day following last night’s win. ‘til Tomorrow.