Strange game, big game, important game, important result.

Strange because more usually its the other team that is hanging on at the end of the game as we carve them to bits.

Villa have clearly shown the way to other teams - NOT - if you chase, harry and kick Arsenal for 80 minutes you'll get done in the last ten minutes. Whereas Villa tried a new ploy - get carved up for 45 minutes then chase, kick and harry AFC for the second 45. That way you don't get creamed in the last ten minutes because you have something left in the tank on 80 minutes. Better still just cripple our best player on the day with studs down the back of the leg. Simple really. Seems entirely reasonable to me. If Arsenal are taking the piss by half time then just go for the dirt. Any mediocre ref in the Premiership, and by my count that's all of them, will comply if only to balance the game up and make it an equal contest, when it clearly wasn't. So why do we ease off? We knew they were going to come in all guns blazing and we knew the ref wouldn't protect us. Why oh why do we never play the ref as well as the opposition? What we should have done is steam in for ten minutes afte
 r the break and then played football again.

Could have been 1-5 at half time. Could have been 3-2 on 90 minutes. But the important thing is it wasn't. They got a break for their goal, we got a break for our equaliser. Maybe they deserved to get a point but I'd prefer to think that we creamed them first half and then held out well for a result.

I thought Matti redeemed himself with a stunning shot after giving the ball away cheaply for their goal. Must be the first left footed-shot he hasn't hit into row Z, but would be happy to be contradicted. It was too easy for Carew because we don't have one central defender good enough in the air, which at least means we know how our opponents will work their game plan I suppose.

Fat Sam will tell the Toon to play football against AFC in midweek, he'll play great emphasis on his team, Barton, Smith and the like, matching our skills and our one-touch ability. No Toon player will take a red shirt out off the ball after they've made a pass. There will be no tackles from behind whatsoever and it will be a good sporting contest, given that the Walrus and Toon are under no pressure whatsoever right now.

I'd concur with Larry's marks and his opinion of Eboue - but he is still a major embarrassment so far as I'm concerned. I'd like to give him an Oscar and shove it up his arse, so what must opponents feel like?

Setanta is clearly crap, but what are the options? Watching with the sound down? Or do as I do and shout back to the feckwits doing the commentary and putting them straight?

At the end of the day, to coin a vastly overworked and meaningless phrase. We CAN grind it out but we are going to miss Kolo badly. Eboue we won't miss in the slightest if we have a fully fit squad. Before then however we have a whole load more big games. They all count now and three points at Villa park, given their current form, was MASSIVE, especially taking into consideration the three key players for AFC who were not on the field for most of the second half.

Gooner 48 - One life, one game, one team, three doubles, an unbeaten season and a 1,000+ games at Highbury