This could be quite a tough game on paper, Pompy are always a tough test but if you play them right they are usually there for the taking, Tonight we did not do that. we played a 4-5-1 system and we looked short up front, Adebayor did not produce what he is there to produce and looked a bit out of sorts to say the least.

After meeting in the Shephards Crook for a quick pint I went into the ground to see a great following of away fans who had made the trip even there was no public transport as well as being live on TV, well done to all those who made the trip and who endured the nightmare of trying to get away after the game, which took over an hour just to do about 500 yards.

Portsmouth's main threat is usualy from a quick breakaway with pace and Arsene must have had this in mind when he selected this fairly workhorse like team and formation for this match, with Robin Van Persie and Eduardo not even available on the bench.

We did have a chance within the first five minutes but the Eboue cross just fizzed across the goalmouth without anyone getting on the end of it although Cesc was the closest, after that it just became a footrace of personal battles of speed as if we were making sure we had the measure of them in the first place but the first half passed without and real threat and i was actually thinking at half time that Portsmouth were not going to score against us tonight, we looked too solid at the back for Portsmouth however Almunia did make an absolutly stunning save as he pushed the ball found his right post from a fierce shot from Benjani I belive.

Second half came and we did get our effective passing game back together again and we seemed to have a bit more purpose about us but we still stuck to the 4-5-1, but Adebayor was frustraitngly still not delivering hardly a shot as time and time again he and Eboue were where the breakdowns kept happening when they were either getting dispossesed or a loose pass gave the ball away.

Mr Bennett the referee was not the cause of us dropping points at all but as an effective feferee he lacked judgement time and time again and given his experience he should have made a few different calls than he did and a bit of consistency for both teams would help.

On four occasions the Portsmouth players after being passed threw themselves into the back of our players legs bringing us down and even on one occasion Bennett called on the trainer after Diop had made a awful tackle on Rosicky,  Diop feigned injury trying to convince he was the injured party and stayed down, Rosicky managed to dust himself down and get up whilst Diop just seeked attention, the travelling Gooners were after his head with  "off, off, off" being chanted and then to the amazement of all watching including the Pompy home faithful he did not even brandish a yellow and then sent Rosicky to the touchline for receiveing treatment from the trainer.

As I said, Bennett was not the cause of us dropping points, but he sure as hell made it as difficult as possible for us.

As the final part of the match was being played out it was like the Alamo with Portsmouth just clearing their lines and most of this came about when Eboue was substituted for Diaby(65), and Bendtner for Hleb(84) we had another outlet and a more effective one as well as Bendtner created chance after chace and pandemonium in the Pompy defence, so why Arsene left it so late before bringing on Bendtner I will never know, surely he deserves a lot longer on the pitch and he is no doubt a very very good player who at this moment in time is playing better than Adebayor 

Yes we dropped two points today and it had to asked why we keep relying on Adebayor so much, we have alternative striking options and we should be using them, maybe drop Adebayor for a few games and get him to gather his thoughts. Clichy worked tirelessly as did Hleb and the Flamster and all of the team, but on a few occasions one or two did not work effectively which probably cost us in the end. Rosicky had a great chance in the dying seconds of this match but like the Arsenal performance itself, it was fractionally just wide of the mark. 

Team; Almunia, Clichy, Gallas, Sagna, Toure, Eboue(65), Fabregas, Rosicky, Flamini, Hleb(84), Adebayor.

Subs; Lehmann, Diarra, Diaby (65), Song, Bendtner (84)

We did deserve the win but we did not get it and we lost top spot to Manchester United, however the attitude of the team was excellent and we live to fight on.

Quick metnion to Campbell who was Portsmouths MOTM, and it was good to see Kanu, Lauren and Adams get a good reception.