Don't worry, be hopeful all ye Gunners

Now that we’ve failed to break our trophy drought yet again, it seems like the end of the world for many a Gunner. Now that Arsene Wenger has failed to deliver  - yet again – on the promise of turning this team into winners, it may look like an early end to yet another futile season.

It is always great and convenient to become wise after the event. Many comments picked up from Arsenal fanblogs scattered over cyberspace were naturally filled with frustration, exasperation and people fed-up with our latest failure and Wenger’s lily-livered tactics.

Yes, we bottled it. Yes, Birmingham outfought us on the day and showed greater hunger for the prize at stake. Birmingham, whom we have trashed both home and away in the league, suddenly found a hardened resolve from somewhere to hold us at bay and sneak-in goals from nowehere to claim the Carling Cup.

Some comments of bitter fans looked interesting to me. One of them mentioned that the line-up lost us the game; that it was a mystery how Tomas Rosicky managed to play a full game despite not contributing anything meaningful. Nothing new there. Rosicky has been in terminal decline for almost three seasons now and surely does not merit a starting spot in any game we play – least of all our first cup final in five years!

I’ve written severally about him here and how he has lost his mojo, or desire, or fighting spirit, or even legs. He hardly stays on his feet. He can’t score anymore (forget that freak effort against Leyton Orient last week, which was his first goal since Everton in January 2010). All in all, Rosicky rightly contributed nothing, as expected, and if you ask me he should be seeing out his final season with us.

We all know he played due to the injury to Cesc Fabregas. But Wenger should have picked Abou Diaby ahead of him. The Frenchman may be infuriatingly inconsistent, but in a game that promised and turned out to be hard-fought, his muscle and physical presence would have been crucial. Nothing ought to have stopped Wenger pushing Jack Wilshire into the Fabregas role and deploying Diaby alongside Song to stop the combative Lee Bowyer and co in Birmingham’s midfield.

Well, like I said earlier it’s always great to be wise after the event. It’s all done and dusted now. The Carling Cup, edition 50 is gone to St. Andrews, rather than the Emirates. The history books will always give it to Birmingham and disregard all the nitty-gritty and pre-post game permutations. Period.

However, one other thing I picked up from all the fanblogs was the role played by Jack Wilshire in this game. If anyone had any doubt about his abilities, he laid it all to rest in this game. Not that he needed to prove anything to anyone. Not even to Fabio Capello, who was an interested spectator at Wembley.

Jack was our standard-bearer. He was a one-man warrior. He was our own Roy of the Rovers. He has come of age, if it is possible to say that of 19 year-old.

He constantly and tirelessly took the fight to Birmingham as his teammates allowed the occasion to play havoc on their nerves. The awesome shot he cracked against the bar from 30yards, ignited panic amongst the Birmingham ranks and produced our equaliser in the 28th minute.

That shot apart, he was full of boundless energy. He was positive, inventive and full of gutful running. He never gave up and drove the team forward in the absence of Fabregas. Sadly, very few of his teammates were on the same wavelength with him and fewer had a stomach for the fight.

Well now, it might be early days yet, but Fabregas can now depart in peace and re-unite with his Catalan  kith and kin at Barcelona. He has a successor and heir in Jack. Ian Wright put it best that you don’t have the Arsenal captaincy handed to you on a platter, but for Jack, as preposterously as it may sound, he has shown enough bottle to be a great player and leader of men.

Talent is one thing; character another matter entirely. He has them both in full measure and will be probably the greatest captain this team will ever know.

Yes, the Carling Cup has been won and lost. For all Gunners, the pain will take time to go away but what has emerged form the ashes of the defeat is that we have a leader and a beacon for a glorious future. That beacon is a bandy-legged 19 year-old who is an Englishman with the skills of a latino.

That is the greatest consolation from our Carling Cup debacle.

Beware the sinners from St. Andrews

Sunday, 27^th February will be the day all of Arsene Wenger’s hopes and expectations for his protégés will either come to fruition or bite the dust. Yet, Gooners everywhere, me inclusive, are hoping it will be the former.

Carling war....Wenger and McLeish go mhead-to-head for glory

 This team needs a trophy. The Emirates stadium is long overdue for one. All the endless planning, groundwork, scouting, investment (paltry it may seem) have all come to this.

As we file out against Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City inside the Wembley stadium on a brand new turf that replaces the erstwhile, troublesome, heavily-criticised surface this Sunday, it will be a day that dreams can come true.

All talk since last month has been about this game. The first final Arsenal have found themselves in since that FA Cup final against Manchester United in 2005. It is a must-win game. No bones about this one.

Coincidentally, this Carling Cup final will the 50th edition since the competition began rather ignominously in 1961. Coincidentally, it means a whale of a lot to Arsene Wenger and the graduates of his Colney creche, because they need success and need to bring a trophy to a team so desperately in need of silverware but starved of it in the past six seasons..

With such a scenario in mind, it would be tempting to dismiss the opponents on the day, Birmingham City as no-hopers, or lesser favourites. It is a dangerouas thing to do and despite what the bookmakers may say, Arsene Wenger and his players will not be falling into that trap.

Yes, our first game this year was away to Birmingham at St. Andrews in the league. It is a venue that holds bitter, better-forgotten memories for all Gunners. It was there that Eduardo Da Silva had his leg snapped into two in February, 2008 and forever lost his deadly touch in front of goal.

It was also there that we lost our way in our quest for league glory, as we imploded on that day, ending up throwing away our lead for a 2-2 draw and eventually giving up the lead at the top of the league ladder to  - who else – Manchester United.

It was to this same ground that we returned on Saturday, January 1 this year and thrashed the hosts 3-0 in a game that saw Robin Van Persie hit the opener with his first successful freekick in almost two years!

Since then, Birmingham have strengthened their attack with the acquisition of two very dangerous players who have breached our defence in the past. Those two players are ex-Gunner David Bentley and ex-Newcastle forward, Nigeria’s Obafemi Martin. On their day, both players can hit wuthering heights of excellence if they get it right.

Bentley we all know about. So also Martins, who is full of endless running and still remains a handful for defences despite knocking on the wrong side of 30.

Unlike January 1 when we overpowered them, the Birmingham City that will file out against us this Sunday will be a very different proposition. I’m not too sure if Bentley will be eligible for the game cos he was part of the Tottenham side we beat last September at White Hart Lane in this same competition, thanks to two Sami Nasri penalties. Not sure about that. But even without him, McLeish can still call upon Serbian giant Nicola Zigic who is a formidable presence in the air and will keep the ever-impressive Johann Djourou on his toes for 90 minutes.

Fingers crossed, we will celebrate after 90 minutes, barring the odd-unforeseen event like a penalty out of nowhere or a deflected header off a freekick or a cornerkick. Against such things there are hardly any solutions. All the pre-game tactics and chalkboard permutations can quickly fly out of the window in such instances. But all Gooners, me inclusive are confident that after 90 minutes, we will be celebrating the end of our long, long trophy drought.

There is simply no reason to consider anything otherwise.

 

Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1

And so finally, finally the dragon was slayed at the fourth time of asking. Arsene Wenger finally beat Barcelona at the fourth attempt last night as his substitutions inspired a late fightback that turned the tables against Spain’s best.
It lived up to expectations as a feast of footballing delicacies. All the trickery and polished passing of Barcelona was on display at the Emirates in this eagerly-awaited Round of 16 clash.
Unlike last year though when the Catalans came visiting and silenced 60,000 fans with breathtaking artistry, this time it took them a while to get into their groove.
Arsenal started like the proverbial house on fire, using the pace of Theo Walcott to get behind Barcelona’s backline. On one occasion, Walcott evaded four tackles on the edge of the box and though his final ball eventually came to nought, the early signs were good that the Spanish were in for a difficult time.
Not so soon though. The visitors regrouped and set about their task with their usual precision. Lionel Messi, slippery and evasive as ever soon began his conjurer’s act. By the 20th minute mark, he almost struck as his toe-poked effort beat Wojniech Szczesny but trickled agonisingly beyond the far post when every pair of eyes in the stadium believed it was heading for the back of the net. Relief for all Gunners couldn’t be more welcome.
Undaunted, the Barcelona ensemble continued to dictate the pace and gradually took over possession. Already, the early yellow card to Alex Song restricted the presence of the holding midfielder, allowing the pair of Andre Iniesta and Xavi to enjoy more and more space in the middle.
Their endeavour finally paid off in the 26th minute when Song failed to close down Messi and the little Argentine prodded the ball into the path of David Villa. The dangerous Number 9 took it in his stride and further helped it on its way; between the legs of the exposed Szczesny for the opening goal.
Every Gunner feared the worst, or at least a repeat of last year’s capitulation.
It proved unfounded as we resisted until the halftime whistle. On resumption, we came out quicker from the blocks as Jack Wilshire began to assert his presence and much-trumpeted abilities. It was a different Arsenal that seized the initiative from the Spaniards as we enjoyed more possession and drove forward at every opportunity.
Robin Van Persie became more and more prominent upfront and Barcelona’s defence set-up of Gerard Pique and Maxwell suddenly had their work cut out for them.
Despite our increased presence on the ball, Barcelona were doing a pretty good job of containment and it could be said as the game frittered into its latter stages, that the visitors would comfortably escape with a lone goal lead.
Until a five-minute salvo that changed the face of the game and increased the decibels inside the packed Emirates.
Firstly, newly-introduced Andrei Arshavin - on for Song - received the ball at the near byline and fed the overlapping Gael Clichy. The fullback lifted the ball into the path of the persevering Van Persie and as the Dutchman strode with determination towards the goal byline, not many in the stadium saw any tangible end result for the move.
Not many indeed, excluding Van Persie. He glimpsed a small swathe of space between Victor Valdes and the near post and it was in there that he blasted the ball with all the pent-up frustration of the night. It was a goal of supreme risk and determination. How well he celebrated. How much it meant to the massed army of Gunners all waving red flags and scarves declaring their avowed love for their hungry club.
The second goal arrived to greater excitement five minutes later when Samir finally found himself free on the right side. With all the time in the world, he angled and measured a pass into the path of fast-advancing Arshavin, who took the ball first time and swept it into the bottom corner beyond the reach of Valdes and his massed defenders who were all caught in a frantic retreat.
Barcelona threatened a late response through the irrepressible Messi, but the impressive Johann Djourou and Laurent Koscielny snuffed out everything they could conjure.
The celebrations at the final whistle were full-blooded even though we all acknowledge that it is though a job well done, it was still halftime in 180 minute contest.
Guardiola, Barcelona’s ever- demanding coach, summarised it in typical style:

“In general, I’m happy with the performance – the result is the thing I don’t like”.


His counterpart, the relieved Arsene Wenger naturally had more words and more reason to expand on the outcome of a crucial victory:

”I’m very proud for Arsenal tonight. Everybody urged us to play differently to our nature and this result will strengthen the belief in our philosophy. We needed to score two goals. I just took the gamble – it could have backfired to 2-0 or 3-0, but it worked”.


Indeed it worked well. We wait till March 8 for the return leg to know if those goals will be enough to see us through to the quarterfinals. With last night’s fighting spirit though, anything is possible for this Arsenal side now.


Ratings: Szszesny 7, Djourou 7, Koscielny 7, Clichy 7, Song 6, Eboue 6, Wilshire 8, Nasri 6, Fabregas 6, Van Persie 7, Walcott 6, Arshavin 7, Bendtner 5.

The real reason why Fabregas will stay or go

 In the week where all our progress, strides and forward-movement of this season will be measured against the unofficial ”best team in the world”, Barcelona, a key player of Arsenal gave us the biggest reason so far why Cesc Fabregas will or will not continue his stay at the club.

We play Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16, on the night of Wednesday, February 16 and oh, what a night it promises to be!

More than games against the likes of Chelsea or Man United, this encounter between the two-most stylish clubsides in the world, will be the marker of how far we have progressed or improved from that 6-3 thrashing of last year.  Pep Guardiola has described Arsenal as dangerous opponents, while bits and pieces from inside the camp of the Nou Camp side suggest that in Theo Walcott, Arsenal possess a player that ought to be feared.

None other than the incomparable Lionel Messi has voiced his concern about Theo:

“I remember we were winning 2-0 on the pitch and Arsenal had no chance to change the course of the game. But on the field came Walcott, and without the help of his teammates, he managed to do something that could not be done by the whole team before”.

Note how he said, ‘Arsenal had no chance’. The great thing about non-Englishmen expressing their opinions in English, is the abject frankness and blunt edge to their expressions. They do not have the vocabulary to do doublespeak and coax their true feelings in innuendos. So they just say exactly what they feel. Period.

All that might just be an attempt to create a sense of falsophobia (the fear of something that doesn’t exist) or simply prematch diversionary tactics. Whichever the case may be, it is not an encounter that would permit drowsiness. Expect fireworks aplenty.

In truth, we have indeed made big strides from last year in terms of playing personnel. Samir Nasri has become a veritable threat and the complete attacking player that Wenger dreamt he would become. Alex Song and Jack Wilshire have formed an impressive midfield combo that oozes strength, guile, boundless skill, mutual understanding and tenacity. Marouane Chamakh has become a reliable goalpoacher that can always be thrown into the fray when goals are the essential commodity. Not to mention the sweet chemistry developing between Johann Djourou and Laurent Koscielny at the back.

But the man that keeps annoying Barcelona when they think of what might have been, remains Cesc Fabregas. In him, Arsenal have a leader, a warrior, a fighter and a standard bearer

He has been the topping on the mountain of potential that Wenger has cobbled together. It is him that will not make Barcelona rest until they have taken him back from London Colney, back to Nou Camp. It is him that continues to make such encounters between we and them more than just a soccer game.

Fabregas’s continued stay at Arsenal or departure, is what Alex Song has finally given a sense of purpose by telling us the real truth. He revealed over the weekend that Fabregas, like any other player simply wants to win trophies. Major ones. Lots of them.

Spanish Armada..Fabregas (front row, 2nd from left) with the Spanish side

Having tasted unprecedented success with Spain –first in Europe and later at the toughest of them all, the World Cup – he is naturally hungry for more.

It is a short career, we are always reminded and at 23 (24 in May), success has come to Fabregas quite early.

But European championships and World Cups only happen once in four, long years and even then, form, injuries, selection hurdles and unfamiliar coaches all present formidable obstacles to a player’s dreams of winning those tournaments. Enroute to being World champions, Spain were lacking in form and rhythm until the second round when they beat neighbours Portugal. That ignited their campaign, though they never hit the heights that we know they can, as they only scraped through most games with a 1-0 scoreline. They won the final itself with the same margin.

So, considering all the odds, a player stands a far better chance of glory at club level, where competitions are annual and playing patterns more consistent. It is at that club level that Fabregas now wants to prove himself as a winner.

The 2005 FA Cup apart, he’s got nothing to show for seven years of stewardship at the Gunners. Though he was part of the squad of Invincibles that won the Premier league in 2004, he didn’t the minimum requirement of ten games, to earn a medal. The same fate that befell Jermaine Pennant.

Now, as captain, expectations are higher on him and his mates to deliver. All that high hopes have a chance of being fulfilled in a fortnight when we file out against Birmingham in the Carling Cup final.

But as Alex Song rightly mentioned, Fabregas needs to lead Arsenal to major trophies, to make him want to stay. The Premier League and Champions League that is. Trophies that make you belong to the big boys’ club. Trophies you can boast about and tell of your exploits with a glint in the eye. Trophies you cannot win without beating a very, very big team.

It is in that exclusive category that Fabregas wants to belong. And deservedly too.

That is the long and short of what will keep him at Arsenal; or make him finally demand a move back home to Catalonia. Overcoming Barcelona in this Round of 16 will go a long way in determining where Fabregas’s immediate future lies.

Arsenal 2 Wolves 0

Milking it up....Van Persie celebrates Goal No 1

What better way to banish memories of last Saturday’s disgraceful capitulation at St. James Park, than to not only beat Wolves, but keep a clean sheet. We achieved both objectives with aplomb and swagger as Robin Van Persie continued his rich vein of form in front of goal with a brace.
Arsene Wenger read the mood of the fans perfectly and put it into words by declaring after the game that:

“We were defensively solid and that was important after the four goals we conceded last week. It wasn’t easy to read about the Newcastle result in the media and we needed a response today”.


And a response was delivered indeed.
In what was also effectively a dress-rehearsal for the big, big Champions League showdown against Barcelona on Wednesday, Wenger turned to the calvary as we welcomed back Alex Song and Johann Djourou to the side. Our movement and passing was top class as Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin and Theo Walcott took turns to cut Wolves into ribbons with their speed and interchange of positions.
The first goal came rather belatedly after soek susutained pressure, in the 16th minute. Unmarked on the right flank, Fabregas released a short pass to Van Persie, who was lurking on the edge of the box. Without breaking stride, the Dutchman bent his body horizontally and unleashed a sweet volley that flew beyond the reach of the impressive Wayne Hennessey for the opener. It was just reward for all our endevaour and it spread relief around the ground.
On the other end, Wolves were attempting to engineer something but with last week’s calamitious events in Newcastle still fresh I everyone’s mind, Johann Djourou and Laurent Koscielny were in no mood for gifts.
I mentioned during the week that the real turning point of last week’s game for us, wasn’t the dismissal of Abou Diaby. Rather, the departure of Djourou with a slight knock was the game-changer. Yesterday, the Swiss giant proved me right as he read every ball with precision and tackled with panache.
He has really come on in leaps and bounds this season and I can’t help showering him with praise after praise. He is developing into a class defender and in an era where such like him don’t grow on trees and are hard to find, Wenger must be commended indeed for persevering with him and nurturing a fine hardman.
His understanding with Koscielny, who won his first international invite last week, is proving to be one of the revelations of our season. Both men enjoy a telephatic understanding and coming in a part of the team that has endured severe criticism over the years, it is indeed welcome and timely.
The two centrebacks shielded Szszesny effectively in goal, restricting Wolves to long, hopeful shots that the goalie easily dealt with. The ever dangerous and lively Kevin Doyle - a player I think Wenger should make a move for – along with Nenad Miljas and Adam Hammill were squeezed off the ball and denied any real attempt at goal.
On our side, Jack Wilshire – another Gunner starting out on his international career with a maiden debut for England during the week – showed us why he’s got such a big future ahead of him. He ran with the ball confidently and took on opposing players without fear.
Mention must be made of Andrei Arshavin as well because the hit-and-miss Russian seems to be playing his way back into form. He peppered Ronald Zubar on the left flank with his direct running and tireless approach and deserved a goal if not for the brave goalkeeping of Hennessey.
I read somewhere that his game takes a dip during the winter months and if his recent form is anything to measure by, there might be some truth in that. But for a Russian who has lived 28 of his 30 years in the bitter cold of the Slavic country, it is indeed strange to whinge about the cold. Whatever the real cause maybe, the Arshavin who destroyed Liverpool with four goals at Anfield in 2008 seems to be re-emergig slowly but surely.
Back to the game, we continued from where we let off in the second half with more sustained pressure. Walcott ought to have got on the scoresheet after being put through by Wilshire but he missed the target in the 50th minute and even he himself looked shocked by the miss.
He supplied the assist for Van Persie though in the 56th minute as the Dutchman coolly beat the very-impressive Hennessey, this time with his regular left foot.
Soon after, with the points now seemingly in the bag and Barcelona now on our collective minds, Wenger rung the changes and withdrew Wilshire, Arshavin and man of the match, Van Persie.
Despite that, the stats for the afternoon spoke volumes for our dominance. We had seven shots on target as against nil for Wolves; we won 72 tackles as against Wolves' 45; we won 81 aerial duels as against Wolves' 19; and possession was 54% for us as against Wolves' 46%.
All in all, it wasn’t a day for mistakes. It wasn’t a day for unforeseen happenings. After Man Utd had earlier in the day opened up a seven point lead and with Barcelona arriving here in three days’ time, we couldn’t afford any blunders. None happened and we closed up the gap with Man Utd to four points and avoided any injuries ahead of Barcelona.
Don’t expect to see Bacary Sagna against Barcelona though cos he’s due to be suspended after picking up a red card in our last group game against Partizan Belgrade in December.

Thanks heavens he’s fine

Head cuddle.....Little Jack Wilshire gets a headhug from the big Swiss

This has been his breakthrough season. Every player has one. Every sportsman as well has one.

For Johann Djourou, season 2010-2011 has seen him show the world what he can actually do. If you ask me, he is better than stalwarts and household names from the past of the club such as Sol Campbell. Nothing personal against the big man but this Swiss bloke with an intimidating frame is a better deal than his erstwhile senior colleague.

Last Saturday, if you ask me, it was no coincidence that our spectacular, historic collapse at St. James Park happened when the Swissman was off the pitch. Soon as Johann hobbled off in the 47^th minute, I feared the worst. Many pundits prefer to point to Abou Diaby’s 55^th minute dismissal as the turning point of the game and the moment when we lost our grip on the pitch. Methink it wasn’t

The real pivotal moment was Johann’s departure. His departure allowed the clumsy and ineffective Seb Squillaci to enter the game. All apologies to Seb, he has morphed into a modern-day Pascal Cygan, whose clumsy and heavy-footed movement frustrated both teammates and fans alike. Arsene Wenger’s preference of Cygan over Matthew Upson forced the latter to demand a transfer and was eventually sold to Birmingham City.

Cygan was of course third or even fourth choice to Campbell and Kole Toure during the era of the Invincibles in season 2004 and the brilliance of that glorious group of players greatly masked his incompetence. Anytime he was on the pitch, we were guaranteed to concede goals. He was however a lucky man cos he was surrounded on all sides by some of the best footballers in the world at that time. Players like Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and Sylvain Wiltord happened to be his teammates and what more, they were all French!

So in the midst of so much excellence, it was almost impossible to spot the ugly duckling.

And so Cygan found himself winning trophy after trophy, while riding on the shoulders of other players’ efforts. By the time though when he was sold in the summer of 2006 – after we lost that forgettable Champions League final to Barcelona in Paris - he had been found out and pushed further down the pecking order at Arsenal. The fact that Villareal even agreed to pay 2million Pounds for him was because he was included in the deal that took Robert Pires from Arsenal to the Spanish side.

It is such a clown that Squillaci is striving so hard to emulate now.

So seeing him saunter onto the pitch was something of a precursor to doom. I thought he had been out to pasture after getting himself red-carded against Huddersfield the previous weekend in the FA Cup. Don’t know what happened to the normal three-match suspension that accompanies such straight red cards. Except we had been involved in game on another planet, I recollect that we only played Everton between the Huddersfield game and Newcastle. So, seeing Squillaci firstly squeezed on the reserve bench and lo and behold, finally strolling onto the pitch to replace Johann was an unexpected surprise.

The rest as they often say, is history.

Even though it was the unlucky Koscielny that conceded the two penalties that accelerated our capitulation and helped Newcastle onto a very undeserved draw, I’m convinced that those penalties wouldn’t have happened if Johann’s partnership with Koscielny had continued for the rest of that afternoon.  On the day when he scored his first goal for us, how sad that Johann had to exit with a knee complaint.

Well, it looks so far that Johann’s substitution was a precautionary move. Reports from inside the Swiss camp, where he has reported to join the national side in their preparations for their friendly against Malta, confirmed that he only picked up bruising against Newcastle. Nothing was broken, or torn, or twisted as first feared.

There is even the likelihood that he will be fit to file out against Wolves this Saturday. But I trust the ultra-careful Wenger, he’ll be saving the big Swiss for Barcelona, next week Wednesday in a top billing Champions League showdown.

So, at least the big man is back. For him, this has been a rubicon-crossing season. He has cobbled together a fine partnership with Koscielny and together, they have helped take us to second spot on the league table and into our first final since 2006.

Compared with Squillaci, he is royalty. He is a handsome prince to Squillaci’s ogre and if he stays fit, we surely do have real hope of winning things this season.

He’s back and with him, hope springs anew for the rest of this season. 

Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4 / Vieira lays into them

On a record-breaking day when 41 goals were scored on a single day of the English premiership, Arsenal and Newcastle produced eight goals between them. But the real story; the headline grabber would be how Arsenal threw away a four goal and contrived to produce draw out of a nailed-on win. It was, to put it mildly, headshaking stuff.

How on earth we managed to throw away as four-goal lead and hand Newcastle a draw out of certain defeat, will be talk of the league for years and years henceforth. Yes, we gave the game away from the 51^st minute when Abou Diaby got himself sent off. That moment may yet turn out to be season-defining in the bigger picture of title-chasing and if the truth be told, it told the story of the character of this team.

Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. We were one goal in 46 seconds thanks to Theo Walcot who outran (as always) the Newcastle pair of Coloccini and Williamson before sidefooting beyond Andy Harper. Two minutes later, it was 2-0 when Andrei Arshavin lifted a fine freekick on the edge of the box onto the head of Johann Djourou for a pin-point header that went in under the bar and left Harper helpless again.

By the tenth minute it was 3-0. Walcott turned provider as he latched onto a Diaby pass to outrace the Newcastle’s Enrique before crossing perfectly for Robin Van Persie to score decisively from close range. We kept pouring forward as confidence amongst the players reached the heavens.

It was to yield more fruit as Bacary Sagna bombed forward in the 26^th minute to send in a fien cross from the right, which Van Persie met with a bullet header that flew past the hapless Harper for 4-0. At that point, it was game over as far as all were concerned. Right? Wrong it later proved.

Moment of madness...Diaby reacts violently to Barton 's tackle

 A clash between Abou Diaby and the combo of Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan in the 51^st minute saw the Frenchman laying hands on Barton’s throat and shoving Nolan strongly to the ground. The referee, Phil Dowd promptly expelled him and down to ten men, the complexion of the game changed. Newcastle sensed an opportunity for a fightback and buoyed by an angry crowd, the players responded on the pitch.

Suddenly, from beaten men, the Magpies found a new lease of life to pepper our area with aerial balls and raid after raid. They got a breakthrough when Laurent Koscielny was adjudged to have fouled Leon Best in the box. The hated Barton stepped up to plant the ball beyond Szszesny and thus began the fightback. It soon became 4-2 as Best latched onto a loose ball in the area to fire beyond the diving duo of Koscielny and Szszesny. Another penalty awarded for a seemingly innocuous challenge made it 4-3 and with their tails now firmly up, it was a matter of time before Newcastle leveled. They did it with the best goal of the game, courtesy of Cheik Tiote, who blasted in from 26 yards into the corner of the post and thus sealed what must be one of the most-memorable comebacks in the history of the game anywhere in the world.

Arsene Wenger rightly revealed that our players were psychologically damaged after the game. Anyone would be after climbing down from a position of supreme strength that only four unanswered goals provide, to throw away two points and finish with a nerve-jangling draw. Interestingly, his assessment of a remarkable afternoon make some sense amidst all the mayhem:

“I cannot measure how angry I am because no one has managed to do that. Mathematically, it is two points dropped but psychologically the damage is a bit bigger because everybody is of course very, very disappointed in the dressing room”.

Ex-captain and club legend, Patrick Vieira put his big boots into the players by slating them with these words:

"Like everybody else I was quite surprised. It does show that in football if you don't work hard until the last minute, if you don't have 100 per cent commitment, anything can happen. Newcastle is still a difficult place to go to."

It was shades of Tottenham allover again. The night of 30^th November 2008, when we also contrived to throw away a 4-2 lead and allowed our North London neighbours claw their way back to 4-4 replayed itself again yesterday at St. James Park. This time, it was even a worse performance considering that we were comfortably 4-0 up at a stage, not 4-2.

The only consolation would be that lessons will have been learnt, because collectively ours is not  a poor team. The position of second on the log in a very, very tough league as the English premiership is not something you achieve by default. Or mere luck. Only hard, gritty endeavour puts you there and luckily for us, the damage inflicted on our collective psyche and title aspirations were tempered with Manchester United’s defeat three hours later at Molineux at the hands of Wolves.

It reduces the gap between us and them to four points and maintains some ray of hope that this season’s title is not yet all signed and sealed. Long as we keep our heads and focus on the task at hand and do not allow thuggish behavior from the Joey Bartons of this world, lure us into needless sending-offs.

Ratings are as follows: Szszesny 6, Sagna 7, Koscielny 7, Djourou 6, Clichy 6, Diaby 6, Wilshire 7, Fabregas 6, Walcott 7, Arshavin 6,  Van Persie 7, Rosicky 5, Eboue 5, Squilaci 5.