An interesting weekend in terms of results.
Arsenal won and Man City drew 1-1 at Wigan after Zabaleta was sent off.
Chelsea lost 2-1 at Aston Villa and Liverpool lost 1-0 at Sunderland without Torres and Gerrard.
Manchester United won 2-1
A 3-1 win over promoted Birmingham was what most Gooners hoped for and expected.Two goals in two minutes put Arsenal in charge in the first half.
Something seems to have clicked for Van Persie, who has found a bit of rhythm and fluency, lost some of his ungainliness. Still an improvise-and-bang! striker, RVP took a good through pass from Song, juggled it with three touches and dispatched a shot low across Joe Hart.
When Rosicky crossed low from the right, Walcott missed it but Diaby rammed home left-footed for 2-0.
Since I never expected to see Rosicky again, it’s nice to have him back. He needs a goal.
Arshavin had been rested but he came on in 33 minutes for the injured Walcott.
When Diaby tried to deal with a high ball, it went off the top of his head into the six yard box. Mannone waited too long before trying to catch it, allowing Seb Larsson to bump him, so that he fumbled. Lee Bowyer slammed in for 2-1 in 38.
On balls like that, Arsenal’s goalkeepers might be found out all season long. Mannone is a rookie and will learn. If he could learn quickly he would keep the gloves.
It was 2-1 at half-time and quite a tight game at 2-1.
Arshavin rifled in a fierce low shot that Joe Hart saved just inside the post, then tripped a defender and shot wide from six yards.
Arshavin is at his most compelling when he’s running with the ball within a group of six or seven opponents, some backing off, some chasing him. Players with sublime skill often don’t have sublime decision-making. But Arshavin’s choices, on where to pass, and when to shoot, and how to shoot, are uncanny to the point of magical.
The only British player with similar skills in the last 25 years has been Paul Gascoigne. Yes, Arshavin loses the ball at times, and makes some sloppy passes. But he showed his class in 84 when he made it 3-1.
Mannone rolled the ball out when Birmingham were stretched, Fabregas carried it forward and gave Arshavin a one-on-one with right back Steve Carr and as Arshavin accelerated into a diagonal run, Arshavin slotted neatly into the bottom corner. A supercool finish by the refrigerated Russian.
If football is all about sequences, and it is, Arsenal can beat AZ Alkmaar tomorrow night.
As I say, an interesting weekend. Arsenal were the only only Premier League team to win by two goals. You can’t argue with seven straight wins in all comps.
Mostly it was a 2-1 weekend : Spurs won at Portsmouth by that score, Stoke did the same to West Ham, Manchester United beat Bolton with an o.g. and Valencia’s first goal, Aston Villa beat Chelsea with two set-pieces after Drogba scored.
Best pass I saw this weekend was a Zidane-style through ball by Drogba for Deco, who shot weakly at Brad Friedel.
The only goal in the Sunderland-Liverpool game was a fluke that should have been disallowed in the 5th minute when Darren Bent’s shot hit a red plastic beach ball and deflected past Reina.
Liverpool’s fourth defeat means they cannot now win the title they have craved for so long.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Mannone; Eboué (Wilshere, 90), Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song, Diaby; Walcott (Arshavin, 33), Fabregas, Rosicky (Sagna, 72); Van Persie. Subs not used: Almunia (gk), Ramsey, Silvestre, Traoré.
BIRMINGHAM (4-1-4-1): Hart; Carr, R Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell; Carsley (Phillips, 79); Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden (McSheffrey, 71); Jerome (O’Connor, 61). Substitutes not used: Maik Taylor (gk), D Johnson, Bent, O’Shea.
Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).
Booked: Song, Hart, Ridgewell.