That Persie Moment

The game against Spurs was the one I'd like to forget. It hurts to see how Arsenal played in the first half. We gave away possessions like a first division team and when we get to attack, no one is in the box. With Dennis playing alongside Reyes upfront, you just know we were not going to score. And surprise surprise, our players was back to their ball watching habit in defending set pieces, allowing Ledley King a free header which he converted nicely.

I didn't get to watch the 2nd half but apparently Pires and Persie made the difference in our attacking. At the end of the day, as Myles Palmer of ANR put it, Pires saved our day with the goal that only he can score. Only Pires would know how to get into such position and that's about the only invaluable asset he still consistently offers to the team. So it was 1-1 and we are yet to win our away Premiership game for quite a while.

And the next two home games was really about this guy
We all know what Henry can do when you give him space and his goal against Sparta Prague was a typical Henry goal, a curling shot from just oustide the box. Awesome. We love his magic but I am sure Wenger would realise that what he really needs at the moment is the effficiency of a young Dutchman who came on for the last 20 minutes, replacing the captain.

I sprung to life the moment van Persie entered the pitch. He has been such a supersub that we just know that he is going to create something when he comes on. Reyes has been hardworking attacking and defending-wise but we know now that he is really a winger who lacks the confidence to shoot. So when he managed to block a Sparta player's pass, I was glad to see the ball fell to Bergkamp who in turn made the perfect pass across to the right side of the area where Persie was left free.

You just knew the boy was going to score. And so he scored. What a lethal left foot.

The third goal involves another player I have been looking forward to see the more of. Eboue made a great run down the right into the box, cut back sharply and fed Persie who, unlike many other Arsenal players, bury the ball instantly into the net with his right foot. Just the right attitude for a centre forward.

It was 3-0 and we qualified into the next round of CL. A perfect start to the competition so far.

The game against Sunderland will probably be remembered for Henry's overhead which hit the bar. But the lasting impression for me was that of Campbell's long pass which was chested down perfectly by Persie as the no.11 ran on and with Stubb making a chase, he wasted no time in unleashing a powerful left-footed strike which went pass the goalkeeper. 1-0 to the Arsenal. A route 1 goal. How often have you seen such goals scored by Arsenal recently? How often have you had such a confidence when an Arsenal forward got into such a position? Normally we would have expected the player to try driblling pass the goalkeeper before passing the ball to another player to score that 'perfect goal'.

We all know what happened later. Sparta may not be the strongest of opponents and Sunderland may well be the weakest side in the Premiership but five goals in four games is an encouraging statistic for a forward who has begun to get his captain's respect. Let's see how far our no.11 can go.

I don't want to talk about Mourinho-Wenger feud. I think it's a waste of time. I was tempted to smile reading PV calling van Nistelrooy 'son of the bitch'. Well the best thing is to know how much PV still loves us. He still addresses the Arsenal as 'we'. A true gunner, a true gooner. We will welcome you back anytime, PV.