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Before facing the Scousers, Arsene Wenger said that this match would be the true test in a long run toward the Premier League title. And William Gallas noted that "This is the day when we will find out if the boys have become men." After this match, it is abundantly clear that not only did the lads pass the test with flying colors but they are also man enough to contend for the title.

We came out in a 4-5-1 with Adebayor up top, Rosicky and Eboue on the wings and Cesc, Hleb and Flamini in the middle but we were on the attack from go. It was ridiculous. No hesitancy, no caution. It was, sorry to say, balls to the wall football. Absolutely magnificent. But Liverpool looked just as good and with only 6 minutes off the clock, Steven Gerrard ripped a free kick through a gap in the wall the size of Alex Rodriguez's ego.

 

 
Though we controlled possession from then on, we couldn't penetrate through Liverpool's midfield. But we held on through the half and then a new Arsenal emerged... or maybe it was a diminished Scouser side. They locked down on defense, lost Xabi Alonso and never contended again. The menacing presence of Gallas and Toure turned their shots on goal into fruitless pursuits, with balls flying directly into Almunia's chest or dribbling slowly to his feet. And as Liverpool grew weaker, The Arsenal grew stronger.. with every minute we became sharper and more accurate until Cesc Fabregas finally broke through with a gem in the 80th minute. 

 

Though you'd think that's a little late in the going for some magic, we should have won by a hatful. The lads  squandered at least four golden opportunities with blasts both wide of and off the post. But at the end of the day, you just can't be upset about walking away from Anfield with a point and a game in hand on ManUre.

The lads never panicked, never faltered and never surrendered - even with Eboue, Rosiky and Adebayor looking like they left the bulk of their skills in London. This match was a true measuring stick for this team and we showed we have what it takes to contend for a championship. I hope ManUre is paying attention... but that might be tough, what with the beautiful football they're playing lately... too bad. I guess they can't all be Tottenham, eh, Toxic? :-D

When I started this post, this was my outlook:

Who's that team they call the Arsenal?
Who's that team we all adore?
We're the boys in red & white
and we're fucking dynamite
and Martin Jol's mother is a whore.

UP THE ARSENAL!!!!! 

As I type, the Mighty Arsenal are preparing to break the will of Tottenscum at Shite Hart Lane in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. Following the x-rated dismantling of the scousers at Anfield last week, Arsène is rewarding the youngins with another chance to thump a first team.

But I type too slowly and now we're down 2-0. Fuck. Anyway, read on.

So Kolo Toure will function as the captain and elder statesman of a 16-man squad that features Cesc, Philippe Senderos, Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini, and Emmanuel Eboue.Also returning is Abou Diaby, who is starting in the red and white for the first time since an obscene tackle shattered his ankle 9 months ago. But Arsène feels pretty good about his prospects:

“I had a big doubt in my mind that Diaby would ever come back from that injury. I thought it might end his career. We’ve missed Diaby because he gives us something the other players don’t have. He can give us that kind of Patrick Vieira presence in the physical challenges. He reminds me of Patrick in his running style, behaviour and the strength of his tackles.”

Going from a potential career ending injury to Paddy V over the course of a year... no pressure at all, that.

In other news.. you know how there's the rule that you don't wish injury upon anyone? No matter how dispicable a person might be, hoping that they get mangled crosses the line of what sports is all about, yah? Well since that's settled, let's proceed.

In a 2-1 loss to Watford yesterday, Blackburn Rover Robbie Savage broke his leg in a challenge with Al Bangura... whether they got tangled or if Bangura did something untoward is not known but the best I can surmise is that all Savage's cuntiness finally resulted in a negative physical occurrence. I can't deny that I cracked a wry grin when reading the news over at Toxic's spot but I don't think that breaks the above-mentioned rules of sport. I admit to feeling a certain satisfaction but I certainly never wished a broken leg upon him. That's the worst of the worst for a footie player.. but since it's already happened and all... and since he's a complete twat and all... I can't really be blamed for my feelings. Yah? :) I mean, the Welshman has proven himself to be one of the most odious, obnoxious, repugnant, intolerable, loathsomes cunt in the EPL. And since the rest of the footballing world decided to kick back with a Coke and a smile upon hearing the news, I shall as well.

I know a lot of you don't know who Savage is but take my word for it. If you were walking down the street and Dennis Hopper popped out of a bush and told said, "Pop quiz, Hot Shot! The two buses on the corner are wired with heavy explosives. One contains an army of plague-carrying, girlfriend/wife-violating robots that will smear poo all over your freshly-painted house and the other contains Robbie Savage. You can only save one." I can assure you, the next day, we'd be dying from the black death while noxious poo fumes wafted around the globe.

Don't get well soon, Robbie. You sodding git.

**Hattip: Arseblogger for amazing Savage material/Speed scenario. It was fuckin' excellent.

Whoever you may be
Theres no-one as fast as our Henry
And you'll be seeing red and nothing of the ball
Cause we are the Fucking Ar-sen-al!!

-- 

So here's the scene - United is trying to nab their first league title since 2003 but Chelski is on their tail and The Arsenal and Liverpool aren't (too) far behind. 

We smoked em in September 1-0, but taking all six points in league play, especially at home, was going to be a serious undertaking.

The lads came out tense and Manure was all over the pitch, stringing passes through our defence with relative ease. Crunching tackles were in abundance, space was at a premium, and clearcut chances were almost non-existent. The best chance of the half came when Emmanuel Adebayor curled a beauty to King Henry who managed to head it right into the arms of keeper Edwin van der Sar.

Big Game Henry remained a myth. 

But then the second half got under way and the tide shifted... but rather than post thoughts, I have recounted the important details of The Mighty Arsenal's glorious 2-1 Premier League victory over Manchester United through "artistic expression." Cheers!

The Mighty Arsenal defeated Charlton United yesterday courtesy of a brilliant brace from Robin Van Persie. His brilliance overshadowed what can only be described as a curious mixture of the sublime and the ugly that could have easily been 2-2 as 1-6. As it happens, thanks in part to van Persie and Charlton's own ineptitude, it was neither and the great Arsene was able to celebrate 10 years in charge with a win to haul the lads out of the mid-table ruck.

As you can see here, the Dutchman's strike was technical perfection. Van Persie, arriving like a man late for work, had two options: manage a speculative header or go for the impossible by bringing the ball under control with a shoulder-high volley from short range.

He went for the impossible and Scott Carson had no chance.

To hit the ball that cleanly with that pace while flying through the air like Carl Lewis is an incredible skill, but to do so with such a supreme measure of accuracy and level of control is positively sublime.

Niko, Guest Poster

Hello! I'm Niko, Flash's cousin (our mothers are sisters). She's currently on bedrest following an emergency surgery Saturday afternoon, so I've been charged with posting something useful. I'm not American and all I know of use is The Arsenal, so please bear with me... this won't take long, as I will cop out after 250 words or less with clips from Youtube.

Arsene Wenger was quoted in The Observer as saying, "You never win the championship if you lose against Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool. You can forget it." I can't think of any Championship year where we on the wrong end to these three and thanks to some positively brilliant play from the lads, we have one of the filthy cunts out of the way.

Given our performance thus far, I wasn't sure how we would fare but from the whistle on, the Gunners decisively outplayed ManUre on every part of the pitch.  Even more remarkable is that we did so without the services of Thierry Henry, proving that even when he is on the bench, The Arsenal can still reach the highest of peaks.

Though most of our players had incredible showings (the exception being a quiet, often useless Freddie Ljungberg), the match was highlighted by the genius of three players: Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Jens Lehmann.

Since we were playing without Henry and Robin van Persie, Arsene flooded the midfield with five men and we were handsomely rewarded with a dominant display in which Cesc Fabregas was outstanding. With 5 ticks in regulation, Fabregas robbed Cristina Ronaldo and worked his way back upfield. After a little trickery, he slipped an inspired, perfectly weighted pass to Adebayor, who flicked his shot past Tomasz Kuszczak to give the Gunners our first win at Old Trafford since 2002. It was master class and sucked any remaining hope of victory from the United side.

Equally brilliant was Mad Jens Lehmann. He saved a rocket from Cristina Ronaldo quite literally with his face in the first half but it was his play in the second that assured him of legend status in my mind. Just moments after Adebayor's goal, he made the save of a lifetime, turning away Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's late effort. The strike came through a sea of legs and was heading for the bottom corner when Jens managed to get his fingertips on the ball and pushed it wide of the goal. He's a god. He is a legend.

And with that, mates, here are the clips!

Cheers!

Niko