Sometimes you need a bit of luck and Arsenal were the recipients of two slices of good fortune to fire them into action at Molineux yesterday. Wolves had started strongly but two first-half own goals saw their early confidence evaporate and, from then on, the Gunners took firm control of the match.

The encounter was finished as a contest on the stroke of half time when a sweeping Arsenal move was capped with a sublime lay-off from Robin Van Persie into the path of Cesc Fabregas who calmly passed the ball into the net. It was a goal to light up any game and was a moment of genuine class in what turned out to be a relatively bloodless victory in tricky conditions. Andrei Arshavin made it 4-0 in the 65th minute and a late Wolves rally, coupled with some abysmal Arsenal defending, allowed the home side to pull back a consolation effort with a couple of minutes to go.

As an Arsenal supporter, there are few more exquisite and satisfying pleasures in life than seeing the Gunners giving Spurs the sort of good hiding that silences all the pre-match talk from their manager, players and supporters and sends them all back down the Seven Sisters Road well-and-truly put in their place. Yesterday was one of those days and it was a match to savour.

To be honest, Arsene Wenger’s team were not at their best yesterday but they didn’t need to be. Tottenham’s much-vaunted improvement this season failed to materialise at Ashburton Grove and they looked very ordinary indeed. Manuel Almunia, who was finally recalled to first-team action, only had one meaningful save to make all afternoon when he palmed a David Bentley free-kick over the bar. That aside, the visitors had no real attacking ideas beyond punting hopeful long balls up to Peter Crouch.

Arsenal completely failed to learn the lessons of the last-minute goal conceded against AZ Alkmaar and threw away a two-goal lead against West Ham at Upton Park yesterday. It was an exasperating outcome which meant that rather than finishing the day within striking distance of the top of the table, the Gunners had to content themselves with lurking in third, five points off the pace with a game in hand.

Yesterday's performance was arguably the weakest overall display the team has turned in this season. Even when they lost to United and City, they showed a good deal more spark and purpose in those matches than they mustered at the Boleyn Ground.

Just as it seemed that Arsenal had done enough to win an untidy match against AZ Alkmaar in Holland on Tuesday night, hesitant defending from a free kick allowed the Dutch side the opportunity grab a late equaliser. The Gunners had to settle for a point when they really ought to have taken three but it was an outcome that should not do any serious damage to their qualification hopes or, indeed, their chances of winning the group.

Though Arsene Wenger’s men dominated the ninety minutes and, for the most part, looked good value for a win, the late concession of a goal ought to serve as a timely reminder that, for all their sumptuous attacking play, defensive miserliness is just as important a facet for any successful team. The beautiful simplicity of Cesc Fabregas's goal underlined the team’s brilliance going forward but this was counter-balanced by the team's failure to defend a route-one set-piece at the death. From a speculative punt into the area, Granziano Pelle was allowed an unchallenged header and he nodded the ball into the path of Mendes da Silva who simply ran behind the static Alex Song to volley home. Though the players might have been looking around at each other after the ball hit the net, replays showed a catalogue of collective and individual errors.

After an interminably boring international break, it was a return to real football this weekend and the Gunners got straight back into their Premier League stride with a 3-1 victory over Birmingham City that sent them into the top four with a game in hand on the leaders.

Two first-half goals in quick succession from Robin Van Persie and Abou Diaby seemed to put Arsenal firmly in charge of yesterday’s match. From there, everyone expected the team to go on to rack up a score against a Birmingham side who spent most of the first forty five minutes penned in their own half. But, a combination of Arsene Wenger's men taking their foot off the gas and a moment of extremely weak goalkeeping from Vito Mannone allowed the Blues back into the contest as Lee Bowyer pegged a goal back in the 38th minute.

Six goals from six different players at Ashburton Grove on Sunday was the product of a sensational attacking performance by the Gunners as they thrashed Blackburn and signed off for the international break on a high. Any complaints about the Arsenal defending - which was well below par - were completely drowned out by the symphony of goals at the other end.

Despite Blackburn taking the lead twice in the first half, Arsenal had plenty in the tank by way of response. Their approach play and finishing was simply breathtaking at times and the performance - at least from an offensive perspective - was an appropriate one to mark a week that saw Arsene Wenger become the longest-serving manager in the club’s history after his 13 years in charge.

Two vital wins over the last four days have put the Gunners in control of their Champions League group and seen them head in the right direction in the Premier League too. In their different ways, the victories over Fulham and Olympiacos have shown that this Arsenal squad has developed since last year. On Saturday, the team proved they could "win ugly" and defend a slender one-nil lead and, on Tuesday night, they showed relentless endeavour in breaking down an Olympiacos side that had no attacking ambition whatsoever and defended with ten men.

After last season's debacle at Craven Cottage, many Arsenal supporters were looking to Saturday's match against Fulham as a barometer of whether this team has the heart required to come away from tricky away grounds with a result. Roy Hodgson's team are a different prospect on their own turf. They raise their game when hosting higher profile teams and are capable of overturning the formbook - as both Arsenal and Manchester United found to their cost last season.

Arsenal were a long way from their best, particularly in the first half, but when Robin Van Persie latched onto an exquisite pass from Cesc Fabregas and converted a sharp chance, it was enough to give the Gunners the edge. Some determined defending and a few decent saves from stand-in goalkeeper Vito Mannone saw the lead held and the three points safely banked.

After their victory in Belgium last Wednesday, back-to-back home wins were the perfect medicine to chase away the Manchester blues as Arsenal comprehensively brushed aside Wigan on Saturday and then a mixture of second-stringers and youngsters comfortably dealt with high-flying Championship leaders West Brom in the Carling Cup last night. All three wins were a great response from the squad to the two disappointing reverses at the hands of United and City.

If there had to be any criticism of the performance against Wigan it was that the margin of victory should have been greater. Only taking a one-nil advantage in at half-time belied the Gunners dominance and there was a sense that they were making hard work of a match that should have been over by the break. As it was, within three minutes of the restart, Thomas Vermaelen added to his first-half headed goal with a fabulous second - stroking the ball into the net from just outside the area. It was a strike that ended the game as a contest and from then on it was a cruise to three points as Eboue and Fabregas added a third and fourth respectively.

We wanted more ruthlessness from the team and last night we got it - just about. Having gone two goals behind in the first five minutes against Standard Liege, Arsenal fought back to win 2-3 and started their Champions League campaign with a valuable away victory. In truth though, it was one of the poorest displays of the season so far but, as we have found out in recent weeks, it is better to play badly and win than to play well and lose.

The start the Gunners made to the match could not have been worse. A defensive howler from Eduardo and a dubious penalty helped put Liege two up before Wenger’s players had even had the chance to settle into their rhythm and they looked rattled in the early stages. Once the opening flurry had died down, the home team sat back and attempted to soak up the building pressure as Arsenal began to dominate possession. It was a ploy that seemed to be working admirably for them and genuine goal-threats were restricted to a minimum throughout the half.

For the second time in two matches Arsenal returned home from Manchester with nothing to show for their efforts but a stinging sense of injustice. Whilst the 4-2 scoreline flattered City and the behaviour of Emmanuel Adebayor left a vile taste in the mouth, the Gunners can once again only blame themselves for not taking more from a game in which they were worthy of at least a share of the spoils.

Most of this morning's headlines rightly address the shameful performance of Adebayor. It is understandable that a player might think he has something to prove when coming up against a club that has discarded him but there are ways and means of going about that. The methods that Adebayor deployed to make his point only really served to prove what a classless and crass moron he is.

Arsenal's luck was well and truly out at Old Trafford yesterday. Despite looking the far better team for most of the ninety minutes, they hit the bar, had a goal disallowed, were on the wrong end of some rough refereeing decisions and, essentially, gifted United the game with two stupid mistakes.

We were looking for a sign from this team that they are ready to take a step up and prove themselves to be true contenders this season and, for the most part, we got it. Without Cesc Fabregas, the squad's single-most influential player, the Gunners turned in an outstanding performance. They took the game to United, passed the ball better than their hosts and, overall, looked the far more fluent side.

Goals from Eduardo, Emmanuel Eboue and Andrey Arshavin helped Arsenal to a straight-forward 3-1 victory at Ashburton Grove last night and booked the team's ticket into the Champions League group stage. It was a long way from being the most accomplished performance from the Gunners that we have witnessed this season. They were not at their best - and they didn't need to be to beat a Celtic team that barely created three meaningful chances over the two legs.

The main talking point of last night's match surrounded the awarding of the penalty which led to Arsenal's first goal when Eduardo was adjudged to have been brought down by goalkeeper Artur Boruc. The Croatian got back to his feet to convert the resultant spot-kick and effectively ended the tie as a contest with Celtic players still remonstrating with the referee long after the ball had hit the back of the net. Viewing the incident in real time at the stadium, it did not look a clear-cut penalty and not many Arsenal fans were appealing when Eduardo went down. Replays have since shown that any contact was very minimal and the Arsenal striker had made the most of the situation.

Arsenal's early-season goal-rush continued as they ran out comfortable 4-1 winners over Portsmouth at Ashburton Grove yesterday. The victory was achieved with relative ease and saw the Gunners maintain their impressive start to the campaign.

After a somewhat lethargic opening to the match, the home team took control midway through the first half thanks to two goals in quick succession from Abou Diaby. Portsmouth replied just before the break when Younis Kaboul easily out-jumped Manuel Almunia to head home. It was poor goalkeeping from the Spaniard who appeared to be just waiting for the ball to come to him rather than proactively attacking the cross. Still, it was not an error that proved costly and the goalkeeping clanger was absolved by four goals at the other end.

Arsenal hold the upper-hand going into the second leg of the Champions League play-off after beating Celtic 2-0 at Parkhead last night. Both goals were somewhat fortuitous - the first came from a deflection off William Gallas's back and the second was an own goal - but the overall performance was both comfortable and commanding.

After Saturday's romp at Goodison Park, it would have been too much to expect the Gunners to go to Glasgow and repeat that kind of showing. What they did produce though was a highly professional display that got the job done with the minimum of fuss.

Celtic were far more competitive and stronger in the tackle than Everton had been at the weekend but an unchanged Arsenal side coped with their physicality and dominated possession; controlling the tempo of the match and moving the ball with fluency. It was a measure of their supremacy that home support, who had cranked up the decibels inside the stadium around kick-off-time, quickly became subdued and were given very little to sing about for the entire match.

Arsenal began their season in scintillating style with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. The players turned what looked to be a potentially tricky opening fixture into a cakewalk and sent out a message of intent to their doubters.

The game was effectively over by half-time courtesy of three goals before the break and the Gunners put the Toffeemen well and truly to the sword with three further strikes in the second half. Louis Saha's injury time reply was barely consolation for the home fans, most of whom had left the stadium long before the final whistle.

Last week, I suggested that the players needed to hit the ground running in the early games of the season. Yesterday, they did just that. It was a magnificent performance. The team attacked with fluency and style and they defended in numbers. The new formation that had been trialled during the pre-season looked to be highly effective as Everton were simply cut to ribbons by wave after wave of crisp, incisive passes and tireless Arsenal running.

With the new season now within touching distance, clubs are making their final preparations for the big kick-off on Saturday - or, rather, they would be if FIFA had not organised a round of international matches just three days before the opening weekend. Even for an organisation that is renowned for making ludicrous self-interested decisions, this one is right out of their top-drawer of stupid ideas. Admittedly, there are a few World Cup qualifiers being played but the vast majority of fixtures are pointless friendlies that take players away from their clubs just at the time when their managers need them to be focussing on the start of another campaign.

From Arsenal’s point of view, Arsene Wenger has been deprived of 13 of his players - only four of whom are participating in meaningful fixtures. The Frenchman will be sitting at London Colney wondering how many injured players will return on Thursday and will undoubtedly be frustrated at only having one day to work with his full squad in preparation for the team’s opening match at Everton on Saturday. Already Johan Djourou has been sent home from Switzerland with an inflamed knee and, consequently, will be a doubt for the trip to Goodison Park.

Ashburton Grove got its first taste of football for the season as Arsenal hosted the Emirates Cup pre-season tournament. The Gunners took on Athletico Madrid and Glasgow Rangers in this semi-round-robin competition and took the trophy after notching up victories in both their games over the weekend. Whilst these matches tell us next to nothing about how the season will eventually turn out, there were a few interesting pointers and individual cameos for supporters to chew on.

On Saturday, it was fantastic to see Tomas Rosicky taking his place in the starting eleven and playing his first full half of football in front of his home crowd for what has seemed like an age. In fact, it has been an age. January 2008 was the last time Arsenal fans saw him in first-team action and it has been a long wait for both the player and the supporters to see him make his comeback.

Having had bids for John Terry and Joleon Lescott knocked back by Chelsea and Everton respectively, Manchester City have turned their attention to Kolo Toure and today clinched the signing of the Ivorian for a reported £16m.

This transfer is not the biggest surprise. There had been rumblings of a move to City from the start of this year which were heightened further when the player himself put in a transfer request ahead of the January window. It came to nothing then but whatever might have been going on behind the scenes has come to fruition now as one of Arsenal’s most popular players of recent years packs his bags and heads North having made 326 appearance for the Gunners since his arrival in February 2002.

So, Emmanuel Adebayor has been sold to Manchester City and it is hard not to enjoy the delicious appropriateness of one the greediest players to ever (dis)grace an Arsenal jersey joining the merry band of mercenaries heading off to Eastlands to take part in the so-called project being put together there.

It would seem to be a match made in heaven and it is one that will not lose Arsenal supporters any sleep. Nor will they shed any tears for a player who so shamelessly held the club to ransom 12 months ago in order to engineer an enormous pay-rise for himself but then contributed very little of note when it came to delivering on his end of the bargain during last season. His desparture looks to be a great deal all round. Arsenal are millions of pounds better off and have cut loose a player who had become a dead weight both on and off the pitch.

Arsenal began their season in scintillating style with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. The players turned what looked to be a potentially tricky opening fixture into a cakewalk and sent out a message of intent to their doubters.

The game was effectively over by half-time courtesy of three goals before the break and the Gunners put the Toffeemen well and truly to the sword with three further strikes in the second half. Louis Saha's injury time reply was barely consolation for the home fans, most of whom had left the stadium long before the final whistle.

Most of the squad will return from their summer breaks this week to commence pre-season training and it is not long now before we get our first taste of action with what is becoming a traditional stretch of the legs at Barnet on 18th July. After a very quiet close-season so far, it will be good to have some real football to watch and talk about, even if most of the team that day will be made up of second-string players and youngsters.

Following the purchase of Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax a few weeks ago, there has been no further transfer activity aside from some of the younger players either signing improved deals or being released. The tiresome annual circus of transfer speculation, gossip and rumour has been pleasingly muted this summer. A few new names have been linked with the club, but nothing concrete has emerged so there is very little point in indulging in any further dissection of that. Ultimately, potential new players only become interesting once they have signed on the dotted line and Arsene Wenger is not a man who tends to loudly advertise his targets ahead of time. All we can do is sit and wait patiently to see who, if anyone, might arrive between now and deadline day.

Has there ever been a group of people more singularly devoted to shamelessly trashing the club's identity for the sake of a few quid than the Arsenal Marketing Department and their counterparts at Nike? Yesterday, in their latest money-spinning wheeze, they launched a new third kit for the coming season. If you have not seen it, it looks like a dour version of the Spurs first-team strip. On top of a second kit that looks like Chelsea and a first team shirt that has virtually dispensed with our iconic white sleeves, one wonders if anyone will actually recognise Arsenal Football Club next season?

It is highly questionable why any team would need a third kit anyway if they have suitably contrasting first and second choice colours but, as football clubs try to eke out every last penny from their supporters to pay their players, there seems to be no depths to which they will not sink to in order to keep the cash rolling in.

There was a time when players and supporters used to get a summer break from football. For fans of other sports that take place during the warmer months it was an opportunity to focus attention elsewhere and, even for those who found the months of June and July interminably dull without football, at least one had the chance to yearn for, and look forward, to the new season.

Today though, football is a huge corporate machine and there is a need to keep the product firmly fixed in the minds of its "customers", even if there are no matches of any real consequence going on. FIFA try to fill summers without World Cups or European Championships with completely pointless international tournaments and the media manage to keep the back pages full with endless transfer speculation.

Arsenal rounded off their season in comfortable style on Sunday with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Stoke City at Ashburton Grove. Though nothing was riding on the match, it was a pleasing way for the team to sign off after a torrid couple of weeks.

It was heartening too that the crowd, the manager and players all headed off into the summer on good terms with each other. Throughout the game, Arsene Wenger’s name was sung loudly all round the stadium and any residual friction arising from the annual shareholders’ meeting appeared to be forgotten. The consensus seems to be that Wenger is still the man for the job but with the proviso that a few changes are made in the close-season. To his credit, the manager himself has acknowledged this in the interviews he has given so all we can do is sit back and wait to see what moves he makes before the new season kicks off again in August.

Arsenal turned in a creditable performance at Old Trafford last weekend and, despite not quite being able to find a goal to spoil the party, they did restore some of their battered pride. A nervous-looking Manchester United seemed happy to defend and hold out for a draw whilst the Gunners held the majority of possession and came close to nicking a goal on a couple of occasions. The score finished nil-nil which was all United needed to take the title and Arsene Wenger’s men could at least leave the stadium with their heads up.

Most of the talk this week though has been about the future of Arsene Wenger and Emmanuel Adebayor. Wenger was reportedly upset by some of the questioning he faced at the club’s annual shareholders’ meeting. This was followed by some interview quotes from the manager that seemed to suggest that he wouldn’t be entirely averse to considering taking the job at Real Madrid. Only a matter of days later these rumours were dead in the water and all seems to be sweetness and light again as the team go into their final match against Stoke on Sunday at Ashburton Grove.

It was another lamentable Arsenal performance at Ashburton Grove yesterday as the Gunners crashed to a 4-1 defeat against Chelsea to finish off a dismal week on a low note. The visitors did not have to work too hard for their win and were largely content to sit back and pick the Gunners off on the break. It was a ploy that bore dividends as Arsene Wenger's team yet again struggled to find any real cutting edge. Nicklas Bendtner’s headed goal was the only high spot for the home team but it was a response that came too late to turn the tide. For the most part, Arsenal played like a team for whom the end of the season now cannot come quickly enough.

Yesterday’s display added further fuel to the fire of criticism of both Wenger and his players that has been stoked by semi-final defeats to Manchester United in the Champions League and Chelsea in the FA Cup. The Gunners seemed to be all too easily brushed aside by a physically stronger and more committed team. Another trip to Old Trafford awaits this Saturday and one would imagine that is last place either the players or the manager want to go right now.

Arsenal went into last night's Champions League semi-final with plenty of hope and belief but, despite starting the game brightly enough, the tie was dead after eleven minutes as Manchester United struck twice early on through Jung-Si Park and Ronaldo. In the second half, the Portuguese international applied the finishing touch to a sweeping breakaway move to give the visitors a three-goal lead on the night and banish any hopes of a miracle. Robin Van Persie's penalty strike was barely consolation for an Arsenal team that were well beaten over both legs.

In a way it was an outcome that was hard to be upset about. The Gunners were comprehensively outplayed and over-powered in both legs and sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and accept you were beaten by the better team. What was bitterly upsetting though was being forced to witness the gulf in class between the two teams. In the earlier years of Arsene Wenger’s reign, Arsenal were able to square up to Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and trade blows with them toe-to-toe like two bare-knuckle fighters. Both teams were physical but could also play football. Over the two legs of this semi-final though, Arsenal were unable to live with United’s power, ability and desire. It was painful to watch and is something to be very upset about indeed.

After last night's Champions League Semi-Final first leg at Old Trafford, Arsenal can consider themselves very fortunate to still be in the tie. In a traumatic first half, the home team created enough good chances to have killed the Gunners off but Arsene Wenger's young charges managed to somehow restrict United to only a one-goal lead. They came into the game a bit more in the second period but did not manage to steal a vital away goal. The best that can be said of last night’s match was that it could have been a lot, lot worse and, at least, Arsenal still have plenty to play for next Tuesday when United visit Ashburton Grove.

As the game kicked off the atmosphere at Old Trafford was tremendous. The 3,800 travelling Arsenal fans tried to make themselves heard over the tumult whipped up by the home support. When the match started it was United who flew out of the blocks catching their visitors cold. The home team started in a way that suggested they realised the importance and enormity of the match. In contrast, the Gunners sauntered around like it was a pre-season friendly.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon at Ashburton Grove, Arsenal cantered to a facile two-nil victory over Middlesbrough and virtually secured a top-four finish for themselves. The match had a real end of season feel about it and two goals from Cesc Fabregas - one in either half - clinched the result. With several injured players making their returns to action, this game was a perfect warm-up for the upcoming Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Even though Boro are in desperate trouble at the foot of the table, they seemed short of fighting spirit and barely mustered a single attack to worry the Gunners. Instead Arsenal were able to move the ball around at will and only had to raise their game slightly to provide Cesc Fabregas the two opportunities to take all three points. In the second half, Brad Jones in the Boro goal was called into action several times and kept the score down to a respectable level but, overall, this match was more like a stroll in the park than a full-blooded Premier League clash.

After a glorious night at Ashburton Grove on Wednesday when Arsenal coasted to victory over Villareal and booked their place in the semi-final of the Champions League, it was back down to earth with a very big bump yesterday at Wembley as Chelsea overturned a one-goal deficit and dumped the Gunners out of the FA Cup. Defeats in semi-finals are always the hardest to take and it was a desperately disappointing outcome.

Many supporters arriving at Wembley yesterday were surprised to hear the team Arsene Wenger had picked. Though playing five in midfield has now become an accustomed formation when facing Chelsea, the absence of both Nasri and Arshavin was somewhat perplexing, particularly when the latter is cup-tied in the Champions League. Still, Wenger’s selection appeared to be justified when the team made a very positive start and took the lead through Theo Walcott.

With a satisfactory one-one draw at Villareal last week and an extension of an 18-game unbeaten run in the Premier League at Wigan on Saturday, Arsenal have maintained their momentum and given themselves plenty to play for in the closing weeks of the season. Certainly, this coming week with the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday and Saturday's FA Cup semi-final again Chelsea presents the Gunners with two massive games that could see them press forward or kill their season stone dead.

Last week’s first leg match with Villareal in the Champions League was, rather like the Premier League victory with Wigan on Saturday, a game of two halves. Arsene Wenger set his team up in a defensive-minded fashion with five in midfield. For the first forty minutes, the system was less than effective. The Gunners found themselves under a good deal of pressure and when breaking did not seem to be able to get bodies forward in sufficient numbers to create a sustained threat. Despite their territorial superiority, it took a swirling long-range drive from Marcos Senna to give the Spanish team the lead.

Having built up a good head of steam prior to the international break, there was a concern that the interruption to the Premier League programme might disrupt Arsenal's momentum. Any worries on this score though were completely dispelled at Ashburton Grove yesterday as the Gunners cantered to victory over Manchester City. Making returns from their respective injuries, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor combined twice with the Spaniard putting chances on a plate for the Togo player who scored both goals in the two-nil win.

Seeing Fabregas back in action was both a relief and a joy. He might be short of match fitness but it hardly showed. Immediately, he was at the centre of the action and kept the Arsenal machine ticking over until his late subsitution. His pinpoint freekick onto an unmarked Adebayor's head which led to the Gunners' opening goal was deadly accurate. This was only surpassed by the assist for the second goal. Fabregas's sublime, perfectly-weighted chip dropped into the Togolese's path and the striker was able to control the ball, take it around Shay Given in the City goal and tap it home. The Spaniard's pass showed the sort of vision, guile and quality that has been lacking in Arsenal's midfield during his absence.

When it mattered, Arsenal dug deep and summoned some true class to overcome a dogged Newcastle United and clinch a vital away win at St James' Park on Saturday evening.

With Aston Villa on the wrong end of a thrashing by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, it was a victory that consolidates the Gunners position in the top four going into next week's international break but, more importantly, it showed further proof that the team are beginning to rediscover their form just at the right time.

The first half at St James' Park was wide open and the action flowed from end to end from start to finish. It may have been entertaining fare for neutrals watching the match but for Arsenal and Newcastle fans it was simultaneously exhilarating and nerve-shredding. Neither midfield got to grips with dominating the game and, consequently, passages of play by both teams moved swiftly from back to front. The Geordies looked certain to take the lead when awarded a first-half penalty – Manuel Almunia having bundled over Ryan Taylor. The Spaniard immediately atoned for his error by saving Obafemi Martins' penalty. Arsenal also had their chances and only some desperate defending from Newcastle kept the scores level going into the break.

In the last couple of weeks, Arsenal's season has taken on a much rosier hue. The goals have started flowing, fourth place has been wrested back off Aston Villa, safe passage to the Champions League Quarter Final has been achieved and a first trip to the new Wembley has been secured to face Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi Final. After several months of frustrating results, the Gunners have chiselled out some important wins that give them plenty to play for between now and May.

Last Saturday’s victory over Blackburn was crucial. After the previous stuttering performances at Ashburton Grove against Fulham and Sunderland, three points were needed to exert some pressure on the faltering Aston Villa and these were duly attained with some ease. An early own goal from the visitors gave the Gunners the advantage. Andrey Arshavin opened his Arsenal account in the 65th minute cutting down the bye-line and smashing a shot into the roof of the net from a tight angle. Substitute Emmanuel Eboue completed the 4-0 rout with two late strikes – the first a close-range effort and the second from the penalty spot.

On Wednesday night in Rome, Arsenal turned in a performance that may have lacked fluency, cohesion and a cutting edge, but when nerves of steel were required in the penalty shoot-out, Arsene Wenger's young team kept their heads and admirably navigated their way into the quarter finals of the Champions League.

The relief and joy that was unleashed when Max Tonetto skied his penalty over the bar was palpable. For a team that is often criticised for not being able to "win ugly", the victory achieved in this tie could not have come any uglier. It was a display to forget but an outcome to enjoy.

Arsenal made light of getting past Burnley in their FA Cup Fifth Round encounter on Sunday and this, coupled with the Gunners Under-18s knocking Spurs out of the FA Youth Cup at the Quarter Final stage last Thursday evening, made it a great week of cup action for the club.

Such is the interest in the FA Youth Cup and, indeed, the rivalry between Arsenal and Spurs that nearly 20,000 spectators turned up to watch the under-18s slug it out at White Hart Lane for a place in the semi-final of the competition. Though the Young Guns saw more of the ball in the first half, it was Spurs who took the lead in the 6th minute - Jonathan Obika finishing off a breakaway move.

After another highly frustrating nil-nil home draw on Saturday, nothing less than a win was required at West Brom on Tuesday night and, thanks to two goals from Nicklas Bendtner and one from Kolo Toure, a win was what Arsenal got.

It is a victory that heaps pressure onto Aston Villa ahead of their fixture at Manchester City on Wednesday night and was just what the doctor ordered after four successive goalless draws in the Premier League.

Last Saturday, Fulham came to Ashburton Grove and gave the Gunners a really stiff examination. On balance, the visitors were arguably the better team over the ninety minutes. That said, Arsenal had chances to win the match but, such has been the recent lack of belief in front of goal, a decisive strike never really looked like coming.

When questioned about whether Arsenal have any natural leaders within the squad this season, Arsene Wenger has often responded by talking about "shared leadership" and, after the victory against Manchester United at Ashburton Grove, even talked about the team containing "eleven leaders". The Gunners’ last two performances have shown that either this theory is total bunkum or the current squad is only able to raise its game for big matches.

Saturday’s encounter with Sunderland was frustrating in the extreme. With Aston Villa having been beaten by Chelsea earlier in the day, there was a real opportunity to make some ground on the top four. The Gunners started brightly enough. Debutant Andrey Arshavin produced a couple of near misses and Robin Van Persie lobbed a shot wide with the hard work seemingly all done. The Black Cats also had a few chances of their own in a lively first half.

In beating Cardiff City 4-0 in the FA Cup Fourth Round replay at Ashburton Grove on Monday night, Arsenal finally delivered a performance to lighten the recent mood and, more importantly, the goals started flowing again.

Unsurprisingly, it was Eduardo's two-goal comeback display that grabbed all the headlines and there was no doubt that his triumphant return was emotional for both the player himself and the supporters.

A year ago, everyone watching the aftermath of the challenge on Eduardo at Birmingham City was overcome with that sick feeling one gets when it is clear that a player is seriously injured. When the extent of the damage became evident, few imagined that the Croatian would have been able to play ever again.

Consequently, his inclusion in the team on Monday was the culmination of twelve months of hard work by the player and the Arsenal physios and the warmth of the reception he got when his name was read out by the stadium announcer was palpable. For him to then score two goals was the stuff of dreams. The joy that greeted both strikes exorcised all the ghosts of that dark day in the Midlands last year.

Sunday's encounter with Spurs at White Hart Lane was always going to be a tough assignment for the Gunners. On top of all the pride at stake, this game could have been significant in defining the course of the remainder of the season for both teams. A defeat for either side had the potential to be a disastrous blow to both confidence and point's totals with ramifications beyond any of the usual post-match banter or gloating.

As it was, a draw was a fair result and, from the Gunners' point of view, arguably represented the best they could have hoped for from a game that they had to play the majority of with ten men. Once again, Emmanuel Eboue let himself, the team and the fans down with two instances of petulance that earned him a brace of yellow cards and, thus, a sending off. What made his dismissal more frustrating was that in the opening stages of the match he had produced some of his most encouraging football of the season so far, even getting as far as putting the ball in the Spurs net only for the goal to be ruled out for a push.

A stout defensive display from West Ham kept the Gunners at bay at Ashburton Grove yesterday and earned the visitors a point in a match in which they had been pinned back in their own half for virtually the whole ninety minutes.

On Arsenalâ..s part, there was plenty of perspiration but precious little inspiration as they plugged away trying to prise open the Hammersâ.. defence but just could not whittle out enough gaps to claim a winning goal. Despite holding huge amounts of possession throughout, they failed to really work Robert Green in the West Ham goal to any significant degree and it was another disappointing outcome for the home supporters who, though refraining from noticeably jeering the team as they left the pitch, were entitled to a few grizzles at the final whistle.

The Gunners have only netted five times in their last six home Premier League fixtures. This statistic highlights where most of the Gunnersâ.. problems have lain in recent months and emphasises how much the team has struggled without the creative contribution of Cesc Fabregas, the width provided by Tomas Rosicky and the pace of Theo Walcott. On the other side of the coin, the team are unbeaten in their last ten Premiership matches, which does at least suggest that the ship has been somewhat steadied from a defensive point of view. That said, even the most positive Arsenal supporter would have a hard time being convinced that the current back four have the potential to be as consistently mean as the famous "One-nil to the Arsenal" defensive line.

The injured players mentioned above will eventually recover, but with the earliest expected return of all three not being for at least a couple of months yet, (and depending on any late action in the last 24 hours of the transfer window), the opportunity for anything to be taken from this season could be long gone by then.

If any further proof was required that Gunners are severely lacking in midfield creativity during the absence of Cesc Fabregas, then Sunday's FA Cup tie at Cardiff provided a perfect illustration of this worrying fact. Though Samir Nasri is capable of making the occasional impact during matches, the likes of Alex Song, Aaron Ramsay and the hapless Emmanuel Eboue contributed very little towards Arsenal's attempts to break Cardiff down. In the end, the home team managed to keep their visitors at bay with relative ease.

It was a rough day for Ramsay in particular. Selected by Wenger in the centre of midfield against his former club, his display was one to forget. From the outset his passing was poor and he squandered possession time and time again. He is still a young player and maybe he will develop but right now he looks a long way from being the finished article. He was substituted on the hour for Abou Diaby who, in turn, showed very little in the way of being an improvement. Over the ninety minutes Alex Song had his usual ineffective game and how Emmanuel Eboue has managed to secure so many starts for the club this season is a mystery that only Arsene Wenger can answer. The Ivorian's form has been nothing short of abysmal for months now.

After their stunning victory at Ashburton Grove back in September, Hull City were always going to fancy their chances of completing an unlikely double when the Gunners visited the KC Stadium last Saturday. Certainly, the home team started the match full of intent and held plenty of possession in the early stages. Arsenal soon eased themselves into the game though and took the lead on the half hour when Emmanuel Adebayor emphatically headed home a Robin Van Persie corner.

From this point the Gunners should have gone on to dominate the match. But, as we have seen so many times this season, they allowed their opponents back into the match and sloppy defending from Gael Clichy presented them with a chance for an equaliser in the 65th minute that they duly took when Daniel Cousin got on the end of a Bernard Mendy cross, thumping a header past the flailing hands of Manuel Almunia. For reasons best known to himself, Clichy had backed off Mendy, failed to close down the cross and afforded the Hull winger the time and space to pick out his man.

It was a grim encounter between Arsenal and Bolton on Saturday afternoon at a freezing cold Ashburton Grove and the action on the pitch provided little to warm the hearts of the crowd. The visitors seemed intent on playing for a draw and lined up ten players behind the ball from the outset. Though the Gunners held the vast majority of possession, without the guile of Cesc Fabregas in midfield, they could not find a way through until the 84th minute when Robin Van Persie finally managed to slip behind the Bolton defence to deliver a delightful cross that was slammed into the net by Nicklas Bendtner. It was the only real moment of inspiration in the whole match and it delivered all three points and much relief to the Arsenal supporters.

The goal would have also come as a great relief to Bendtner himself. The young Dane has had a difficult second season even though his scoring record so far suggests he is well on-track to better his solid efforts of last term. Sadly though, for some reason, he has become a target for some sections of the crowd and his every mistake is greeted with howls of derision and complaints to the manager. It is true that he has struggled to show his best form so far this season but why he should be singled out for rough treatment is a mystery, particularly as there are plenty of other players in the squad who have been well below par since August and who are arguably more deserving of criticism.

Arsenal made their way through to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup with a comfortable but uninspiring victory over Plymouth Argyle at Ashburton Grove last Saturday.

The first half of the match was eminently forgettable with both teams failing to get the collective pulses of the crowd racing. The game sparked into life though in the early stages of the second period when Robin Van Persie headed home a Samir Nasri corner following virtually the Gunners' first attack of the half. The lead was doubled three minutes later when Nicklas Bendtner turned in a Van Persie cross. Within a matter of five minutes Arsenal had seemingly put themselves in control of the tie but before the home supporters could begin to relax Plymouth struck back in the 52nd minute when Karl Duguid lashed home a shot from ten yards. In recent months, Arsene Wenger's team have found it almost impossible to keep regular clean sheets and the spectres of so many leads thrown away this season reared their ugly heads.

The Christmas period is usually a hectic time for football with games coming thick and fast and the tone being set for teams as they face New Year and the crucial second half of the season. The way the fixture list has fallen this year, the Festive programme has not felt so congested but the three matches that Arsenal have played were all vitally important.

The Sunday before Christmas, Liverpool came to Ashburton Grove. Matches between the so-called "Big Four" have a huge bearing on the outcome of the title and sometimes there is the tendency to try to avoid defeat rather than actually go for the win. Certainly, Liverpool lined up in a formation designed to do just that and the game failed to ignite until Robin Van Persie scored with a spectacular effort midway through the first half. The visitors' long-ball game caught out the Gunners shortly afterwards though as the ever-unpopular Robbie Keane latched onto a howitzer of a pass from his defence that was completely misjudged by both William Gallas and Johan Djourou. The Irishman race clear and fired his shot into the roof of the net giving Manuel Almunia no chance.

The remainder of the match was notably only for two incidents. Firstly, the loss of Cesc Fabregas at the end of the first-half with an injury to his medial ligament sustained when block-tackling Xavi Alonso. He is scheduled to be absent for four months - though, based on the record the Arsenal medical team have on getting players back quickly, it would be a surprise to see him before next August. His absence cannot be understated and Arsene Wenger must surely take steps to find a creative midfielder during the January transfer window.

It was another frustrating Arsenal performance at the Riverside last Saturday as the Gunners let slip a one-goal lead to draw with Middlesbrough. The home team started brightly and put Arsene Wenger's men under plenty of early pressure. Emmanuel Adebayor gave the visitors the lead though in the 16th minute heading home from a Cesc Fabregas corner. Boro hit back a quarter of an hour later when Jeremie Aliadiere headed an equaliser. The second half was a scrappy affair and neither team had the guile or cutting edge to find a winner and take all three points.

This was a match that the Gunners could have, and should have, won and the disappointment at not leaving the north east with the spoils was compounded by results elsewhere as Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd all drew and Villa blew away Bolton at home to leapfrog into fourth place. A huge step in catching the pace-setters at the top of the table could have been taken but the opportunity was squandered.

It has been another up and down week in Arsenal's Jekyll and Hyde season. Last Saturday they scraped a one-nil victory over Wigan at Ashburton Grove but on Wednesday evening went down two-nil at Porto in the Champions League. Neither performance instilled much confidence that some sort of corner had been turned after the victory at Stamford Bridge and the notion of picking up a trophy at the end of the season still feels very much like a faint hope rather than an expectation.

The main talking point from Saturday's game was the barracking of Emmanuel Eboue as he was substituted off towards the end of the clash with Wigan. The Ivorian had himself earlier come on as substitute for Samir Nasri who had picked up a knock. The media have levelled much criticism at the supporters who booed him as he came off but there appeared to be a lack of understanding of the full context of what happened from observers who may only have been there that day.

Arsenal's victory at Stamford Bridge last weekend was as vital as it was unexpected. Dogged by injuries and inconsistent form, even the most optimistic supporters might have been forgiven for thinking that a draw was the best that could be hoped for prior to the match. Certainly, expectation levels dropped even further when Chelsea took full advantage of a poor throw from Manuel Almunia and Jose Boswinga's cross into the danger area forced Johan Djourou to put the ball into his own net. It was an unfortunate goal to concede and made the Gunners' task seemingly impossible.

The tide of the game turned though on the hour when Robin Van Persie scored an equaliser out of nothing. The Dutchman received the ball in an offside position and, as the Chelsea defenders looked to the linesman, he rifled the ball past Petr Cech into the top corner. The home team felt rightly aggrieved that the goal was allowed, but every team suffers and benefits from decisions like that over the course of the season and these things tend to even themselves out. It was a slice of luck for Arsenal but in a season where fortune has been in short supply for the Gunners, they did not look a gift horse in the mouth and helped themselves to an equaliser.

Following his ill-advised comments in the press last week, William Gallas was relieved of his duties as Arsenal club captain as Arsene Wenger moved swiftly to quell the storm and resolve the situation. In his place, Cesc Fabregas was appointed as the new permanent choice for skipper. It was a selection that many supporters wanted to see and the Spaniard was the leading contender of what could have only been a minimal short-list of candidates for the job.

It will be interesting to see how Fabregas takes to the role. He is a young man aged only 21 but he is already vastly experienced in the worlds of English, European and international football. There is a concern that the responsibility of captaincy may distract him from his key role within the team. Certainly, one suspected that having to worry about other players detracted from Thierry Henry's individual performance during his tenure leading the team. But, different players will handle situations in their own way and this could be an appointment that only makes Cesc's stature and confidence even greater - only time will tell.

After the joy of beating Manchester United and seeing the youngsters dismantle Wigan in the Carling Cup, Arsenal's schizophrenic season took another turn for the worse with an abject defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on Saturday. It was the Gunners' second loss of the season at Ashburton Grove and their fourth overall. With a third of the season gone, they are already nine points behind the league leaders and it would seem than any lingering hopes of challenging for the title have now been snuffed out. The way they played on Saturday, they cannot even be confident of finishing in fourth place.

In fairness to Aston Villa, they entirely deserved their victory. They showed more desire and strength than their hapless hosts and outgunned them in virtually every department. In the first half Villa missed a penalty and squandered arguably the best chance of the match. The half-time whistle came as a relief to Arsenal and they were fortunate to go in at the break with the scores still level.