Gunnerism V: Good News and Bad News in Chelsea Recap

The good stuff first.

It was a good win. Solid performances all around. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I could not identify any weak links in the Gunners.

Almunia looked rather reassuring on goal, producing a couple of fine saves, and his influence is growing by the game.  Most of the praises are heaped on to Toure and Gallas, and rightly so—but let’s not forget Gael “better-than-Ashley-Cole” Clichy, and Bacary “look-at-my-hair” Sagna.

People mention the trio of Flamini, Fabregas, and Hleb, and that’s alright. I just want to bring to attention a certain Emmanuel “I-unintentionally-injured-JT” Eboue.

I have in fact seen Eboue make some interesting runs cutting in towards goal. Glad to see that kind of courage and confidence. He is one player who has definitely stepped up his game. The Coles Ashley and Joe produced an average display down the left flank, but Eboue and Sagna were more than up to the challenge.

Anyway, let’s do away with the bad news now.

There were a couple of incidents that left a bitter taste, the most notable of them being Fabregas. He seems to be getting slightly over his head as of late. Granted, emotions were flying high, and we hadn’t beaten them in three years and all that—but I am surprised that he didn’t get carded for diving. Completely unacceptable, and totally disruptive of the spirit of the game.

He should have been carded to check is bad behavior on the spot. There is absolutely no reason to dive. Even Ronaldo has kind of given it up—that is the bottom line.

The other bad news is the match-ending tackle on Ashley Cole. He, who has already amassed five yellow cards and served the ban, is aiming for another. Fabregas was extremely lucky on Sunday, and got off quite mildly after committing two acts of pure stupidity.

Midway through the game, you could see glimpses of one-touch passing, along with the same hesitancy to pull the trigger as we saw last season. But I guess you can’t blame them for searching for the perfect goal every once in a while.

Now on to more interesting stuff—Ashley “everybody-booed-and-hates-me” Cole.

The crowd was absolutely fantastic in booing Ashley Cole’s every single touch with utmost zeal. I am just glad we got the message across: No, Ashley—we will never forget; and Clichy is better.

And the best for last—Robin van Persie.

At first, I was sad to see him warm the bench (I had just bought him in my fantasy team), but from the moment he came on as a sub, he absolutely transformed the game. He maintained the momentum of the match, held the ball when needed, and created a ton of attacking opportunities.

He even managed to score, but Rosicky was unfortunately offside. He also managed to produce a fine save out of Cech the Czech. Quite a bit in such a short spell, if you ask me.

Meanwhile, we are one week and one game away from claiming absolute London dominance. Next week’s match pits us against none other than the beloved Spurs. Wenger and his squad should be able to exploit the defensive weaknesses of Tottenham, and put them back in place.

Hmmm, can't seem to decide whom I hate more: Ashley Cole, or Tottenham Hotspurs...