Nervous Arsenal Collect All Three Points at Goodison Park Against Everton

It was a game where Arsenal had to collect all three points, and luckily they did; however, the Gunners were far from convincing throughout the 90.

In fact, apart from the two goals scored against the Toffees, Arsenal did little else to impress, and had it not been for a good chunk of luck and the great saves pulled off by Fabianski, who appears to be getting better with every match, Arsenal would've ended the game with a draw, and lose more ground to the current EPL leaders Chelsea.

The goal scorers were Sagna, through a one off goal, and then Fabregas through Arsenal's best move throughout the game, Fabianski did enough to secure all three points, but Arsenal's defense was out of sync, and it's evident that the lack of a firm, long-lasting partnership is causing a misunderstanding among the Arsenal back four, and it's obvious that there's a lack of confidence amongst them.

There's good to take from this result, however, and it's the fact that the Gunners were able to grind out a result, sadly the two goals scored were through a full back and a midfielder, and Arsenal's lack of goals from the front is a worry for the fans. As things are, the red and white army are repeating the events of last season, where the midfield was scoring goals, while the attackers were out injured.

As irony would have it, despite losing to the weakest teams in the league on their own turf, the Gunners have the best away record in the EPL this season thus far, something that Wenger will no doubt try to build on and take advantage of.

Despite the mixed reception for their season, it's amazing to see Arsenal only two points behind current leaders Chelsea, thanks to key players who are maturing with each passing game, and thanks to Sunderland who just had one of the best matches in their history, thrashing Chelsea by three goals to nil, and at Stamford Bridge of all places.

But that's not to take away from what the young Gunners have achieved.

They're finally finding the right balance between attacking and defending, and with them being the team that has received the most red cards this season (albeit some of them being harsh), it's fair to say that Arsenal aren't afraid of making heavy contact against opponents, which can only leave teams like Stoke and Birmingham wondering how they can trouble the Gunners in their future encounters.

Finally, the Gunners are evolving from the "pretty boys" in the league, to it's bad boys.

Another respectable feature shown against Everton was the Gunners' attackers backtracking to help out defense.

Seeing Arshavin and Nasri returning to aid the back four was pleasing, and Rosicky practically playing as the fifth defender in the twilight of the game was a crucial factor in helping Arsenal gain all three points, with the Czech international throwing himself at the shots taken by Everton, most notably the one pulled by Coleman.

It was noted before the game against Everton that Arsenal will regret their losses to West Brom and Newcastle, mainly due to the fact that it's impossible to imagine Chelsea losing to such teams, but Sunderland shocked everyone, and reminded us all of how surprisingly pleasant the EPL is.

Arsenal are now a single point ahead of Manchester United, who somehow still haven't lost a single game this season, and and are two points behind current EPL leaders Chelsea. The Blues are still the team to beat, but Sunderland just showed that when the team is focused, beating Chelsea is pretty simple.

However, Wenger's sagaciousness can only go so far. The Frenchman needs to accept the fact that his squad is not complete, the goalkeeping situation might be somewhat solved (assuming Fabianski stays consistent, and Almunia stays on the bench), but the defense is still short a few players, and when oh when will Wenger finally buy a second defensive midfielder to be a backup for Song?

It's impressive to see an inconsistent side in second place, and fighting for the EPL, especially when you consider that the last time Arsenal were inconsistent, they barely qualified to the Champions League, scrapping their way to victory is a sign of a maturing squad indeed.

The experience provided by Chamakh, Squillaci and Rosicky can be thanked for that, their imperturbability has helped Arsenal greatly when the team seemed to have lost confidence.

As things stand, Arsenal are still genuine title contenders, but their luck against Everton won't be around for much longer, the Gunners need backup, and they need an injury free squad, something that seems impossible.

The players are finally coming to their own, but this is a team game. Wenger himself needs to show signs of improvement, and that can happen by him braking his tradition of a lack of spending, and buying a quality defender, even if that means splashing some cash for a player that might sit on the bench, knowing Arsenal's track record with injuries, he'll be destined to play sooner rather than later.

Arsenal play against Tottenham next Saturday, and with Arsenal's current home record, it's understandable that the fans would rather see the Gunners play in Spurs' backyard than in their own, especially after Arsenal thrashed Spurs by four goals to one in the League Cup earlier this season.

Can Arsenal make it all the way? Will they be able to avoid injuries and the traditional March collapse? Only time will tell, but one thing is obvious.

Damn that's some pretty football they play.