Stand Up and Be Counted ...

Premier League
Arse 2
(Gilberto 51st pen, Baptista 62nd)

Reading 1
(Fabregas 87th og)

A comment when the Arse's line-up was displayed on the screen.

"It looks like it's everyone or anyone who's still standing ..."

And it certainly looked like it.

Henry (foot, hamstring), v Pussie (fracture), Adikbayor (susp), Rosicky (groin), Hoyte (hamstring), Eboue (susp), Toure (susp) and Flamini (foot).

Diaby (foot) was on the bench together with Senderos (suwey).

Theo and Baps up front; midfield of Cesc-Hleb-Ljungberg-Denilson.

It was the back-line that had that makeshift air: covering Lehmann in goal were Clichy-Gallas- Gilberto -Djourou.

Clichy and Gallas on the left wing meant most of the Arsenal attacks would be from that flank - while Gilberto is competent enough in the past at centreback, Djohan Djourou is definitely not a natural right-back.

To be fair, he did an okay job during that match - definitely better than the ponderous Senderos during the FA Cup loss when he meekly let McCarthy through for the winning clear shot at goal.

With Cesc bossing the midfield, Gilberto's absence was not felt too much - both he and Hleb ensuring Reading's forays were short-lived while keeping the opponnts on the back foot with constant meandering runs and angled passes into space behind defenders.

What was comforting was that even with so many missing players, the team displayed the same dominating flair that bears Arsene the Godfather's credo of sexy football all the time.

Even in the bad times, like this one where the team is struggling for belief amidst the wreckage of 3 matches lost in a row - that put paid to most of this season's hopes and dreams of Cup glory.

Belief was missing from Bap's early game when he chose to pass to Cesc in front of an open goal resulting in Cesc fumbling in what is probably the miss-of-the-season.

But we dominated; and carved the Reading defence like Xmas turkey but somehow the ball would not just get into the net.

It looked like the CSKA nightmare all over again in the first half. All touchy-feely foreplay with the desired orgasmic climax remaining tantalisingly out of reach.

Finally it was young Clichy, bursting through like Roberto Carlos in his prime, that broke Reading's flawless defence.

A frantic tackle from the impressive Bikey earned us a penalty which the Iron Man powered into the bottom right corner past Hahnemann - despite the goalie going the right way.

It was an important pen for Gilberto - he missed his last one against Bolton, together with Baps on the other one.

And it was karma that determined that Baps would score too. Looking so out of sync at times in linking up the attack, he drove through Murty like the Beast that he is supposed to be, onto a through pass to bull the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

2-0 and we looked like cruising but we never get the gravy without the fishbones - Reading characteristically came back for a face-saving goal and they got one - as soon as Senderos came on for Djourou.

Karma neh?

The guy is not a bad player - just someone a bit unlucky currently.

Getting to a floated cross, he glanced it onto Cesc and it bounced off the luckless Spaniard into goal to set up a nervy finish.

Poor Cesc got a goal at last but alas, at the wrong end.

If Arsene was Malaysian both Cesc and Senderos would prolly get the mandi tujuh bunga (Malay ceremonial purification bath of 7 flowers) to get them back on track, luck-wise.

Nonetheless it was a pleasing game - with any other team the crowd would have oohed and aahed in appreciation and the column inches describing the action would have wiped out the Endau-Rompin sanctuary for the newsprint used.

But it's the Arsenal and the Emirates, innit?

The place where the sublime has become commonplace and where perfection seems to be within easy reach.

So all the talk would not be about the achievement of a patched-up team but the so-called crisis of confidence ahead of the PSV game.

The impressive Andre Bikey holding off Denilson despite the risk of being nicknamed as the Fondler.
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And here's another bit of cheer ... we mustn't forget our ladies, yeah?

League Cup Final, Sunday March 4th 2007
Leeds Ladies 0

Arse Ladies1
(Jayne Ludlow 90+2)

Jayne Ludlow, the acting captain in place of injured Faye White, bundled in an injury-time winner to snag the Ladies Mickey Mouse against Leeds, thus purging the memories of their loss against Charlton in the final last year.

Ludlow is also the Welsh Ladies team captain.

The Arsenal Ladies, coached by Vic Akers, are also in line for a clean sweep of trophies this year - Premier League (leading +8 pts), FA Cup (in semi-final) and UEFA Cup (in final against Sweden's Umea in April) are all within grasp of this team.

So far this year, it's Ladies 1-0 to the Men for silverware ..... :P

Go, Gooners!!