Just stick your laces through it: Thoughts on Arsenal 3-0 Milan and Belated thoughts on the 5pur2 game

I play 5-a-side every week with a bloke called Daniel. Daniel, like the rest of us, pulls up no roots with his footballing ability. It's a pretty low standard game. Where Daniel does excel is in goal - partly because he is roughly the same dimensions as Martin Johnson and partly because he naturally has a feel for the angles and decisions that need to be made in goal.

I've never been a good finisher 1 on 1 - I clearly lack composure and have always been more likely to score from 30 yards than 3 (penalties aside....). Against Daniel, this problem is compounded 'cos I know he's gonna save it no matter what I do. My tendency is therefore to leather the ball as hard as I can in the hope that it flies past him before he can react.

Tends not to work all that often, so I'm not really the person to give advice but...Robin, if you read this blog...why did you try to chip Abbiati? Just smash the ball - if he saves it then fair play, but it's more likely to deflect in.

That'd have been 4-0 and we would have been flying. As it happens, I'm proud of how we played and think we redressed the balance somewhat from one of our worst performances this season in Milan. Ultimately, an offside goal, a slip from Vermaelen and a dodgy pen did for us, although we were so dreadful that 4-0 was quite kind.

Other thoughts on tonight:

• Yet another fantastic atmosphere at the Emirates. After 6 years we've cracked it. Play so shit for so long that all the Jonny Come-Latelies lose interest, sell their tickets to fans who want to go, even to hopeless dead rubber matches and who'll support their team. Great noise throughout, and the stadium was still full at the end. Let's make this the norm please.
• Szczesny made some great saves, and often was right to come off his line, but got very lucky with his crappy clearance that Zlatan hit wide, and I haven't a clue how he saved that shot from Nocerino.
• I called Kos as 1st goalscorer. Unfortunately, I had no money on it.
• Gibbs did well, my love for Sagna is well documented and he was his usual superb self, Kos was brilliant (is there a better defender 1 on 1 in the league?) and Vermaelen looked more like his normal self.
• Song was decent if a little lazy (so Song was Song), Theo was Theo, with the usual poor decision making alongside the flash of brilliance. Gervinho was garbage - he was the only player who was always on his heels competing for loose balls.
• Rosicky's renaissance is remarkable. I said at the beginning of the season that we needed the little Mozart back, and he's starting to get up a head of steam.
• AOC was excellent and very disciplined in an unfamiliar role. His direct running scared the bejesus out of Milan and his corner delivery was excellent for the most part. I thought he was unlucky to be taken off before Walcott, although apparently he was ill before the game.
• RVP didn't have a great game in my opinion - I thought he tried to do too much himself. That said, the pen was superb and he brought another quality save from the keeper in the 1st half.
• The ref was awful. Booking Sagna and someone else for winning the ball, playing on when it was a clear foul, then blowing up when the advantage would have been preferred. Not biassed, just crap.
• Zlatan has a great touch. He's also a utter prick and I hate his ugly face. Poor tonight, excellent in San Siro.
• We know nothing about football - one bloke 2 seats from me said Rosicky can't pick a pass, another 2 seats the other way said Rosicky was having a stormer (which I agreed with). However, he called absolutely every offside wrong. Literally. Every single one. The bloke behind me also had an erroneous opinion that was amusing, but I've forgotten what it was. Great story I know.

All in all, a proud night for Gooners. It's just a shame we were so poor in the 1st leg. Let's keep this momentum going and win the 11 cup finals we have left this season.

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I wanted to post something about the NLD last week but was crazy busy. It's all been said, but here's my take on it anyway.

• It's been said over and over that we are at our best with a high-energy game, pressing high up the pitch. We did this last season to beat Chelsea, Barcelona and Man United and did it again to destroy Spurs. It's so difficult to live with a team that does it - this should be how we try to play every week. It worked in the 1st half vs Milan too.
• To go through the goals - their's were both as a result of poor communication between Vermaelen and Gibbs. Saha lucky with the finish, but he should never have had that much space.
• The penalty - DIVE DIVE DIVE DIVE. After watching it several times, there is no contact between Gibbs or Szczesny with Bale. If there is one thing that I learnt from Rise of Planet of the Apes, it's not to ever trust monkeys and that simian thing is no different. He has a reputation and it's totally deserved. Whilst I'm ranting about the offspring of Jonny Bravo and King Louis from the Jungle Book, he really has too high an opinion of himself. Modelling his game on Ronaldo? Do me a favour, son. You are effective at running fast and powerfully in a straight line and whipping in a ball, or shooting across goal. It's effective and has won you plaudits from the lobotomised gentlemen from the Wapping area. You don't fool me - you're a one trick pony and will fade like that bloke from Blazing Squad that used to be on the right wing for Spurs
• Why didn't MOTD mention that there was even any controversy over the award? Call a spade a spade please.
• We were bloody great and went close through RVP and Rosicky before we scored. I thought Gibbs should have had a pen in front of me as well. RVP was unlucky to hit the post but Bac bulldozed his way to meet a lovely floated ball from Arteta. As Peter Hill-Wood no doubt said, "Never in doubt".
• The crowd hardly dropped at all, and it was a question of when, not if we scored again. RVP's goal showed his great technique and will be played over and over again in slo-mo on Sky in years to come.
• 'arry utterly bottled it with his changes at half-time. It was 2-2. Van der Vaart I just don't get - he's a great player but is bone idle and can't be carried when you're scrapping for every ball (see Arshavin, Andrei). Tightening up the midfield with Sandro would have been ok if Sandro had then played in midfield. I'm not sure what he did, but Spurs were very poor second half.
• Rosicky deserved his goal and showed how effective arriving from deep can me. Hint hint Aaron Ramsey.
• Theo was utterly bollocks first half and deserved all the criticism he got. It's not 'cos we hate him, it's 'cos we want him to succeed, and credit to him, he picked his game up second half. He had one sighter and then scored 2 lovely instinctive finishes - he's always at his best in my opinion when he doesn't think. Ironic for such a lovely young man. He's a total confidence player and hopefully that game will boost his. Great weapon to have in the squad in form - especially in "big games" where he will get space. Useless against 2 packed banks away at WBA (for example).
• Mike Dean is an egotist. Some of his decisions beggar belief. The Koscielny booking being one of them...he was shoved by Spurs player into other Spurs player....mental.
• The argument that diving is no worse than claiming a FK, throw, corner etc that you know is not yours as you're trying to con the ref is one I'd agree with. I'd make them all bookable offences and ENFORCE THE SODDING LAW. Once players were picking up bans for stupid reasons, they'd quickly learn to play in the Corinthian fashion. I'd enable retrospective discipline too. Strangely, imaginary card waving doesn't bother me - it's not cricket but I don't think it influences the ref in the same way.
• Seeing the Spurs end that empty with 15 to go was lovely.
• Yossi and Rosicky were immense. Song owned Parker and Modric. We won that game in midfield.
• I'm over Adebayor. 1 bloke near me sung about Angola. No one else joined in.
• BAE has great hair
• Parker was always going to get sent off
• Mikky Arteta does a lovely star jumpy thing whenever he wants the ball. Watch it next time - it's hilarious.

I was gonna do this properly with pictures etc but its gone midnight, I got 3.5 hours sleep last night, had a new cousin born and was in surgery from 8am until football o clock today so I just can't be bothered.

Thanks for reading - Congrats if you got to the end. Love to hear everyone else's thoughts.