» The Gooner World

As the clock struck 5 PM on a rather cold British summers day, people-footballers and agents-would have felt an involuntary, intangible window closing on them for the next for the next four months. Like a waft of thick air, circling over their heads and vulturing down on them to complete the misery.

As Aaron Ramsey stroked in Arsenal’s fourth, in a sun-swathed Emirates stadium, Wenger might just begin to feel more and more vindicated by his stubbornness in not willing to invest to replace the outgoing players.

It was the Arsenal of old which turned up at Emirates; the blitzkrieg counter-attacking, the silk and delightful passing, the jaw-dropping one-two’s, this was the Arsenal which loved to play football.

Arsenal did take time to find their stride, but once they did, Pompey were always chasing shadows for the length of the pitch. They were resistant for quite sometime, but the once the wall was broken down, it was always going to be a rout.

Eduardo, who started his first EPL game since that fateful day at St. Andrews, showed some mesmerising down the left hand side and then squared the ball quite brilliantly for Abou Diaby who lifted the nall into the top corner of the net from 18 yards. The next goal came in the next minutes.

From a deep-lying Arsenal area, Fabregas released Eboue with microscopic precision and Ivory Coast man, starting his first EPL game of the season, put it on a plate for Diaby’s second from the edge of the six-yard box.

The bell-ringing visitors had hope around the corner. From a Krancjar corner, the ball found Belhadj, who put in a teasing cross into the six-yard box. Younes Kaboul escaped the attentions of his marker and Almunia went backwards to cope with the rising ball, but the young Frenchman took advantage of the situation to make ir 2-1 before half-time.

Second half saw Fabregas removed in place of Ramey, with the Spaniard suspected to have complained about a tight hamstring. Pompey had the better of the early exchanges in the second-half and could have had a possible last-man offence against them. But the referee ruled in favour of William Gallas the the gunners. When you are down at the bottom, things never go your way.

Gallas and Vermaelen combined to make it three on the day for the gunners, the Frenchman enjoying a great scoring start to the campaign. David James was substituted, while Arsenal called upon Merida and the impressive Bendtner.

Robin Van Persie cut a frustrated figure as he could not score from numerous opportunities but he will be satisfied with the pass which found Ramsey. This goal was the Welshman’s first in the EPL.

Manchester United played superbly to put aside any doubts on the frying pan with five unanswered second-half goals.

The stage is now set for the Arsenal and Man United, undoubtedly the doyens of the English game, to do battle next weekend and chalk up a victory in the psychological department.

Whenever the Champions league music is played, there is that uncontrollable feeling of emotion. With the music plus a chorus of Scottish fanatics crying “You Will Not Walk Alone,” one might have wondered whether this Arsenal side had the bottle to cope with the situation and come out trumps. They did have the bottle and dismantled Scotland’s best, Celtic, two-nil in a warm evening at Parkhead.

Before the match three Arsenal players had fitness tests, one of them being Fabregas, the others being Denilson and Sagna. All three of them cleared the tests. Celtic also had injury problems going into the game but Loovens did manage to make the final cut.

The match started a bit sombrely with both teams testing each other out. Arsenal’s counter-attacking system was deployed more than once as the half wore on, but it was Celtic who had the first clear opportunity. From an Arsenal corner, the ball broke kindly to the Men in Hoops, and if not for Thopmas Vermaelen, who put in a last ditch clearence, the story could well have been different.

Arsenal, then began playing with their usual style and substance and the gulf in class was pretty evident. The first goal did come pretty soon but in the most unlikeliest of fashions. From a Fabregas free-kick, 25 yards out, the captain took his shot. The ball was deflected to the other side of the goal by William Gallas, completely wrong-footing Artur Boruc, the Celtic keeper. A lucky break for Arsenal before the whistle.

Celtic were the dominating of the two parties in the early exchanges of the second half, but they could not do anything with the possession they had. Arsenal flicked the switch with incoming Diaby replacing the Russian, Arshavin. It immediately paid dividends. Diaby showed some brilliant skill down the left hand side before passing it to Clichy and from his cross, Gary Caldwell put in to his own net.

Arsenal were well on thier way to the group stage proper. Marc-Antoine Fortune and Scott McDonald both came in for the Hoops but the Arsenal back-four stood the test of time and the atmosphere to return home with a famous result.

The return leg is fixed for next Wednesday and Arsenal might well ring-in the changes as they have two daunting trips to Manchester, first to the red-half and then to the blue-half, all in the space of a week.

With classiness and sumptuous football, Arsenal dismantled Everton 6-1, in a humiliation at Goodison park. By the time the final whistle was heard, boos rang around the stadium as thr Blues faithful were voicing their disgust at the Everton team and its manager, David Moyes.

Get the drums out of the lockers, get the fireworks and the pyrotechnics to work in tandem, get your bottle of beer and a packet of chips, get the posters hanging from the walls, besiege your cable guys and forget about the outside world; The greatest football league in the world, after in-absentia for three months, is ready to show its face once again in a new avatar.

With more than a month to go for the start of the next BPL campaign, this post is way too early. But my excitement has reached fever pitch and here goes my first blog about Arsenal for the 2009-2010 campaign. What I want to do in this blog is to give a quick run through on all the players who are expected to play a major hand in the season and the reasons why we should keep them (and why should not keep them).

With only 10 more mins on the clock, Arsenal were looking edgy, nervously looking towards that mid-week match against Villareal. But then as they say, its never over until its over, and Arsenal produced a scintillating late surge of three goals in the last 10 mins to win the game 1-4 to put the JJB in complete silence by the time the full time whistle blew.

Arsenal started the day looking to further consolidate their fourth place. But it was anything but consolidation as a rampant Wigan set about destroying a shaky and inexperienced Arsenal back 4. Arsenal never really looked comfortable and Wigan took a first half lead thanks to Mido, whose shot could only be parried into the net by stand in keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

The other stand in players for Arsenal also had poor first half's. Center Half, Johann Djourou was injured and in came Micheal Silvestre, while the stand in Left Back, Kieran Gibbs, probably should have been sent off for a last man offense, but only received an yellow for his troubles.

Nicklas Bendtner, Arsenal's much maligned striker, had the best chance for the men in red in the first half, but promptly put his header from six yards out so wide that Kirkland did not even bother to move.

Wigan could have doubled their advantage just before the break, but the post came to the rescue from a brilliant Ben Watson free-kick. The second half started with no sides bothering to change their personnel.

Arsenal upped the ante from the start and there were some tiring Wigan legs. As Robin Van Persie was preparing to come on, teenager, Theo Walcott put the visitors level with a smashing shot from 7 yards after being put through from Andrei Arshavin. In came Persie for the off colour Denilson, and Arsenal had found their passing game atlast.

Adebayor came on for the goal-scorer Walcott, and Arsenal had their tails buzzing. Clever work down the right, saw Cesc finding Silvestre with a clever pass, and the Frenchman did not need a second invitation to put Arsenal ahead from inside the six-yard box. The attacks were coming from everywhere and Wigan's defense were threatening to burst at the seams.

Arsenal thought they had a third from Van Persie, but the dutchmen was offside, following up from Arshavin's show which rebounded from the post. But they would have their third, when an excellent counter coupled with a mis-understanding in the Wigan defense allowed Arshavin to slot the ball home and Kirkland was rooted to the spot.

It was pretty much a case of damage limitation now for Wigan but a rampant Arsenal were not to be denied a fourth. Alex Song weaved his magic, dancing through the Wigan defense, before stroking the ball past a hapless Kirkland.

Arsene Wenger would be happy that his side would now be confident of facing the Yellow Submarines with their tails up. Arsenal have now moved nine points clear of Aston Villa, who entertain Everton in the late game on Sunday.