Thoughts on Arsenal vs Porto

This is the first game I've seen in a while, and it's been pretty good. Maybe it's because I haven't watched the Arsenal on TV for a few months, but I'm impressed by how well we're passing. It's one of those things you take for granted, but we are very pleasing on the eye.

I'm impressed by Arshavin. Flick-ons, through-balls, headers - the little guy's been doing it all. I'm surprised by how many headers he's won so far - two. The first was a goal attempt at the far post, and the second a head-on from a upfield hoof. It doesn't sound like much, but remember he's only 5 foot tall.

2-0 to the Arsenal now, but I get the feeling that we're one Almunia moment away from being level. We need a third goal.

I think Bendy's doing quite well. You don't get a brace by playing poorly, but I'm impressed by his centre-fowarding as a whole. He's offering himself as an aerial threat, he's holding up balls, he's scoring goals.... he's the kind of traditional centre-forward we've been lacking the whole season.

I think I've figured out why Arshavin looks so much like an owl. It's because he has no neck and wears a white turtle-neck under his shirt. Necklessness is probably a genetic quirk of the Russians (better for heat-retention), but why does he choose to accentuate his owlishness by wearing a turtle-neck? He looks like a screech owl hunching his shoulders on a cold day. Well, he'd know better than me; I'm not a fashion design major.

Half-time, and I'm wondering if it's ironic for Cristano Ronaldo to appear in a Castrol Oil commercial. Then again, I suppose if you're going to wreck an expensive sports car on a Manchester highway, you'd want to make sure the engine's well lubricated.

Porto's playing better after the break. Falcao shot, Almunia spilled, and then scrambled for the ball. Scary stuff. I'm wondering if it's possible for Arsenal to sustain the form of the 1st half for a whole game. We've certainly gone down a couple of gears. I'm also wondering if Wenger's ultimate goal is to get Arsenal playing that kind of football for 90 minutes. Maybe the reason we're getting all those injuries is because Wenger's winding our players so tightly that they start falling apart?

I'm thinking we need a third goal. Nasri just cleared the ball off the line with his thigh. We can't keep relying on Nasri's dodgy thigh (or Almunia's dodgy hands for that matter) to keep a clean sheet. 3-0 and we're flying. 2-0 and we're one goal away from being on level terms.

Nasri. 3-0. Very nice. Okay, that's it. I'm going to have to go to work now.