The Arsenal Way

Maddy’s Note: Sunday was one of those days when I wished I was there to see it happen. Well, our man Felipe  was. And he certainly saw it happen. Reading this report recreated every bit of the magic that was The Arsenal. I’m going to read it again then. Enjoy

There could not have been a better atmosphere in North London last Sunday. The most victorious Arsenal manager of all time was celebrating his 13th aniversary in charge in front of his supporters. And to make the party even more tremendous, just before the kick off our all time greatest legend, Thierry Henry, walked onto the pitch and waved to the fans. If I was feeling inspired by that moment, imagine how the Gunners were feeling in the dressing room.

The sun was shining over North London. The stadium was red thanks to that, given no coats and jackets were needed. We were very positive after such a dominating perfomance against Olympiacos last Tuesday. When our starting XI was announced the presence of Rosicky made me smile. 21 months since his last League start. A very strong Arsenal side but as soon as the game started, it could not have had a stranger beginning. A shot taken by Robinson landed in our box and Nzonzi scored from a looping header. It is true Mannone could have easily stopped that goal had he kept himself well positioned, but the way the lads did not give up was spot on. Minutes later, an unstoppable Vermaelen bombed forward. The centre back was hit countless times and still, he did not stop. A pure example of determination, hunger and winning spirit. Thanks to that, Fabregas tapped the ball back to him, he controlled it for a few seconds and crowned his efforts with a cracker. 1-1. Though everything was set for us to turn the game around, Blackburn made the most of our excess of will. Thanks to his vision, Di Santo found Dunn inside the box. He fired, the ball deflected on Gallas and found the back of the net. 1-2. Once again, however, the Gunners did not give up. With a ball in the centre, captain Cesc with a fabulous through ball found Van Persie. The Dutchman broke into the box and fired the equaliser. 2-2. Minutes later, once again Fabregas had the ball on his feet. He raised his head and found Arshavin, who, so like van Persie, scored a very similar goal, putting ourselves in front for the first time in the game.

Before half time we had lots of chances to have killed the game. But there was still a whole half to go. Fabregas found Rosicky, whose deflected shot was still good enough for him to find Cesc. The captain rolled the ball on his chest, allowed it to touch the ground once and then fired a tremendous, stunning and beautiful goal. And if I was already too happy with the goal, I should have prepared myself for what was coming. After scoring, Cescy kissed the badge, showed the whole world he is staying and finally, pointed to the stands, clearly dedicating the goal to us. I confess that, at that time, I had tears in my eyes. After that, Walcott debuted this season, replacing Rosicky. After some minutes on the turf, he saw a legendary Vermaelen throw himself in front of the ball to prevent their third. What an attitude. What a spirit. After that, Fabregas stole the ball in our box. He found Arshavin, who made an impressive run before returning it to Cesc who, quickly, found Theo on the right wing. The boy raised his head and tapped our fifth. That was spot on. The way we stole the ball in our box and counter attacked that quickly and ruthlessly was so like the invincibles that I could not believe my eyes. That was too beautiful. Too inspiring. Minutes later Bendtner received a ball on the left flank, dribbled  past some defenders, did not lose possession and fired a poweful shot that hit the bar before dying in the back of the net. 6-2.

An imperious perfomance. Dominating, hungry,  and inspiring. Even after conceding goals by mistake we were hungry enough to fight back, something we lacked last season. It was pleasent to see Rosicky, Arshavin and Van Persie up front. 3 clinical finishers, 3 world class players. And when they have someone like Cesc Fabregas behind them, then you have a classy team. What pleased me equally was our defence. Song and Diaby finally did well together. Cesc also returned to help the defenders and do I need to mention Vermaelen? His commitment is just examplary. He is not only quality, he is also a player that gives his everything week in, week out. He is a player in the mould of Tony Adams and Martin Keown.

Rosicky and Theo are back and that will provide us with depth up front, given we already have Arshavin, Vela, Van Persie and Bendtner. Not to mention Nasri will return soon. That will surely be a boost on our Cup games. Rotating will be needed. But what matters the most is that we will rotate but keeping the quality.

6 different names on the score sheet shows the whole world we do not depend on an individual talent like our rivals. We scored from the left, from the right, from inside and outside the box. It was a complete perfomance. What is better is that our most important player, our captain, delivered. The way Cesc Fabregas played against Blackburn is just a proof of how great he is. Should he carries on like that we will be unstoppable. He had 4 assists and 1 goal. But who cares about stats when he kisses our badge and points to us after such impressive perfomance?

That is the Arsenal way.