Redemption; Resurgence; Resurrection

Arquitecto wrote:I can go on, I can go on and on about the finer points of the match, the build-up, the mistakes, the heroics.

I want to speak to you Gooners of what I have been asking of you men for months and that is simply patience and foresight past the circumstance, and past the mainstream medium of opinion and analysis.

I won't lie, I DID NOT expect Arsenal to win this game. In fact I bet 45 Euros' against Arsenal with the odds down by the local bookie beside my local tapas' bar.

Did I do it out of cynicism of and negativity? No, as much as I speak about the slow but steady rise of Arsenal from the ashes, I simply did not think they were ready for this type of match and at a stadio that they fear possibly the most (despite the dull as processed cheese atmosphere of Chelsea.)

Do I regret the loss of money? Not a single worth. All of you here know my external love for Wenger's team outside my very own teams.

Back to the point as I will make it short for brevity's sake, I predicted Wenger's line-up correct as I feel he can be predictable with his squad line-ups and the line-up that I actually predicted included players I did not want, it had Walcott who has been frustrating to watch for me yet as you know, my pleas for him to go central was not done as seeing him in his same external position brought irritation at Arsene cause I have rather been critical of Theo. It included the ever so slow and cumbersome Djorou as the previous comment describes him when playing as a fullback.

Simply put, I wanted lazy but creative Arshavin or Oxlaide in theo's position.

Gervinho I was fine with simply because his partnership is superb with RVGOD.

The sight of seeing Djorou stupendously out of position and wandering off brought my blood to a boil. The sight of Santos' impatience, lack of disicipline to the tackle along with his unfit movement to cover the Chelsea attack was even worse considering he IS actually a fullback.

When the first goal came, I tried my best to console the gooners around me as I felt this was inevitable and predicted a poor result for the Gunners.

But I was wrong.


Once again, where do I start?

-I did not predict the sheer calm under pressure from the first goal as seconds before I predicted Gervinho to squander the chance but little did I know to remember the understanding between him and RVGOD.

- I did not predict Song making a Rivera-esque pass to Santos who actually showed that he can redeem himself.

--Walcott, oh boy theo walcott who I was nagging and complaining about starting completely shut me, his detractors/media/critics up with a razor wire with his 2 superbly created chances and his Roberto Baggio-esque goal.

-I did not predict RVGOD destroying the highline of the naive AVB and calmly slotting the goal past Cech as his expression was of one who spends a lazy sunday watching t.v during the goal as so nonchalant it was, my admiration for the man even grew stronger.

-I did not expect the scintillating counter-attack triggered by Rosicky's immediate presence and class with RVGOD hitting the ball with the fury of a norse hammer.

Christ, as I write this, I want to express every moment of frustration, jubilant, and pure awe I felt during this match.

I want to express how I felt towards Santos and Djorou imitating Giuseppe Favalli against Antonio Valencia during this match. And how they caused the Kos-Per partnership to weaken due to both CBs losing their confidence in the fullbacks (reason for Per's mistakes btw)

-I want to express how I feel RVGOD is the captain Arsenal were yearning for and simply how unbelievably talismanic he is for his as I could not describe the admiration flowing through me for him during this match.

-I want to express how Theo shut me up.

-How Gervinho is improving day by day with his decision making and vision

-How Arteta is so underrated for his distribution, organizational play, sheer calm under pressure and possession and how he is the man behind the curtain behind Arsenal's midfield play as displayed today

-How Ramsey has won my admiration day by day as in this match despite not being as influential as usual in this match, his decisiveness, sheer quality, intelligence and confidence under such a big game cemented how I feel he is the future for your team

-How the Kos-Per Partnership is a duo forged into a partnership of pure understanding, chemistry, intelligence and acknowledgment of each others mistakes (and how to cover for them).

-How Mertesacker despite his iffy marking of Lamps and Terry, how he has proven he can withstand even the best of attacks and that he did. His mistakes were due to external factors, yet his leadership, command and defense was immense.

-How LK has developed into one of the most intelligent CBs in the world and is simply a joy to watch with his class and quality. Seriously, I always defended this man and it brought some emotion in myself watching him succeed so well. This man was my MOTM. Despite, RVP, Song or anyone else. He is a gem of a player. Shame on some of you for doubting him.

-How Song has evolved from a reliable DM into a DM who actually possesses composure on the ball and vision to back it up. Yes, his passing may be off at times, yes his forrays forward may leave you open, but understand the talent behind what he possesses in attack as this is why Wenger allows him to attack when he does as AW sees more then a DM. He sees a man who is capable of being a wall in the mid, and a visionary in the front.

-How the 3 goals were because of:

-Fullbacks incompatence
-Anxiety in set-pieces
-Refereeing as Mata's goal was unjustified considering Santos was clearly fouled.


I'll move on to the bigger picture.

I had been saying that patience is key.

These signings not only have brought new life to Arsenal, but what it really was, is a awakening from Wenger and the new fire inside him to improve upon his mistakes, unleash his all to underrated tactical ability, to forge his team into a team with such self belief, that their opposition are stricken with fear and influenced by the drive and passion that is new.

This match proved that Arsenal are not a one man team as that term doesn't exist with Wenger.

This match proved the character, clutch ability, composure, mentality, guile, and superb mentality that has been given to Arsene's players by the man himself.

Wenger made at least 5 vital tactical changes in the match as I can name 1-2; his counter-pressing to Chelsea's flank attack. His congestion of the midfield to control where Gunner need it most. His dynamic change of the positioning of the Arsenal backline; I could go on.

He was ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON and BRLLIANT. Not convinced? Open your eyes.

This match signified Arsenal's demons have slowly been washed away, it signified the pressure they can take from their rivals who have plagued them for years and in the venue they fear most.

This match was vital for Arsene and Co. and the importance of the win will bring confidence, and knowledge that they have proven themselves.

This match signified that Arsene Wenger is an absolute master-class of a manager who leads a team of players who have undergone a small renaissance and have given themselves a sense of identity, conviciton and direction fueled by guile and years of loss turned into a controlled spring of fury.

And that was channeled onto the pitch tonight.

Really, I'll tell you, the finer points and discussions along with the tactical analysis. But look at the bigger picture.

Few times I support this team like its my own, I could name the match against Barca last year, or Chelsea's.

Today I celebrated the goals as if 'pool or milan scored. And hurt myself badly in the process by hitting my head on a pull up bar.

Congratulations boys, cause this isn't another ordinary superficial big match one and soon to be forgotten match, it was much more and if you fail to see that.... throw yourself of your nearby cliff kindly.

Did anyone expect this? I didn't. But I saw it coming sooner or later as I promised. And all this done with out Sagna and Wilshere. Wow.