Review: Newcastle 1 - Arsenal 3

RVP sums it up pretty well, actually:

“We didn’t start that well. Newcastle were sharper, better, they wanted it more."

“When we scored we thought we could take it easy a little bit but that wasn’t the case because Martins scored within a minute. After that we knew we had to crack on and at least score one more goal."

It really was quite a bad first half. Apart from a great move leading to Arshavin's goal on goal - blocked by an amazing Steven Taylor - there really wasn't too much to be happy about. Almunia saved a crap penalty from Oba Martins, and that probably was the turning point. I put that first half down to fatigue and a little bit of complacency. It was almost as if we'd intentionally played to let Newcastle have a go at us - and sure enough, they did.

In the second half, though, we played as we could have, and should have. Bent Nick showed that his touch with his head is right now better than with his feet - something which I've suspected for a while. It was also right that up till then, we'd come up against the rock of Taylor, and that our goal should therefore come from a set piece and unstoppable Bent Nick header. (Must add that Arshavin's deliveries have been excellent. Is this not like assist #3 from a set piece? Despite Cesc's own role as right-footed set-piece-deliverer, methinks Arshavin's turning out to be a better option).

Then we switched off, and gave away a sloppy goal. But the response was spot on: Diaby with excellent goal - again with Taylor absent, and after that, Nasri. Yummy moves on both fronts. Keep up the performances, and we really have something to look forward to. It's 16 games unbeaten in the league - something like the best since our Unbeatables' run. Who would've thought.

As for the player ratings:

Almunia 7 - Good overall performance except for that one moment of clumsiness leading to the penalty.

Sagna 7 - Not one of his better ones, but effective nonetheless.

Gallas 6.5 - The equaliser was his fault, no doubt. Let a few headed chances go astray too - but can't really fault him too much on those. He does get into good positions from the odd corner/set piece.

Toure 7 - Seems to be getting on fine with Mohawk Billy these days. Has to keep up the Mr Reliable performances.

Clichy 7.5 - Some excellent runs as usual. Won't be surprised if one fine summer, arses like Madrid come calling with bids for the lad.

Arshavin 8 - Another solid performance. Has a marvellous right foot, runs like mad (though he looked zonked by the first 10 minutes), and was a constant menance. He's had an amazing impact of the team since his arrival. Thank God.

Denilson 6.5 - Not as authoritative in the middle as we'd hope, but one of his more typical performances. Nothing spectacular, nothing visionary. Just generally dependent but still lightweight.

Diaby 7.5 - Has been called up to the French national team to take Paddy's place. Good for him, and judging from this performance, we have much to be grateful for. Just needs to work a tad more of the timing of his passes. What a goal. (Knowing him - let's keep our fingers crossed he emerges injury-free from the international break).

Nasri 7 - Industrious overall, and great goal too. More than we could ever say about that Belrussian. He needs a rest though. He's one we can afford to get injured, with Theo out.

RVP 7 - Not his best, and really should have had a goal or two to his name. But it just shows - even when not at his best, he still had great assists for the Diaby and Nasri goals.

Bent Nick 7 - Great header. Needs to just get more consistent with his feet. Doesn't look like the sort to get injured too! A real monster when on his game upfront.

So off we go for a break. Hate these meaningless international breaks. What am I going to do for 2 weeks then??? I know - watch Theo recover. On that front, it doesn't look as bad as earlier feared. Probably a clever Arsene ploy to get him out of the internationals:

"The scan was reassuring and it does not look as if there is any damage there. It is a swollen knee with some blood in it, but I believe that in 10 or 12 days he should be back. We were scared at one stage that it was a cartilage or ligament, but there is none of that.”

The rest of the results on Saturday were fun too, we must not forget. Fulham 2 - Man U 0; Spurs 1 - Chelsea 0. Hell. Let's win the league man! It's incredible how we're now only 6 points behind Chelski. Convert some of those stupid home draws to wins, and we'd be right up there. Whatever happens at Anfield later today, we've got something to smile about. Don't you just love these weekends?

As we rest these two weeks then, let's not for the games that will come hard and fast through April. It's going to be mad. Games every 3-5 days. Here's the run through: Citeh (H), Villareal (A), Wigan (A), Villareal (H), Chelksi (Wembley!), Pool (A), Boro (H). And if we get past Villareal, it's either Man U or Porto after that. Freakin' yummy. So perhaps it's best we had a break. Hopefully, an injury-free break.