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We’re getting used to playing a good first half followed by a very mediocre one. Abou Diaby who according to some might be out of his way from Arsenal put us ahead with a left-footed strike. Soon after Eduardo provided a clinical finish on a through ball to put us up 2-0 prompting me to believe that this might be one of those Slavia Prague type games. But then we regressed and our youth got caught up trying to do things that were a little too intricate, in other words we lost focus and Blackburn capitalized albeit on a clearly offside goal. Things got from bad to worse when Santa Cruz latched on to a freekick from outside the area conceded by the too eager Mark Randall and equalized for the Rovers.

And that’s when the match turned into a feisty affair where the play of Alexandre Song, Philippe Senderos and Armand Traore kept the attacking Rovers at bay. Wave after wave of Blackburn raids were turned back by the young Arsenal backs and once we got possession we looked threatening with Eduardo and Bendtner unable to find that last bit of space needed to put this one away. Denilson was given a harsh straight-red on his attempted tackle on 90 minutes which meant that the Gunners would be a man down for extra time. But fear not, we are the Gunners. It was only a matter of time before 10-man Arsenal unlocked the Blackburn back four and it was a forward run by Song that found Eduardo who applied a finish typical of the Croatian striker – precise, clinical and accurate. Game Over.

Any team that thinks they can play a physical game against the Gunners in hopes of intimidating us and throwing us of our rhythm needs to check themselves again. Maybe this was true last year but definitely not anymore. It doesn’t matter who’s playing, 17 year olds or 28 year olds, we simply don’t back down and unrelentingly adhere to what makes us successful: a patient approach when we have possession that is bound to unlock the most miserly of defenses. The young backs have a lot to learn but today they showed that they’re up to the task by turning away McCarthy and Santa Cruz’s runs in the second half and extra time. Job well done.

Embedded Vids:

About Diaby 1-0

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Eduardo 3-2

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Eduardo Winner

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Grab the feed and check out the Arsenal.com match report. Check out the first half highlights, I’ve cut it off at the exact point where you can see the offside on the Blackburn goal.

First Half Highlights including all three goals Download or Alternate Link, Diaby Goal HQ, Eduardo’s first goal HQ

Santa Cruz 2-2 + Foul which led to the freekick which led to the Blackburn equalizer: Download or Alternate Link

Fran Merida takes forever to get dressed! Download or Alternate Link

Eduardo Goal 3-2!!! Download HQ