Gibbs also had his best game at left back for a while. He looked assured on the ball and I felt there was an air of confidence about him that had been missing from his recent performances. Miquel also looked

In the wake of our crushing defeat preventable draw against Leyton Orient the reaction from some quarters of the Arsenal support has been, quite frankly, ridiculous.

Perusing the various articles après game I managed to find not one, not two, but several comments not only criticising Arsenal, Wenger and the tea lady’s dog but also calling for Wenger’s head and suggesting he resign. 

So let me get this straight.

Arsenal beat Barcelona…um…last week was it? I keep forgetting. We then go to Orient in the cup, go one up and concede a silly equaliser pretty much against the run of play which leaves us still in the cup but with a replay at home. Disaster. 

I must say that while I completely empathise with their point of view I’m just shocked that these disgruntled fans were able to type so accurately through the streams of tears. Well, I say ‘accurately’ but that’s assuming that they meant to say “Wnger nds 2 go!!! Arsnl nd a propa manage!!! RUBBIISSH!”

Some Arsenal fans must just have axes scattered all over their house, so easy is it for them to reach for one after such a mediocre result. 

Onto the performance itself and to be honest I actually thought we did ok. It was a bit flat and uninspiring but equally had we not conceded in the 89th minute I think we could have justifiably labelled it ‘professional’ – not much right, not much wrong, job done. 

Unfortunately it was not to be but the fact that I was able to head next door after the game, smile at my girlfriend and talk about something else is a huge indicator of my emotional reaction to the result. Compare that to when I couldn’t speak to her, or anyone, for a good few hours after we lost to Sp*rs and you can see the difference in my mind at least.

But as I said there were a few positives to take from the game. I thought our little Russian looked pretty bright – not everything came off for him but the crucial difference is that it was usually other players’ fault and not his own. He ran pretty tirelessly for team, putting in some excellent tackles, his first touch and passing was generally on point and he hit the post with a good shot after doing well to shrug off a strong challenge. I think had there been just one more player with Arshavin’s invention in the final third then we would have won the game quite comfortably.

Gibbs also had his best game at left back for a while. He looked assured on the ball and I felt there was an air of confidence about him that had been missing from his recent performances. Miquel also looked very assured for a player playing his first game for the first team and despite his and Gibbs’ mistake for the goal I actually thought young Ignasi looked better than Squillaci, although how he would fare against Premier League or European opposition is a different matter entirely. 

Rosicky also got his first goal since the pyramids were built, which can only be good news, and Sagna was his usual robust self throughout the game. All in all there were some bright points scattered lazily throughout a dull encounter and – Miquel aside – nothing much was learned that we didn’t know already.

The thing I think people need to remember about the ‘B’ team is however that the players aren’t actually ‘shit’, ‘terrible’ or ‘useless’ but primarily just off form. Of those that faced Orient, Almunia, Squillaci, Sagna, Song, Denilson, Arshavin, Bendtner and Chamakh have all been mainstays in the first eleven at some point in the last twelve months – Sagna and Song still are – and of those confined almost exclusively to ‘B’ team starts our much derided attacked trio of Bendtner, Chamakh and Arshavin have had a huge impact on results in that same twelve month period. 

It’s easy to forget how much Bendtner did for the team at the end of last season, and it seems scarily easy for some to forget what Chamakh did at the beginning of this. The ‘B’ formation as well does not necessarily suit those three but if all of them were to hit some form – as Arshavin appears to be doing now – then that would still be an attacking force to be reckoned with. All can score goals and all can provide and if they did manage to click as a unit then these cup games would become a whole lot easier for everyone.

In the same vein, if any of them were to pick up form significantly to outshine their counterpart in the ‘A’  team (‘I ain’t gettin’ on no bench!’) then you could conceivably see one of them regaining their place. I think the balance we have in our first eleven is, at the moment, fantastic, but it might not last forever and it’s good to know that we have some quality players who are able to provide genuine competition. 

Finally I just wanted to give a shout out (“bbrrrrrappppsss!”) to Monsieur Terrell Forbes of Leyton Orient. For all the talk of nancy-boy, foreign softies having to wear hand-woven silk snoods so that their delicate little petal-necks don’t wilt in the harsh, manly, British cold it was nice to see an English defender at a League One club rocking just that very item. 

Of course, now that lower-league British players are wearing them they will be classed as sensible necessities and a credit to the hard-working, underpaid medical staff whose sleepless nights of research deemed them useful allies against the ailments that can so easily befall our dedicated football troops. 

That is until Nasri/Chamakh/Tevez puts one on again. Then any manager born within the UK has the Queen’s personal permission to punch them directly in the balls for being such a pansy. 

Thank you all and have a great time until we ‘play’ Stoke mid-meek.

WB