It should have been three a few minutes later. Excellent play by Diaby on the right byline saw him breeze past his man before sending a low ball to the back post, where Nasri’s shot was blocked

Match Review – Fenerbahce 2 Arsenal 5 – Champions League

Strange game, eh? Fenerbahce – having not lost at home in Europe for yonks and having vanquished Continental superpowers such as Sevilla, Inter and Chelsea at home last season – managed the impossible feat of making Arsenal’s split personalities seem like a fairly balanced human being. You may accuse me of being pernickety, but even five fine goals cannot mask what was a kamikaze effort by the defence. This was the best of Arsenal, and, at times, the worst.

There were two noteworthy bits of news before the game. Firstly, Manuel was going to skipper the side. That is some feat given that twelve months ago many Gooners did not even feel he should be in the first XI. Prior to the game I really felt that Wenger had missed a trick in not giving the honour to Cesc, but Arsene Knows better than I do. Any lingering doubt about our Spanglish keeper’s abilities must surely have been dispelled now. The second item was that Abou Diaby was to start ahead of RvP, despite the latter’s goalscoring performance on the weekend. However, a tactical reshuffle saw us spared of the pain of seeing our most explosive striker marooned on the left-wing as Le Boss opted for a more physical presence in the centre of the park, allied with Nasri’s creativity and Theo’s speed out wide.

Unlike most Arsenal games where the opposition park the bus and bore us to tears whilst our own beloved Gooners labour to break them down, this match started a breakneck speed. Cap’n Manuel was called into action as early as the fourth minute as he pulled off a point-blank save. It was a sign of things to come as our keeper would often have to come to the rescue of our sometimes lackadaisical defence.

Adebayor and Roberto Carlos then traded wild efforts, before the breakthrough in the tenth minute. Diaby the Dominator strolled through the midfield to feed Cesc, who played in the Togonator. For once he was onside and did very well to avoid colliding with Theo. Through on goal, he made no mistaking in slotting home his fourth European goal of the season.

Then my phone rang and it was my mate DJ. Just as we were discussing Diaby’s awesome role in the first goal, the boys in red and white grabbed a second. Once again it was Cesc conducting the play, this time slipping in Theo with the incision and precision of a surgeon’s knife. The young Englishman sped away from the defence and rounded the keeper before sneaking his shot inside the post. I’ve been longing for the day those two combined to score that exact type of goal, and it was well worth the wait. The home side, seemingly impenetrable on their own patch, were reeling.

It should have been three a few minutes later. Excellent play by Diaby on the right byline saw him breeze past his man before sending a low ball to the back post, where Nasri’s shot was blocked. And then came the mini implosion. Some decidedly dodgy defending saw Guiza send in a low cross that was claimed by Manuel, who got a kick in the cojones for his troubles.

We were playing a very high line throughout the entire game and were caught out on more than one occasion. One such time came in the nineteenth minute as Song was forced to give a free-kick away via obstruction. The set-piece was flighted into the back post where Guiza had somehow broken free, and the Spanish striker volleyed it into the danger area where it ricocheted off Silvestre and past the helpless Almunia. Not too sure why or how Fenerbahce’s most dangerous player was left unmarked, although the ITV commentators suggested that it might have been Ade who switched off.

Yet if we were looking shaky at the back, our gracious hosts were trying to trump us in that department. A mere three minutes after Fener had clawed their way back into the game did we restore our two-goal cushion. Diaby, playing a very advanced midfield role, ran at the heart of the Fener defence before evading a tackle and firing low into the bottom corner. Yes, it was 3-1 and we hadn’t even played 25 minutes. Rarely can I remember such an eventful opening to a game.

In days gone by we used to fly out of the traps and kill teams off early. Here we flew out of the traps well enough, but looked far from solid at the back and this continued to offer Fener some hope. Indeed, Fener had the ball in the net on the half-hour but Guiza’s effort was rightfully ruled out for offside. The linesman’s flag would rescue us on many occasions throughout the night, and in that sense a fair amount of credit must also go to our makeshift backline for executing the offside trap so frequently and (some of the time) competently.

With such a rapid start to the game, a lull was inevitable and welcome. The period between 30 and 40 minutes was characterised by Arsenal’s retention of ball and slow build-up play. We had a few opportunities to shoot but spurned them in favour of keeping possession. If this was the only way to stop our defence from being exposed, then so be it. However just before half-time Guiza came close twice. The first time he dragged the ball wide after springing the offside trap, and the second time as he burst through on goal, Manuel showed bravery and brains to come out and smother.

During the break my mind was dominated by three thoughts:

1. We had looked as incisive going forward as we had looked dodgy at the back.
2. Despite the numbers in central-midfield, neither Denilson nor Cesc nor Diaby had screened the back-four enough. We needed someone to sit and shield whilst the other two strutted their stuff going forward.
3. We needed a fourth before they got a second.

And only three minutes into the second period, that last wish was granted. Nasri won a free-kick down the left, Cesc floated it in and Silvestre made a nuisance of himself. The ball eventually fell to Alex Song some eight-yards out at an angle. Despite the difficulty of the chance, the Cameroonian took it with great aplomb as he arrowed a low volley across the keeper and into the bottom corner. For the first time in the match we had gone three goals to the good.

That strike pretty much killed the contest. Had Fener scored instead to make it 3-2, it would have been “all hands to the pump” time. Instead, the home side and their fans were deflated and Arsenal relaxed. We didn’t need to force the issue at all and looked considerably more solid for the next twenty minutes. I also noticed that Denilson seemed to sit more and on one occasion picked up a knock when executing a tackle deep in his own half.

However, Arsenal’s high line did provide moments of concern. Midway through the half the trap was sprung after Diaby was caught in possession in the centre circle. Almunia once again advanced as far as he could to smother the ball, but it broke kindly for the home side. As a Fener player advanced into the box and shot, Eboue retreated onto the line and blocked the Spaniard’s effort before following up and clearing the danger. Had that been Sagna then everyone would be raving about his natural defensive instincts and desire, so I think people need to give credit where it is due to the Ivorian Warrior.

The near-miss lit a fire under the home side, which then upped its tempo. With less than fifteen minutes remaining, a long-ball over the top was inadvertently flicked on by Song and into the path of Guiza. Once again Almunia sprinted off his line, but this time the striker got the vital touch to send the ball looping over our keeper and into the back of the net.

Barely seconds later Guiza was once again through on goal, but this time the linesman raised his flag for yet another offside. I remarked how the defence needed to abandon the high line for the final ten minutes and retreat ten yards to avoid getting caught again. As dodgy as the backline had looked on the floor, I felt that Silvestre in particular had a commanding night in the air, especially in the second period. It must be noted that this was only his second appearance of the season so some rustiness is expected. Hopefully more games see him regain his sharpness on the floor. Can his aerial presence dovetail well with Kolo or Willy’s prowess on the floor? Only time will tell. One thing I do like about him is that whenever he is under pressure, he does not hesitate to HOOF the ball. Whereas other members of the squad will look to twist and turn out of trouble, Silvestre just gets rid of it ASAP. This may be to the detriment of our possession game, but I’d rather lose possession cheaply than lose a goal cheaply.

By this stage, Diaby had been replaced by Aaron Ramsey. The lanky Frenchman put in a sterling performance as the furthermost midfield player. Whilst such a role may be rendered void in a Premier League game where two out-and-out strikers are a must, I can certainly see him reprising the position on future European nights. Because unlike the more diminutive Cesc or Nasri, he has no problems in receiving the ball with his back to goal. The one inconclusive thing about his performance is whether he has the necessary qualities to combine with Cesc as a midfield duo. Although Diaby may have the physical qualities to fulfil the role, one wonders whether he has the discipline to simply sit and distribute the ball. That said, Cesc is a lot more older and wiser these days and may not need a “minder” to do the donkey work for him. If the two can create an innate understanding of when to sit and when to bomb on, I think they can form an effective partnership. Remember, he was the one earmarked to partner Cesc last season before Flamini grabbed the bull by the horns. Diaby must first prove that this performance was not a flash in the pan, and to do so he may be deserving of a run of games through the middle, although his injury record suggests that such a spell of consecutive matches would be unlikely. Either way, this was his first start of the season and he did pretty damn well.

His substitute, young Master Ramsey, had an excellent cameo appearance. The boy’s confidence must be sky high after his wonder strike for the Welsh Under-21’s last week, and it showed as he constantly made himself available for a pass. When he received the ball he was not wasteful either and seemed to pick the right option. The Welshster had already come close to scoring once as he saw an effort dip over the bar, and in injury time he exchanged passes with Denilson and Eboue to send a low effort cannoning off the inside of the post and into the back of the net. It was only fitting that we scored the final goal of the game.

The full-time whistle blew soon thereafter to conclude a crazy night. “Experts” felt that our young lads might cower in the face of the intense home support, but that just proves how much these experts do not know. Prior to the game I had full confidence in the boys, simply because this is the kind of game they thrive on. It is games such as Hull at home and Fulham away which fill me with trepidation these days.

Five goals away from home in Europe is special. Five goals in Istanbul is something else. I remember a few years ago Chelsea went to Galatasaray and did something similar, I just shook my head in amazement. Going forward, one cannot underestimate the magnitude of our feat. However, my joy at scoring five goals is tempered by the fact that I have to name Manuel Almunia as my Top Gun. That our keeper was amongst our most impressive performers says it all really, as he bailed out the defence many times, especially when it involved being decisive and coming off his line.

However, I am willing to let the defence off the hook. Why? This back four had never played together, and with three of the supposed first-choice players missing, it was no surprise that we were under the cosh at times. Silvestre was playing only his second game of the season (and don’t forget he has been ravaged by injury over recent years), whilst Song is probably our fifth-choice centre-half (had Djourou been match fit I’m sure he would have started). Eboue is so out of favour as a right-back that Le Boss has even preferred to use the likes of Toure and Song out there instead. So I’m pinning my hopes on the fact that we can retain this attacking verve and clinical touch in front of goal and combining it with a more solid backline when the usual suspects return.