The goal was certainly what Robin deserved and his fist-clenching celebration was great to see. Having looked pretty ordinary thus far this season, he shone here. The first period was typified by him dropping deep into the vast swathe of space between the Newcastle defence and midfield

Match Review – Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0 – Premier League

A beautiful summer’s day in North London. And the weather was matched by a fluent attacking performance from Arsenal as we strolled to a comprehensive three-nil victory over the Barcodes, which included a brace for RvP and, worryingly, a knock to the Dutchman.

After sealing our qualification for the Champions League proper with the four-goal hammering of FC Twente, Le Boss rejigged the starting lineup, bringing in Kolo, Eboue and Ade for Djourou, Theo and Bendtner. Of these changes, Ade for Bendtner was expected, and whilst Kolo for Djourou was always on the cards, once again I feel sorry for Johan as Kolo has seemingly waltzed back into the first team. Eboue for Theo was the biggest surprise, although when you consider that the Englishman came into the game with a slight knock it was not a groundbreaking decision.

I mentioned in the MyVision on Friday that we had to show our attacking intentions early on and we did just that. We started like a house on fire: in the first five minutes alone we looked more threatening than we did in the full ninety minutes against Fulham last week.

A succession of corners in the opening minutes should have seen us taken the lead. Indeed, we could have gone ahead after only three minutes. A corner from the right was flicked on at the near post by Sagna to Gallas who was rushing in at the back. Cap’n Willy, fresh from his goal in midweek, somehow contrived to send the ball over the ball from three yards: it seemed easier to score.

Just two minutes later his central defensive partner came close to breaking the deadlock as he unleashed a low drive that Given tipped wide of the post. Classic Kolo, bombing forward at any opportunity. The opener seemed a case of when, not if.

A very vocal home support kept roaring the team on and just after the quarter-hour we got our reward. Ade forced a handball on the right of the box and the ref pointed to the spot. With both Ade and Robin in desperate need of a goal, I was intrigued to see who would step up. That honour fell to the Dutchman. My nerves jangled, my fingers crossed, and the ball nestled. Robin smashed it home into the bottom corner past Given’s despairing dive. You know it’s a good penalty when the keeper guesses correctly but still can’t keep it out.

The goal was certainly what Robin deserved and his fist-clenching celebration was great to see. Having looked pretty ordinary thus far this season, he shone here. The first period was typified by him dropping deep into the vast swathe of space between the Newcastle defence and midfield and then either running at the back four or looking to release a teammate. Someone as adept and experienced in the holding role as Nicky Butt simply could not cope.

So that’s Theo, Bendtner and Robin off the mark this season. The only one left to open his account is Ade, and he came mighty close on a couple of occasions. On 25 minutes a swift counter-attack involving Gallas, Gael and a sumptuous flick from Robin sent to Nasri flying down the left. Unable to beat his man for pace, Super Sam flicked the ball with the outside of his boot towards Ade, but last-ditch defending from Coloccini diverted the ball away from the Togonator.

We then won two free-kicks in promising positions. The first was hit into the wall by Cesc, the second altogether more threatening as a Robin rocket forced Given to tip the ball over the bar.

Newcastle barely created a chance, and when they did it was from our own mistakes. Eboue played a loose pass across the pitch and the impressive Jonas Gutierrez took on Gael, crossed the ball to the back post but Owen and Ameobi made a hash of it. We were lucky they did because we were outnumbered at the back. Not sure where Sagna was but he certainly wasn’t covering round the back, although that may be to do with the speed in which we turned a potential attack into desperate defence.

Robin – who else? – was at the heart of our next piece of attacking brilliance as we should have extended our lead. Good ball retention by Eboue led to Cesc sliding the ball into Robin’s feet. He quickly played a neat reverse flick into Ade’s path and the Togonator bulldozed into the box but could not apply the finishing touch; his left-footed poke trickling wide. It was vintage Arsenal, but – unfortunately – sometimes vintage Arsenal includes a slice of profligacy in front of goal.

However this was put right a few minutes before half-time. Eboue exchanged passes with Ade down the right. Spurning the chance to shoot, the Ivorian showed great presence of mind to back-heel the ball to Robin who slid home to smash it into the roof of the net from six-yards. It was no more than we deserved, and no more than he deserved. It was also nice to see the players congratulating the much-maligned Eboue for his part in the goal. Players aren’t deaf or blind and they know the “lukewarm” reception that he often gets, so it was heartening to see him get the plaudits for once.

Newcastle threatened in stoppage time and forced an excellent save from Manuel as he acrobatically tipped Owen’s header over the bar, but the striker was already adjudged to have been offside.

The second-half started at a lower tempo but immediately I pointed out to my mate Troy that the Newcastle defence were playing a much higher line and that, if our forwards used their noddle and didn’t stray offside, we could have a field day. And while the second period only saw one further goal, it could have been more. By the end of it you sensed we were taking the piss, as the song goes.

Just a minute into the second-half, Robin went down injured. And whenever he goes down injured, he stays down. It gives me the shits. He strikes me as the kind of player who, whenever he feels a tackle, automatically fears the worst subconsciously and stays down. Thankfully he emerged unscathed from this passage of play, but he wouldn’t later on…

Cesc made a late challenge on 51 minutes and may have avoided a booking had Given not rushed off his line in protest and got booked himself. Bastard. The ref no doubt felt compelled to even the score. Double bastard.

As expected, the Barcodes exerted more pressure in search of a goal. Nicky Butt got across the defence from a corner and glanced a header off the frame of the goal with Almunia beaten. Had that been six inches lower then we would have had a game on our hands. As it happened, that was the closest Newcastle came and from thereon in were restricted to shots from distance that were gratefully gobbled up by the Spanglish One. The defence in general looked pretty solid and the central pairing were rarely tested in the air or on the floor. Yet while I’m trying not to do Willy and Kolo a disservice, this may have been due to a lack of sharpness from Ameobi and Owen rather than any sheer dominance on the part of our duo.

The third and final goal came just before the hour, with Denilson starting, retrieving and finishing the move. The Brazilian – who was quietly efficient alongside Cesc – won a header in midfield and knocked it down to Robin, who fed Nasri. The Frenchman advanced into the box and laid it off to Ade, but he miscontrolled. The loose ball was won by that man Denilson as he prodded it forward to Nasri, who again found Ade. This time the Togonator was on the money as he slipped in Denilson and the Brazilian left Given wrong-footed with a low shot into the corner. Just for his involvement in the build-up, it was fitting that he should be the man to finish it off.

Three-nil with half an hour left, job done. Now it was only a case of: how many did we want? And could we keep our concentration to maintain a precious clean sheet? My joy at Denilson’s goal was tempered when I saw Robin immediately motion to the bench that he wanted to be subbed off. Uh-oh. A minute later he was in the thick of the action as he lashed a shot against the bar from an impossible angle. It was quicker than a bullet. However this involvement may have been detrimental as he went down clutching his right foot. He limped off to be replaced by debutant Carlos Vela.

The final twenty-five minutes saw Arsenal try and walk the ball into the net. As the bloke behind me remarked, if the score was 0-0 and we were doing this, the fans would be going loopy. Instead, we lapped it up. The only negativity was directed at Joey Barton, who received a cacophony of boos and chants of “You’re supposed to be in jail” and “scum”. Such vitriol is normally only reserved for the likes of Cashley Hole.

What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago I was surrounded by fans getting angry at Eboue every time he got on the ball and some blasting Arsene for not spending enough. Here, Eboue was given a standing ovation – and deservedly so – whilst Arsene was begged to give us a wave, and he complied.

Back to Eboue: anyone who slates his performance yesterday needs to take their anti-Eboue glasses off. Sure he made a slack pass that nearly saw Newcastle score, but didn’t Vieira used to do that? And he sent in one wayward cross – didn’t Ray Parlour used to do that? Apart from those two gaffes, I can’t remember any major mistakes from the man. There weren’t any histrionics either. Maybe he capitalised on the positive energy from the crowd and decided it was time to cut out all the crap? If so, long may it continue, from both the fans and the player.

Theo replaced him and linked up neatly with Vela but the Mexican had his shot blocked. The resulting corner saw Kolo head the ball straight at Given from point-blank range. A yard either side and it would have been four.

Vela showed some neat touches and, more importantly, considerable strength in holding up the ball with his back to goal. I think that’s why Wenger sees him as a forward player while Theo remains out on the wing. Vela should have scored in the final ten minutes: like Eduardo, he waited and waited for Given to dive before sending the ball the other way, but credit to the keeper for standing his ground. Theo too should have scored but got his angles wrong as he placed an effort past the post, while Nasri showed that we have another option from set-pieces as he blasted one goalwards that Given was forced to tip over, similar to v.Persie’s effort in the first-half. The fourth goal didn’t come so there was no cherry on the cake, but a three-nil trouncing was enough to send the natives home happy.

I wish we had grabbed a goal at the end, just to piss of the early leavers. There were a couple of blokes sitting next to me, and they took the piss. I’ll let you in on their antics. Firstly, halfway through the first period, one of them left his seat to get some pies. Then they left early before the half-time whistle (no doubt to get the beers in). I think they missed Robin’s second. But that’s okay, fine, whatever, it’s their prerogative. For all I know they could have been guys from abroad without any real affiliation to the Club and had simply come for a day out. But then in the second-half, one of them had the gall to constantly bad-mouth Ade:

“He’s not fit to wear the shirt”

My first thoughts were that the guy needed to grow up and move on. I’m happy to report that the majority of the 60,000 in attendance have done. But then I thought: what right does this prick have to bemoan our players about loyalty when he is ‘busy’ missing ten minutes of the game scoffing his face with food and drink?

I thought I’d cut him some slack to see if he stayed ‘til the final whistle. Did he? DID HE FUCK!

The funny thing is that I predicted he’d leave early to my mate Troy. So he missed fifteen minutes of the game, and the other 75 minutes were spent booing Ade. What a waste of space. There are fans out there who would kill to go to an Arsenal game, to watch their beloved Gunners play, to sample the match atmosphere and to sing their hearts out. And then you have this joker who thinks he has a divine right to judge the players regarding loyalty whilst himself missing a sixth of the match.

Rant over. Sorry for sounding like a pompous ass, but I had to get that off my chest. I’m sure the guy had a good reason to leave early. He was probably rushing for the last trains, which were due to stop running in five hours time *sarcasm*

Right, back to the positives. The big plus was RvP, who showed some of the glittering form that he exhibited early last season before…erm…getting injured. D’oh. Arsene has said that he hopes it is not a break. Too bloody right! A minor knock wouldn’t be the end of the world as it would probably force him to sit out the upcoming internationals, therefore lessening the chances of him getting further injured.

Finally, a word for Gael Clichy. I said to my mate Troy how awesome he had been, and he simply said back to me: “It’s Gael, what else do you expect?” Too true. Over the last two seasons he has maintained a consistently high level of performance. Yes, sometimes this is sprinkled with the odd costly error (Man City and Birmingham away last season), so if he can cut them out, he is well on his way to being the best left-back in the world. He is desperate for a goal; you can tell by the way he surges forward at every opportunity. He actually had a decent effort here that was well saved by Given. When it comes, the roof will erupt.

It’s amazing to think how he was once an injury prone bugger. Maybe RvP can emulate him and go from injury prone to consistent excellence? *fingers crossed*

As I write this late on Saturday night, Robin is due to go for an X-ray. Lord, I’m begging you for mercy – please give the all-clear to our van Persie. Because in this form, he could be the difference between third place and first.