From my understanding of the match yesterday which I will have to conceed to be very limited because I was listening to it on ATVO. For the many useful services they offer the match show is not one of them, it has developed from match comentary into 2 blokes having a chat getting free seats at the Arsenal. They speak about very little of interest and just annoy me. Obviously When Romford Pele is involved it is epic and Adrian Clarke seems to talk a decent game even if Wenger shunned him!

The first few minutes were not getting my full attention because of the waffling and I was waiting for something to finish on Ebay. I missed a bargain and so I reached for the nearest consolation. In my quest to the fridge for cold refreshing consolation Wigan scored. In wishing the Arsenal defence was as tight as my wallet control the bad mood continued. I listened for the names of our star players to be read out but all I heard was a continual list of obscure players from our recent past in some stupid competiton type thing they were doing.

This game felt as helpless as the Fulham loss at the beginning of the season until things started to click. now we had taken the lead somehow. Then the fireworks came out and it was 4-1! Alex Song proving that its not just King Kolo who can make electric runs into the box with a stormer that made you wonder where the hell did that come from?!

Don't get me wrong I was livid with our performance for the first 50 minutes and the likes of Fabregas, Bendtner, Arshavin, Walcott and Denilson were totally invisible BUT great teams can play badly and win. This is growth in the squad, again look at the Fulham game.

I feel really sorry for poor Kieran Gibbs. With the loaning of Traore to Pompey we have eliminated any sort of leftback cover from Arsenal FC. Gibbs is left winger, this has never been quite as clear as yesterday. He looked totally lost and should have been sent off. It has left me questioning Wengers policy of playing players out of position when they are so young. He is dangerously close to breaking a young lads sprit. Especially when you have an old dog like Silvestre on the sidelines.


We are all hoping Djourou a quick recovery.

After a while of no action due to Dell customer service nightmares things are rolling again!


I managed to catch some of the game the other day. Admittedly I was sat in front of the TV all night but ITV caused me to miss Ade scoring the best goal he will ever score. That was frustrating but not as bad as the first half. In Wengers pre-match chat he said about the last game in Villarreal and the team being so nervous about the outcome that they played within themselves. I think this was the case last night.


There was a twitter about us signing Senna in the summer and with a shot like that it would be nice but to be honest, we don't need him now.

There are some brighter signs for the club at the moment, the most obvious is the return of Rosicky being the end of our season long injury problem.

Gallas didn't look good when he went off and coming back on could have done further damage. There is a real danger that given all the crap before Christmas he could well be off and has played his last ever game for the club. Six months ago this would have been a serious problem but Djourou looked very steady for the remainder of the match.

Almunia is set to be out for a couple of weeks but in reality will only miss a couple of matches. I think this is almost good for things. Obviously I like Almunia and think hes a really nice guy (rare for footballers) but goalkeeping is a funny business and it is important for a shakeup every so often. Fabianski has been pretty tidy in nets and a couple of important games with clean sheets will increase the competition for the 1 shirt.

Next up..... Villarreal v Arsenal
The Champions League returns and we find ourselves at the scene of our dramatic semi-final triumph three years ago. We will also play against some familiar faces with Robert Pires and Pascal Cygan in the Yellow Submarines (great nickname!) line-up. As ever the all-important away-goal will be vital in this one, and with our return to form we can be confident of a result.
The opposition – Villarreal
Still a relatively small club Villarreal’s rise to the top of the Primera Liga has been as dramatic as any in recent years. They have become regulars in the Champions League and, of course, reached the semi-finals in 2006. They are currently fourth in the Primera Liga, nine points adrift of third-placed Sevilla and just two ahead of Valencia in the race for European places.


Last time out: Arsenal 2 Man City Almeria 3 Villarreal 0
The Gunners coasted to victory at the weekend over a travel sick Man City side. Meanwhile their next opponents crashed to a disappointing defeat away at Almeria with former Gooner Hero Bobby Pires seeing red.


Last meeting Villarreal 0 Arsenal 0 25 April 2006
The Gunners reached their first ever Champions League final with a nervy 0-0 draw in El Madrigal. Kolo Toure's first-leg goal was enough though it could have been different had Jens Lehman not saved Juan Roman Riquelme's penalty two minutes from time.


Team News
Andriy Arshavin is cup-tied and so misses out. Wenger will have to decide on the match-fitness of Fabregas and Adebayor, who all came back successfully from injury on Saturday. Van Persie, Walcott and Nasri will face late fitness tests. Eduardo, Rosicky and Diaby are all definitely out.


Probable XI
Almunia,
Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy,
Fabregas, Song, Denilson, Walcott
Adebayor Van Persie


Key men
Arsenal –Fabregas
It was great to see the Spanish magician back in action on Saturday. Even though he isn’t match fit his class still shows, and he could play a key role in the game.
Villarreal – Robert Pires
A wonderful player for us, it will be interesting to see how he fares against his old team-mates.

Latest match odds

Match odds: Villarreal 2/1 Arsenal 7/4 The draw 9/4

Prediction
Villarreal have never lost a home Champions League game but with players coming back to form and fitness I fancy us to come away with a draw - and a vital away goal. 1-1 is my Champions League prediction.

Villarreal 1-1 Arsenal
Adebayor