We started brightly and had nearly all the possession for the first half hour. Shots from Fabregas and Pires tested their keeper, and it seemed we were settling in for the typical "Get the first goal and the floodgates will open" type of match.
Then came the turning point. As the ball came over the top, Van Persie stuck out a leg to try and control it. At the same time the defender was ducking down slightly to head the ball away. To put it simply, the two came together, and unsurprisingly the defender came off worse. I was incensed to see the referee reaching for a card when I thought it was going to be yellow, so the shock of seeing the red card come out of the pocket left me in a stunned silence. (Well for all of two seconds before abuse headed the referee's way!) The first half ended without any other serious action.
Whatever Arsene said at half time did the job, as we came out on fire at the start of the second half, and deservedly took the lead through a rare headed goal from Gilberto, who left the keeper with no chance after attacking the ball on the far side of the area. Having got the first, I was expecting a few more as per the typical type of match.
Instead, a fluke equaliser made the evening far less enjoyable than it should have been. Their goal seemed to knock as back, as our passing started to get sloppy. It took until the very last minute to grab the winner. As Bergkamp went through it appeared that the defender had done enough to put him off and win the ball, but the Dutchman flung himself to the floor, nipped the ball from the defender, stood up again, and calmly slotted the ball into the corner.
So, in the end it wasn't a classic, but we got the start we needed. Lets hope we show more of our best football when we visit Ajax.
Arsenal Man of The Match – Jose Reyes
Manuel Almunia (6) Didn't have much to do, and could do nothing to stop the fluke goal.
Ashley Cole (6) Had little defensive work to do, and so got forward at every opportunity, and managed to break into their area.
Sol Campbell (6) Good to see him back, but was I the only one surprised to see him being given the captains armband?
Kolo Toure (6) He was a spectator for most of the game, only getting short goal kicks from Almunia.
Lauren (7) Looked more comfortable linking down the right with Freddie back in the team.
Robert Pires (6) A better performance than against Boro, as he showed more consistency with his passing.
Cesc Fabregas (6) Unlucky to see his driven shot go wide.
Gilberto (7) Took his goal well, and his celebration showed the relief felt by everyone in the ground.
Freddie Ljungberg (7) Worked hard all night, tracking back and bursting forward.
Jose Reyes (8) Top marks for effort and commitment, chasing down every lost cause and taking the game to Thun.
Robin Van Persie (7) He was having a good game until his night was brought to an early end.
Subs:
Dennis Bergkamp (7) Not known for his great appearances from the bench, but here was the exception to the rule. Great commitment to get the goal late on.
Alexander Hleb (7) Split the midfield apart on numerous occasions.
Quincy (6) Unable to make an impact on the game..