I was delighted for young van Persie. There is little doubt that the boy is beginning to blossom into a real performer and if he carries on the way he has been going lately, then surely it's only a matter of time before he becomes a regular in the team.
It was also pleasing to see young Reyes back to something like his dashing, scuttling best. He never really got going at all in the North London derby at the Shithole on Saturday but his performance on Wednesday was more like it. Aside from the goals, Reyes probably provided the highlight of the night for me with a brilliant diagonal pass over a good 40 yards right to the feet of Dennis Bergkamp. Believe me, when this boy does find his true level in terms of consistency, the rest had better watch out. Maybe that will come when Arsene finally decides on using him one position and sticking to it.
Looking at the match as a whole, I have to say that the final scoreline was a little bit harsh on Sparta. Whilst you could say that they were a little limited, they were far better at Highbury than they were on their home patch in Prague. And although we were always generally in control of the game, it would have been an interesting final 10 minutes had they actually scored with the header that hit the underside of the bar.
Mind you, the Arsenal have had more than their fare share of "what if?" moments in the Champions League over the years and it was great to see us qualify for the last 16 with two games to spare and without any hiccups along the way. And for once, Arsene will have the luxury of being able to rest players for the last two games, preserve the fitness of key players and give some of his fringe players a chance to enhance their reputations.
Of course, there are those that are claiming that Arsenal's group was an easy one and maybe they are right. But then again, if you look at United's group for example, you couldn't exactly call it a group of death on paper – even the reality has proved to be different.
At least we have done what people have expected of us and that cannot be said of United or The Phoney Russian Franchise, who were expected to walk through their respective groups with games to spare, even though most people generally considered their groups to be harder.
It's a results business at the end of the day and over the last year in the Champions League we have shown decent progress. We have now suffered defeat just once in the last 12 games we have played in the tournament. When you consider that United have failed to win away anywhere in Europe in the last two YEARS and the Phoney Russian Franchise have gone a YEAR themselves without an away win anywhere in Europe, we are not doing too bad.
Still, I'm not going to allow myself to get carried away with things. We found out to our cost last year in Munich that one bad night in Europe could shatter any hopes we have in a blink of an eye. It's a case of so far so good and taking things from there.
As everyone has been saying, the Arsenal have certainly had a strange start to the season. We have been indifferent in the league and consistent in Europe. We have to start making our mark in the Premiership and the first step will to beat our opponents at Highbury on Saturday, who are Sunderland of course.
In many ways, the contrasting fortunes of the teams promoted from the Championship last season are a throwback to how things tended to be 10-15 years ago. One team would invariably come into the top flight and get off to a blistering start, one would do okay and the other would struggle all season long. It looks as though Sunderland drew the short straw this time around.
Having watched the Black Cats live in two or three games they have honestly been better than their lowly position has suggested. I watched them play West Ham at home live on the box a few weeks ago and they were completely dominant for 70-75 minutes. After creating a healthy stream of chances, Tommy Miller finally gave them the lead in the stroke of half time but after coming out after the break and pummelling West Ham for a further 30 minutes, they conceded a goal out of nothing and they ended up hanging on grimly for a point.
I also saw them play Newcastle at St James's Park and they were desperately unlucky not to come away with what would have been a thoroughly deserved share of the spoils. A brilliant free kick from Emre was quite literally the difference on the day.
Having said that, the Black Cats did put in one good display that did bring a due reward and that was against Middlesbrough at the Riverside and when you think that United suffered defeat there as well as ourselves, that is a feat not to be sneezed or sneered at.
The Arsenal fans will not get the pleasure of assessing how young Justin Hoyte is progressing but Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy has gone on record as saying that the boy has become an integral part of the set up on Wearside. We will also not be graced with the presence of Julio Arca either due to injury. I am pretty happy about that. The Argentinean is a pretty fine player and I am amazed that a few Premiership clubs haven't beaten a path to the Stadium of Light in order to try and prise the boy away from the Black Cats long before now.
On paper, it would easy to say "Threat? What threat?" where Sunderland are concerned. Well, I think that Arsenal will do well to keep an eye on Dean Whitehead for a start. The boy can operate in central midfield or down the right and he is a lad that has impressed me from what I have seen of him. The boy is all energy, all heart and all commitment and even if Sunderland were relegated in May, I don't think that this Premiership campaign will turn out to be his last.
We will also have to keep an eye on striker Stephen Elliott as well. This boy has struggled to carry the form he showed at Championship level up with him to the top flight but he scored an absolute peach of a goal against Newcastle when given a little too much time and space so he cannot be taken too lightly.
Above all, these are two players that symbolise what Sunderland as a team are all about. You could question their overall quality but believe me, if spirit and heart were good enough on it's own to win you three points every week then they would be pushing the Phoney Russian Franchise for top spot right now.
No Arsenal fan should be going to this game thinking that this is a formality. We may have beaten them comfortably the other day at their place in the Carling Cup the other day and given them a "slapping" as McCarthy himself admitted after the game. I have a feeling that it won't be as easy to earn a league win against them on Saturday.