Us gunners have had a torrid time recently and with all but 4th place to aim for – there was seeming nothing that could raise our spirit…

Worse still we go 2-0 down against the spuds… and then this happened.

What an atmosphere, what a result and what a team performance.

Man of the match for me was Yossi Benayoun. Big gamble by Arsene to play him ahead of the Ox and Gervinho – but it paid off massively.

Full credit to Theo too – who had an awful first half and got plenty of stick accordingly, but took the criticism on the chin and came out for the second half far superior – scoring two cracking goals.

I just pray this is the game Robin remembers when his contract renewal talks come up, and from his reaction in this video – there may well be hope!

Oh and best chant of the match?

He pays tax when he wants, he pays tax when he waaaaaants.
Harry Redknapp,
He pays tax when he wants!

I can’t remember such an unpredictable spell as an Arsenal fan.

The 4 – 0 away defeat to AC Milan all but ends our hopes of progressing in the Champions League with a defunct second leg at the Emirates remaining in a fortnight.

So, our only realistic hope of silverware lies with the FA Cup (in which we play a tough Sunderland again on Saturday).

Don’t get me wrong, we been through lower lows as Gooners, but what makes this somewhat worse is the sense of pre-match hope that comes from recent results like the 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn.

Sure, Blackburn are by no means on any level near AC Milan with the likes of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, with our current squad, the sad reality is – neither were we. One of the great things about football is that anything can happen but in a league – the truth often prevails.

Arsene reflected on a “shocking performance” in which there was “not one moment in the 90 minutes when we were really in the game”. Such is the state of our current squad, yet in the transfer window we signed a 19 year old midfield who couldn’t even make the bench. I think it was a mistake not to start with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but doubt this would have even made enough of a difference.

Its a shame the brilliant volley from Van Persie on 65 minutes was saved – perhaps that single away goal would have been a glimmer of hope.

…and to make matters worse Laurent Koscielny (undeniably one of our best players this season) sustained an injury – the state of which is still being assessed.

On a final note – thank you again Thierry.

Brilliant result for the Arsenal in a potentially tricky match away from home today against Marseille.

Top of our CL group now, so 3 points out of remaining qualification matches and we should be through. Great composure by Ramsey, and reasonable defensive performance (bar some shocking handballs which we somehow got away with).

Seeing Gervinio shot well wide after some majestic Robin Van Persie setup play, it was difficult to see us take the lead.

But, coming out to the second half 1-0 down we showed tremendous spirit and although Ramsey had a poor game overall (losing possession in some dangerous moments) he did put his goal away with great composure.

For me Coquelin had an outstanding game – and fully justified his place in the starting 11.

As if a loss against Spurs was not bad enough, how awful to see Bacary Sagna go out on a stretcher – with such a lack of concentration across our defence (costing us time after time) Sagna is a shinning light.

What lies ahead without Sagna AND Vermaelen… I dread to think.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain showed what he is capable of against Shrewsbury, and really cemented that with another brilliant performance and goal against Olympiakos.

It should have been 3-0 were it not for Marouane Chamakh proving wasteful – and that made for an unnecessarily nervy finish to the game. Their goal highlighted (yet again) our defensive lapses, but Song at the back looked an absolute rock.

Chamakh needs an important goal for his confidence – and fast. As a mate mentioned to me, otherwise he is destined to be another Bendtner!

Never have I seen an Arsenal team so over charged. The first half was an absolute disgrace.

Our best (and most experienced) player Van Persie missed a shambolic penalty kick at 1-0 down – clearly lacking in confidence by our current situation, adding to our misery and probably doing wonders for the new Manc goalies confidence. Without doubt, this was the turning point of a torrid afternoon.

Szczesny was fantastic again and kept the scoreline to what it was – but how damaging must it be to have such a great game and still see there is almost no chance of a result with the calibre of your fellow teammates (well, just ask the likes of Nasri).

Paul Merson was spot on – our team was sent out with no hope.

Terribley upsetting to see Ashley Young doing so well as a new signing against us – the team he supports.

BUT hang on – if he had openly said he supports Arsenal, surely there was an opportunity to sign him when he decided to leave Aston Villa? I cant really blame him (or united for signing him).

Our second half performance was full of courage and admirable – but still nowhere near papering over the gaping holes. There were at least 3 players from the starting 11 not good enough to be playing for us, and a totally inadequate bench.

Yes we had injuries, but nothing new there. How long does it take to learn we may have an injury hit squad? 6 years and counting it seems.

I love Arsene, but ultimately I love Arsenal more.

With the clock ticking… PLEASE Arsene, no more talk – time for action, or I can see your time running out.

But for the comedy of errors our defenders played well with Miguel looking a quality addition to the first team.

The worst thing was, after going 1-0 we had nobody exceptional to come on.

Overall, a red card, a loss, another defensive injury – it couldn’t have been any worse.

Good to see Theo take his chance so early on (4 mins), but he is still not quite the all rounder he can be, proving wasteful on other occasions in the match.

Gervinho looked quick, as did Frimpong. With Gibbs and Djourou both taken out of the match withHamstring injuries Jenkinson came on and looked a bag of nerves. Lets hope it was just early jitters, but i’m not convinced.

Arsene (at the end of the match) was a spitting image of the frustrated figure from the end of last season – and we’re one match in… very worrying. How can he already have the weight of the world on his shoulders – shouldn’t we be full of hope at the start of a new season?