The goal was brilliant–showing he may very well be the perfect striker: the strength of Drogba, the creativity of Henry, and the finishing of Owen. He’s the complete package, folks. But don’t take my word for it–watch it for yourself, it’s at the 1:25 mark.

Breathtaking, isn’t it? As vespo pointed out in the comments, leave it to Eboue to score a goal where he (a) didn’t even shoot; and (b) hurt himself. Well, he said he wanted to be the next Eddie Murphy–has anything Eddie Murphy done in the past decade made you laugh as hard as that?

It’s a shock, because players don’t just leave Arsenal LFC, and especially not for other teams in England. We are the dominant team in England- only winning a double last season was disappointing. (The year before was a quadruple, with the league, both cups, and the UEFA Cup.) The best players in the UK come to us to play. So to lose any players, particularly ones as good as Asante and Sanderson, is a shock.

However, in the long run, this might be a good thing for women’s football in the UK. Arsenal, backed as they are by the men’s club, has steamrolled just about everyone in their path. They’ve been unbeaten in the league for four and a half years. They’ve won ten of the 15 existing league titles. They’ve won the FA Cup nine times, and have held it for the past three years. Especially with the demise/rebirth with less of their stars of Charlton Athletic, no one in England can get close to them. I’m sure that, as good as it is to win, the players want some kind of challenge.

Chelsea seem to be setting themselves up to be that challenge. The wealthy men’s side is increasing their support, they’ve nicked two of our stars, and even taken our reserve-team coach to manage them. Everyone wants to be Arsenal, it seems.

Which means we’ve got to step it up. I’m sure we can do it. We’re just that awesome.

I’m very proud of the Ladies. They are, quite frankly, dominant in England, with the sort of record that’s just impossible. They haven’t lost in the league since 2003. Last year they won a Quadruple. This year they weren’t so fortunate (going out to Lyon in the UEFA quarterfinals and losing to Everton in the League Cup), but to be fair they were a bit tired as just about every player competed in the World Cup. And held a day job. Considering I can’t even always find the time or energy to blog every day (or, y’know, go to the gym), that’s damn impressive. I don’t even have kids. Or a pet. But the women of Arsenal L.F.C. do it.

They make me proud to be an Arsenal fan, too, because the reason they are where they are is because Arsenal gives them support. More than other clubs do to their related women’s side, for example, and certainly above and beyond what’s “needed.” They have a presence at the club- they’re in the magazine, profiled on the website, and often they’re employed at the club as well. In many clubs, associating themselves with a women’s team is just letting them use their strip. Arsenal truly embraces Arsenal L.F.C., and that’s lovely to see. That’s why we have the best team- we’re the ones who devote the most to it.

So congrats to the girls, and may there be many more to come. (Maybe you can donate a trophy to the boys?)

But now I’m officially needing to pay attention. Which means I must confront my pain and delve into the world of Arsenal news. And, well, it’s been a fairly disappointing run of games, which means that I can’t really hold out anyway without getting twitchy. So onto the news!

Theo Walcott might be in line for an England recall. The last time he was called up for England, one might recall, it was during the World Cup. He’s since gone back to the U-21s and done very well for them, but not being called up for their game with Poland means that he could be with the big boys in France instead. There has been a lot of talk in Arsenal circles about young Theo, but he’s shown flashes of his talent since coming to us and has especially shown it recently- two goals against Birmingham, two great crosses (one resulting in a goal) against Milan, and generally looking lively. We’ve got to remember that he’s not even 19. Arsenal fans are spoiled by the high quality of our teenagers, but not every young player is Cesc Fabregas- Cesc is so spectacular because he’s so uniquely good at a young age. Theo needs patience (never a strong virtue among football fans). But he can also do a great job as an impact sub as we’ve seen in the two seasons he’s been at Arsenal- coming in when players are tired and putting in great crosses. Perhaps he can do a similar job for England?

Speaking of patience being needed, Inter are accused of tapping up Alex Hleb. If there’s ever an example of the importance of being patient with a player, it’s the rise of Alexander Hleb this season. While last year he was possibly the number-1 player Arsenal fans wanted sold, this season he’s proved himself to be absolutely integral. The Belarusian’s close dribbling and agility have given him plaudits from the same fans who wanted him sold. Whenever I think of questioning Arsenal’s transfer policy, I think of Hleb and how he’s come on. Perhaps I’ve drank the Kool-Aid a little, but Arsene Wenger has a much better record for this sort of thing than I do.

Although I’m not sure I’d miss Emmanuel Eboue if he went off to Barcelona.

Our own Catalan, though, wants to stay here for life. Having Cesc at Arsenal for all of his career is a lovely thought, isn’t it?

A few spurious transfer rumors on the buying end as well- namely Everton’s on-loan South African midfielder Steven Pienaar (who’s also supposed to sign permanently for Everton), Loic Perrin from St. Etienne, and Le Mans striker Gervinho, who would up our Ivorian contingent (or keep it steady if Eboue leaves).

The Arsenal Ladies will be facing Leeds in the FA Cup final, after Leeds got past Everton on penalties and we smashed Lincoln City 1-5. After the shock loss to Everton in the League Cup final, this is a great chance for the Arsenal Ladies to reassert their dominance in the women’s game (as if the massive lead we have isn’t enough). We beat Leeds 4-0 last time we saw them.

And Robin van Persie wants to win a trophy for the boys. So do I, Robin, so do I. But you probably have a better shot at doing something about it than I do.