Enjoy. Or ignore them. Sad day to lose another chance at a trophy. It was a bad performance that resulted in a deserved loss. Can’t really add more to what Martin already said.

The knee-jerk reaction from a lot of fans may be to blame Fabianski, who possibly could have stopped the first goal and came out too early and got beaten by Drogba, who tucked the ball into an empty net. The young Pole had a very bad day. But Fabianski plays very aggressively in the Lehmann style, and comes out and gets loose balls–against Villareal, it worked brilliantly, as he was kind of a “sweeper keeper” that never allowed Rossi to catch up to any loose balls. Today, it worked out terribly–Drogba very nearly headed a loose ball over Fabianski’s head into the net early, and beat Fabianski soundly to score the winner.

The bottom line for me is that that is Fabianski’s style, and he’s used to playing against lower-level competition, where coming out in that situation works most of the time. He’s got to learn that while you may be able to do that in the Carling Cup against Championship sides, you need to pick your spots against the Drogbas of the world. And the only way to learn that lesson is to get beat a couple of times. It’s just unfortunate that this “teaching moment” occurred in one of the biggest games of his life. And if he hadn’t come out, Drogba would have been through on goal with the ball, so I’m not even necessarily convinced there’s much he could have done to prevent the goal. The real culprit, as far as I’m concerned, is Silvestre, who Drogba outran and outmuscled to get to the ball.

Now, Wenger has forgotten ten times more about football than I’ll ever know, but I have to admit to having a “WTF?” moment when they posted the lineups–as did Travis in the game thread. Given that he was rested and motivated, Arshavin seemed a certainty to start somewhere, but was benched. Robbie started on the left wing, where as far as I can remember he’s never been that effective. And instead of sticking with the partnership of Song and Cesc that had been so effective in the last couple of games, Wenger stuck Song, our most physical holding midfielder type, on the bench in favor of Diaby and Denilson. Very puzzling decision, I have to say. And Diaby and Denilson both played further back in a holding role, pushing Cesc forward behind the forwards, where he’s never looked all that comfortable.

It is, of course, impossible to say whether the outcome would have been any different had the lineup changed. At the end of the day, it’s down to the players to go out and play and get a result. And today, we just didn’t do that. Toure had a solid game, and Eboue and Gibbs again looked good at fullback. Walcott was by far our most dangerous player, and it was only fitting that he scored our lone goal. Other than that, no one really distinguished themselves. Diaby was absolutely dreadful all day, giving the ball away like a cheap, unwanted gift. All the Arsenal fans were loudly hoping Song would come on at half-time or shortly after for Diaby, to no avail. And while in the last couple games Adebayor has reminded us that when he puts the effort in he can be a world class striker, today he reminded us how bad he looks when he doesn’t. In fairness, he wasn’t getting much service, but his first touch was nonexistent all day and he couldn’t hold the ball up at all.

Mostly it’s just disappointing because the team, and the players, seemed to be on such a high these last few weeks. It really seemed like we had turned a corner and were a threat to win trophies. But every winning streak has to end, unfortunately, and ours ended today. Now there are only two things to focus on for the rest of the season–try to scrape our way up to 3rd place, and win the Champions League. The real danger now is that the team gets demoralized at the loss and loses the good form we’ve been showing lately. We’ve got a league game against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday, and then host Middlesbrough on Sunday morning. Good performances there will basically sew up 4th place, but we can’t afford to slip up and give too many points away, because we don’t want to be too concerned about holding off Aston Villa and/or Everton as the season winds down.

So a bad day for the club, but here’s hoping we can put this behind us and move forward, as we still have our opportunities to make this a very successful season.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Eboue, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs, Walcott, Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson, Van Persie, Adebayor.
Subs: Mannone, Nasri, Vela, Ramsey, Song Billong, Arshavin, Bendtner.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Carvalho, Di Santo, Mikel, Kalou, Belletti, Mancienne.

Our backline will have its hands full with Anelka and Drogba. A 4-4-2 from Wenger with Arshavin, Song and Nasri all on the bench. What are you playing at Arsene? Leave thoughts below, before, during and after the match, as well as any streams if you are watching online.

Gallas–out for season (knee)
Almunia–out 3 weeks (ankle)
Clichy–out 2 weeks (back)
van Persie–possibly fit for Saturday (groin)
Eduardo–possibly fit for Saturday (groin)
Rosicky–”not close to coming back” (hamstring)

That is ummm….not good. In case you needed reminding, Saturday marks the beginning of a brutal stretch of 4 games in 11 days–away to Wigan, home to Villareal, Chelsea at Wembley (FA Cup), and Liverpool at Anfield. The importance of these games cannot be overstated–a good run will see us in the CL semis, the FA Cup finals, and firmly in fourth place in the table with a shot at third. A bad run will leave us without a trophy for the 4th consecutive season and in a dogfight to hold off Villa and/or Everton for next year’s final Champions League spot.

As I said yesterday, I like our substitutes that will be pressed into action (Djourou, Fabianski, and Gibbs), and I’m optimistic that they will hold the fort until we return to health. But with 4 games in 11 days, fatigue is going to be a real issue for our defenders, and the only other healthy defender we have is Silvestre. I hate to say it, but we’re only an injury or two away from a nightmare scenario of going into a big match having to play an out-of-position Alex Song at centre back or Eboue at fullback, or even calling up someone from the reserves to play. Ugh.

As for our strikers, it’s good news that van Persie and Eduardo are nearing health again. Groin injuries are notoriously difficult to treat and easy to reaggravate, so, given that Adebayor, Bendtner, Vela, and Arshavin are healthy, I say let van Persie and Eduardo sit out the Wigan game, or at most use them as late subs if needed. Maybe it’s arrogant and I’m overlooking Wigan a little bit, but we really will need them both against Villareal, Chelsea, and/or Liverpool, which are all much more important games.

All this is concerning, to say the least. But despite all the ups and downs, this team has definitely shown itself to be a resilient group of young men this season that never gives up and can never be counted out. Here’s hoping the lads will get through this and do us proud. Wigan preview coming tomorrow.

The goals from last night’s game. A nervous match, a hint of offsides on Gallas, I don’t care all that much. On to the semifinals.

A semifinal awaits the winner and I’m hoping that Arsenal gets revenge over Hull, who if you recall, won at the Emirates in the league this season. While their magic fairy dust has worn off a bit and things aren’t as rosy as they were at the start of the year, Phil Brown will have his players ready to give Arsenal a real go of things.

Team news, without a lineup, is as follows: Fabianski in goal, Arshavin in doubt although begging to play, Clichy might get a rest, Theo is in, Eduardo out and Gallas might be back in. Can’t tell the specific now, but I’ll post a lineup as soon as it’s up on the BBC.

Arsenal.com cruelly points out that Tottenham has won a trophy more recently, a cruel shot to any true Gunners fan. Here’s the best chance they’ve got to rectify these matters. Here’s hoping for a win and a semifinal against Chelsea at Wembley. Thoughts and comments below please.

Ok, banishing those negative ideas and thoughts. It was a great performance by the Arsenal — again, if you missed it, highlights showing almost a third of the game I posted here. Get to it before the FA removes it. Tune in and you’ll see the classy performances that our midget maestros put in. It was sort of funny watching the likes of Arshavin, Eduardo, and Vela (not as small, but in for the effect) contend with the comparatively monstrous defenders next to them. Despite the lack of size, there was no lack of skill out there and Arshavin and Vela teamed up for Arsenal’s first. The first game in the 30 minute range: a simple pass to Vela and the Mexican took care of the rest, nutmegging the Burnley defender and chipping the keeper. The only bad aspect of the goal was the fact I was up getting a cup of coffee and missed it. Blasted caffeine addiction.

The next goal, if you haven’t seen it, was pure bliss. Alex Song, who had a monster of a game, knocked in a cross in the direction of Eduardo, who snuck in behind the defense to audaciously volley a shot into the upper left hand corner of the net. I’m not even sure what part of the foot he hit it with — either heel or outside of the boot — but whatever it was, it was awesome. Watch it right now, like I said, if you haven’t seen it. There are so many elements of brilliance to his goal: the fact that he’s come back from his horrific injury, the incredible timing and placement of the shot, not to mention how easy he makes it look. If I could pull off ridiculous things like that, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this blog for no compensation. Not that I’m complaining here.

The last goal came from Emmanuel Eboue and Song, or in other words, every Arsenal’s fans favorite duo. A cheeky back heel set up his fellow African to lash in the far corner of the net. And that was all she wrote really. Credit to Burnley for working hard, but some beautiful finishing combined with a classy afternoon made it a real joy to watch the Arsenal again. Robin Van Persie got a half hour of work in, Arshavin put in another 90 minutes, hopefully closing in on full fitness, and we all got to witness the return of Theo Walcott. Perhaps this game could be a signal of intent from Arsenal — a return to a consistent vein of form as players like Eduaro, Walcott, and Arshavin attain full fitness. Fingers crossed things go well in Rome in two days. More tomorrow.

Update: Found the embed code. Tune in below.

Watch Arsenal v Burnley  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The preview on Arsenal.com points out that the oddsmakers have set this competition as our greatest chance to win a trophy. While that’s the case, there’s a part of me that wants Wenger to pursue that trophy, then there’s another that wouldn’t mind seeing us lose out — simply because that would let the boss concentrate on the league and the Champions League. Finishing in the top four is the number one priority at this point — it has to be — and while I would love to see Arsenal hoist the FA Cup at the end of the season, my heart wouldn’t be broken to see them go out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hoping they lose, but I would take a top four finish and the CL money over an FA Cup victory — if I had to choose. I’d prefer both, not one at the expense of the other.

Pessimism aside, it’s a winnable game tomorrow against Burnley and a chance to see Walcott and Eduardo back in the side. Hopefully they’ll both get a good run in and stay fit. There will most likely be more setbacks along the way for Eduardo as he tries to return to 100% fitness, but here’s hoping that he won’t struggle too much. Eyes will be on Theo tomorrow — his return should be a real boost to the league. It’s exciting to think about Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin, and Fabregas in the middle field. I’m getting giddy already.

If you like Cesc (and I know you all do), then the news that he’ll be back in training in two weeks is a great thing. Pictures of him in limited training action are available here via the Arsenal.com. That’s a good sight, and I’ve read reports that say he’s four weeks again from a return to the first team. Hopefully Villa will be below us by then.

Adebayor recently backed Arsenal to advance all the way to the Champions League final. I like his enthusiasm and optimism, but let’s be realistic. A team that is struggling to make it into fourth place isn’t exactly in the drivers seat to win the CL. However, with Barcelona looking much less like a certainty and even Man United picking up some injuries today against Fulham, if they were to win against Roma this week, I could see it happening. Keep in mind that they’ve got to win in Rome first — which will be no easy task.

Last thought before I go; I’ll be live blogging tomorrow’s game against Burnley. I’ll be sitting down 30 minutes before kickoff (if I don’t sleep in too late), so be sure to tune in tomorrow.

Seeing Eduardo in the starting lineup was a real shock to me. I thought for sure that he would be given another week to sort himself out after a cameo in his last international. Another cameo like that one was surely on the cards — but that’s why I am not in charge. The crowd and the team was fired up, which showed right from the first kick.

Whatever happened, whatever charge that Eduardo helped to provide carried through the whole match against Cardiff needs to keep these going. The football was exciting once again, the passing crisp, and instead of a team struggling to get offense going, it was a team that you expected to score over and over again. Let’s be fair and say that is was Cardiff on a very off night, but I’ll take the good right now.

The two Eduardo goals were nothing sort of magical — to see a man who was on crutches like the top left picture several months ago, to playing in the first team once again is something to savor as an Arsenal fan. I still remember being in the pub watching the match against Birmingham when it all went awry — the look on Fabregas’ face after seeing the horror injury said it all. You can conjecture all you like, but that killed the season last year. I know that this has already been said, but could the return of Eduardo have a reverse effect and spark this team — at the very least — to a top four finish? Between his return and the (fingers crossed) boost of Arshavin, things might not be as bleak as they once were.

The boss had a few nice things to say afterwards, including some nice praise for Eduardo:

“I am not surprised he played well tonight. I didn’t play him as a reward for his excellent work; it was because in training over the past few weeks he has done extremely well. He made a big step forward two weeks ago when he found sharpness in front of goal and in his runs and he got rid of his apprehension in the tackles.”

A great tribute to a good player who will play a huge role in the coming weeks. With Roma close on the horizon and a Champions League place looking to be a bit distant, a spark like Eduardo’s return was badly needed.

It’s not all good news today, unfortunately. I’ll touch on more about this tomorrow, but it looks as though Usmanov is creeping closer and closer towards a potential take over bid. That’s not something I want to see, especially after today.