Arsenal 3-1 Partizan Belgrade; we're through and that's all that matters.

Morning all

So once again we make things difficult for ourselves. But we got there in the end.

We finally got to see Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh line up together for the very first time. We also seen a shaven Denilson and Gibbs come in for Wilshere and Clichy. A strong attacking line up I thought, and surely a signal of intent.

Well, no actually. We were lethargic to start with. Which is worrying. Especially at home. The Invincibles would usually have the game out of sight within the first 30 minutes, and it seems to take this side 30 minutes to get going! Our opening came courtesy off a penalty from the stand-in skipper, Robin van Persie. Excellent penalty, and while he fell relatively easy, he is a striker after all and there was contact, albeit slightly. As that goal settled the nerves, I really wanted us to push on after that but again things seemed to die down a little.

Many people call for Clichy to be dropped (have to say, I think I'm in that category) but we don't have a back up. Kieran Gibbs is a cracking player, but everytime he gets a chance, within the first half he always gets bloody injured. It's a shame but it's something we have to look into.

We started the half at a faster pace, yet within 5 minutes we conceded. A deflected shot giving Fabianski no chance. The Grove was completely silenced. TIME TO BUCK UP ARSENAL! What annoyed me was the stubbornness from Arsene Wenger to change. When things aren't working, the boss needs to mix things up. It was only the introduction of Theo Walcott which seemed to spark us into life. And it was he who put us 2-1 up, volleying a smart finish into the corner of the net. A great finish.

I think Alex Song silenced a few people in the build up to the third goal too. He produced lovely passing and wonderful footwork to play in Samir Nasri, who also displayed quality footwork to get his shot away and into the bottom corner. It's clear to me that Alex Song is no longer a nailed on defensive midfielder. We are mixing it up. And I have no problem with that. The disciplined player yesterday was Denilson, who I thought was very good and is looking alot stronger this season. Bizarrely, Bacary Sagna was sent in the dying stages which I thought was very harsh. So 3-1 it finished. And runners up in a relatively weak group you'd have to say.

The main thing though is that we are through. I've said it before and I'll say it again, all the good teams are gonna have to play each other if they want to win. We can face Schalke, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich. Bring. Them. On. Those teams will be equally, if not more, worried about facing us than we are of them.

We must raise our game for Monday, but I've been impressed with this Arsenal team away from home. And this will be our biggest test of the season so far. Bring it on! We should fear no one.

That's it for today, thanks for reading and all that.