Daves On Soccer

A friendly scoreline but a difficult match. Arsenal had some difficulties in the first half, but were able to finally take the lead just before the break with a nice little 1-2 that ended with Aleksander Hleb scoring a nifty little goal.

I think we all expected the Gunners to cruise from that point but it was not to be. West Brom kept themselves in it, and after a rash of substitutions, they finally got a goal on 72' thanks to an error by Emmanuel Eboue. Based on recent form, there was cause to be nervous. But... it was Dennsis Bergkamp day. First he set up Robert Pires, then he put away his own shot, cheering the orange-clad fans and giving Arsenal the crucial three points.

Still, it was a near thing. Arsenal are clearly not on their best form at the moment, and it will be interesting to see what happens for the Villareal match. Cesc is missed in the midfield, particularly going forward, so hopefully his foot will be in good shape come Wednesday. The defense is also starting to show the effects of wear, with Eboue in particular looking like he could use a rest. However, it appears that Lauren is out for the duration. Ashley Cole is nearing his return, so perhaps that will help. But it's all hands to the pump now. There are six games remaining -- seven if we defeat Villareal -- and every one is a must-win. Let's see it, Arsenal! Step up and get stuck in!

Update: With just 13 minutes gone, Man Utd is up 0-1 over Spurs. That's exactly what we need. I hate rooting for the Mancs, but we need Spurs to drop the points. So far, so good.