Aston Villa

Not at this one unfortunately so watched on Sky. Another match where Arsenal nearly threw it away, exhibiting incredibly unprofessional nervousness but came good in the end.

Overall, Arsenal played at a good tempo, creating chances, taking shots and forcing Friedel into saves. The absence of Fabregas had no impact - in fact, it was a positive as the tempo was not deliberately and unnecessarily slowed. In the first half, Rosicky was generally the most forward of the central midfielders as Arsenal played the usual 4-2-3-1. In the second. Rosicky moved to the left with Arshavin, having his best game for a long while, relishing his central, more free role. Ok, he could pass more but his overall contribution both offensively and defensively is higher when he plays centrally. Rosicky is also more professional, in that, even when he is playing wide, he generally tracks back and does his defensive duties.

Try and see Villa's first goal if you can. Carew, having writhed in the box, gets up and staggers on the 6 yard line directly in line between the shooting Villa player and Fabianski. He was in an offside position but was he interfering with play/seeking to gain an advantage? Ref didn't think so but he didn't think it was a goal when a Spurs shot crossed the line by a metre a few seasons ago.

Finally, just on Spurs - apparently Van der Vaart said 'Hands up if you want to join Barcelona' just before that fateful free-kick last week. Check the YouTube clips, you can quite clearly see him saying it. Unbelievable!