Well that was a bit more like it. Four goals, plenty of chances, a convincing win, a good performance and the return of Eduardo. All in all a good night for the Gunners.
Eduardo starting was a bit of a surprise, I have to say, but he showed he’s more than ready with two goals and no sign that the injury which has kept him out for a year was going to be anything other than a memory.
After a flurry of early chances we opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Eduardo played the ball out left to Carlos Vela who dinked in a lovely cross for Eduardo to plant home the header. How amazing that must have been for him. After all he’s been through to get a goal on his comeback. The celebration with his teammates showed how happy they were for him.
Samir Nasri forced a good save from the impressive Cardiff keeper before Nicklas Bendtner put us two up with a header from a corner. He should have made it 3-0 before half-time too but somehow hit the post from just a couple of yards then saw the keeper save his rebound effort.
Eduardo made it 3-0 from the penalty spot just after the hour mark and celebrated with fitness coach Tony Colbert and Robin van Persie added the fourth just before the end – another goal with his chocolate leg.
So 4-0 the final score and the contrast between this and the first leg could not have been more marked. Cardiff were well and truly outclassed and we played the kind of football that we haven’t played in quite some time. A timely boost ahead of what’s going to be a hectic run-in between now and the end of the season.
Afterwards an emotional Eduardo said:
It was the best day of my life. It was a special moment to score, very emotional. I celebrated by kissing my wedding ring – because my wife and daughter and family supported me right through this.
Wenger said of Eduardo + Setanta video clip:
Of course it is nearly 12 months out and he has been extremely strong mentally during that time, I could never see one minute of doubt in his mind or one minute where he said ‘no, I don’t want to do it’. He always wanted more and this guy is small but has the mental strength of a mountain.
I am very happy to have him back because he gives us options. He can play on flank, he can play central, he can play on the shoulder or upfront on his own. It is fantastic for us.
And strike partner Nicklas Bendtner said:
It was amazing. The fans, the players, everyone has waited for him to come back after that horrific thing that happened. I’m very pleased with him and I know everyone is very happy for him.
And sometimes you need something like this to give you a lift. The players were obviously delighted to see him come back. They witnessed his injury first hand, they’ll have seen the struggles of his rehabilitation and how much work he’s done to get himself back to this level, and if it doesn’t inspire them in some way then I’d be worried.
It seems he has a little bit of a hamstring niggle but hopefully it won’t be anything too bad. I wondered if, after the decline we suffered when he got injured last year, if his return would spark something of a revival. The early signs are good and well done, Eduardo. It was a pleasure to see him again last night.
And there’s a lot of confidence to be taken from the overall performance too. We’ve got Sunderland coming up at the weekend and perhaps before this game they’ll have been thinking it’s not a bad time to play Arsenal. Last night might just worry them a little bit. It’s funny what an early goal will do as well. So many of our goals in recent games have come late which breeds a certain amount of frustration. Scoring in the first half seemed a bit of a novelty, but a good novelty. We now play Burnley in the next round of the cup on the weekend of March 7-8.
Now, from the most enjoyable to the downright painful. It emerged yesterday that Alisher Usmanov has increased his Arsenal stake from 24.9% to 25%. This allows Red & White Investments the ability to veto certain boardroom decisions and leaves them just 4.9% away from the shareholding at which they would be obliged to make a bid for all the shares.
They claim they have no intention of making a takeover bid but I’m not sure I believe that. There are still a large number of shares ‘floating’ about. We know that Lady Nina’s shares (15.9%) and those of Richard Carr (4.9%) are no longer allied with those held by the existing board members.
It’s quite common knowledge that Lady Nina would be willing to sell if the price were right so where those shares end up is going to be crucial to the future of Arsenal Football Club. Speaking last night the Arsenal Supporter’s Trust, said:
Now that Red and White have reached 25%, the time has come for them to turn their attention to setting out in more detail what this position means and if they have any practical ways that this support can be expressed.
Which is fair enough. At the moment Red and White are a looming presence over the club. They say they don’t want to take over, so what do they want? I don’t buy the crap about them being ‘committed long term investors and supporters’, Usmanov is a confirmed Man United fan, some supporter that is.
Whatever you might think about the way the club is being run, whatever you think about the board or how they manage our money, whatever you might think about us needing more investment on the playing side of things, Usmanov is still a horrible cunt who should be nowhere near our football club. He is an abhorrent bully with a past so shady he preemptively hires expensive lawyers to ensure that those who try and bring that past to people’s attention are silenced.
So him getting 25% is bad news in my book. In fact any increase in his shareholding is bad for Arsenal, especially if they can now effectively block board decisions, which must be the only reason he has increased his stake. There’s a game being played and it’s being played with our football club, like we’re some kind of plaything for an oligarch.
Personally I hope the fat prick has a stroke and spends the rest of his miserable life dribbling down his many chins, the despicable behemoth cunt.
Right then, that should do it. More tomorrow, real Arsenal fans.
