Arsenal 1 - 0 Birmingham

So.. A rare deflected Arsenal goal, a sending off, 3 points & a master class in goalkeeping..

Arsenal maintained their 100% home record, Robin Van Perise's deflected shot gave them a 1-0 win over Birmingham at Highbury.

Robin Van Persie's speculative drive skipped wickedly off the heel of Stephen Clemence with 9 minutes remaining, to leave the excellent Maik Taylor stranded & Birmingham deflated.

It could've been an interesting game, Birmingham started quite well, Heskey missed an early chance & Birmingham didn't looked overawed, as the game developed the balance seemed to be shifting in Arsenal's favour & it looked as though it would be a good encounter.. But for the second time this season Arsenal were left trying to break down a 10-man rearguard action.

Cunningham scythed down Ljungberg when he was clean through on goal after 24 minutes & he was already walking as the referee went to his pocket. It was the right decision, anything other would have been an injustice however it ruined the game as a spectacle.

It appeared the rest of the game was a formality & that Arsenal would open the door sooner rather than later..
Taylor had other ideas & produced a penalty save from Robert Pires' rather tame effort & made several world-class saves, notably from Ljungberg & Reyes twice..

Arsenal pressed time & again & were thwarted by an inspired Taylor & the woodwork & it appeared that Birmingham would hold out for an unlikely draw. However, Van Persie stepped up & uncharacteristically for Arsenal tried a long-range strike that was deflected past Taylor in the Birmingham goal. It was unfortunate for Taylor personally as he was outstanding, but it was not particularly harsh on Birmingham.

Going down to 10-men away from home at a ground where you have never done well may be seen as unlucky. I view it in a different way. It put Birmingham in a no lose position, not literally as we have seen.. However it gave them an excuse to put 10-men behind the ball & they could be as negative as they liked & be safe in the knowledge that no-one would criticise them, Birmingham had no pressure to show any attacking ambition, as a draw would be seen as a heroic effort (despite the fact it was their fault that Cunningham was sent off & I'm sure we'd have rather he'd not bought Freddie down & allowed him the clear cut chance to score). It also puts us in a no win position, if we batter them it's only because they had 10-men & if we don't it is seen as a failure.

Arsenals' style of play is at it's best when we're counter-attacking, when teams press us, creating an open game, our intricate & quick passing allows us to explore any spaces in behind & break quickly, utilising our pace, taking out the players in forward positions, allowing us to get into attacking areas before they have a chance to get back.

Therefore we find it difficult to break teams down, especially at the moment. I think we lack directness at times & I was pleased to see Van Persie shooting from 30 yards, I am a great believer that, to a certain extent you make your own luck. It was also pleasing to see that we are carrying more of an aerial, threat from set pieces especially & that gives us another avenue to score. However we are still undoubtedly guilty of trying too hard to be technically perfect & playing the 'right' pass.. There will always be time for that & it is amazing to watch, we are the best at it, no doubts.. But sometimes you have to be more direct & things will happen.. I think this is something we have to & hopefully are starting to learn..