Three very welcome points before Moscow

Morning and apologies for my MIA turn during international week. No excuses, I honestly just couldn't be fucked.

Saturday's game saw us take all three points off the glory glory hornet boys, who gave a decent account of themselves and had some half chances due to our continuing shakiness at the back, but we really played some wonderful one touch football at stages and fully deserved the win.

Injuries forced quite a few changes, with Hoyte switching to right back in the absence of Eboue, Gallas to left back and Johann Djourou coming back into the middle. The knock that Freddie picked up with Sweden meant that Rosicky switched to right mid and Young Theo Walcott took his first place in the starting line up on the left wing. He played for an hour and gave a really good account of himself, playing one particularly juciy pass for Fabregas, who rounded the keeper but couldn't apply the finish from an acute angle. He also had a great run and shot in the second half which was only a foot or so over the top right corner.

Our movement was, at times, breathtaking, but it took a set piece and own goal from Watford's Stewart to open the scoring, Adebayor nodding on Cesc's free kick and Stewart beating Kolo to the ball to put through his own net. Henry added a second on the cusp of half time when he took a great touch on a bouncing through ball from Jens to race past the defender who had been on his shoulder and finish low to the left with his left foot. The game was put beyond doubt when Fabregas played Henry in during the second half, with Thierry unselfishly squaring the ball for Adebayor to put the ball in the empty net. Three nil, and it didn't flatter us.

RvP didn't start the game (although he came on as a second half sub for Rosicky) which surprised me considering his red hot form at the moment (4 goals in his last 3 games for club and country), but this may be because Arsene is saving him for Moscow. Adebayor certainly doesn't deserve to be starting ahead of him on merit, but if the games you're missing are against relegation favourites and the games you're playing in are tough away fixtures in the Champions League, you wouldn't be too worried.

Thierry was looking back to his impudent best (he had said it would be October until he was back firing at near to full strength) with some cheeky back heels and one particularly outrageous bit of footwork where he let two defenders run across him, only to knock the ball between them, wait for them to run past and then waltz into the box. The resulting shot was also only just off target, and it would have been a lovely goal. So nice I've put it below.



Not much other news about. More ramblings on Franck Ribery wanting to joing in January, but nothing more concrete than the last 43 times we've heard this. I'll do more of a Moscow preview tomorrow.