Udinese vs Arsenal Champions Legue Play Off 2nd Leg Review

AND WE CAME OUT WITH FLYING COLOURS!

What a performance! What a great result! And what a great save by Szczesny! I shouted myself hoarse yesterday, and slept at 4 am, even though the match finished one and a half hours earlier. It was simply fantastic! To come back from a goal down at half time and seize the match like we did and win 2-1, was simply superb.

I wonder why do we always have to do things the hard way...is it because when we actually do the things the hard way and achieve the result, we feel a sense of ultimate euphoria like last night? Yesterday night's adventure will go a long way in slaying those demons that have pursued and tortured us for months and months.

Things could not have been more, I'm coining a new term here, Hollywoodized. Have a look at the storyline:

• A high stakes game, we were in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 14 years.
• Failing to qualify would have meant losing out on £25m financially, and also we would struggle to get good players to come and play for us.
• Our two best players have left, I need not mention their names.
• Our most consistent midfielder, Jack Wilshere, from last season was missing due to injury.
• Both our available left backs were either unable to play or start the game.
• 5 of the starting eleven were 21 years of age or younger.
• We have been lacklustre, and goal shy throughout preseason and the start of the season.

But the thing that irked me the most was the bombardment from all quarters. The press, media, pundits, experts, critics, current players, former players, fans, bloggers(myself included!)...everyone has had their say in lambasting Arsenal, criticising this, criticising that, castigating this and castigating that. All that negativity, all that pessimism, all that criticism had reached stratospheric levels and an air of doom and gloom hung around, that had affected even the most positive of supporters. It was almost as if Dementors had encircled the whole of Arsenal and all happy thoughts were fading away.

But the performance of last night was wonderful, inspiring and hope-filling to say the least. It was as if we unleashed a powerful patronus that drove those circling Dementors far far away, even if only for sometime. It was the sort of performance that made you proud to be an Arsenal fan. It was the kind of night you live for as an Arsenal fan. It was the kind of result that made you believe in Arsenal, and Arsene yet again, and maybe even compel you to stick out your tongue or your middle finger to all those doubters. Seriously, if anyone considers himself/herself an Arsenal fan and he/she couldn't be cheerful about yesterday's result, there is something wrong with that person.

The patronus that drove those Dementors encircling Arsenal away!

The Match

The game started at fast pace and just like in the first leg, it was end to end stuff. Di Natale looked dangerous and threatened to score a couple of times. I have to admit he was one of the standout performers from both teams over the two legs. But Theo really should have given us the lead after some great work by Gervinho. The Ivorian's trickery created enough space for Theo to find the back of the net, but his shot was too close to the keeper and it was saved. Udinese made us pay for that when they finally took the lead from a Di Natale header that looped over Szczesny and crept inside the goal after hitting the crossbar.

We made a change at the start of the second half and Rosicky came on for Frimpong. We tried hard to get the vital away goal but we were lacking creativity from the midfield. It eventually came when Gervinho once again got the better of his man and squared up for Robin van Persie to apply the cool finish. After that, came the turning point in the game when the referee awarded the home side a rather soft penalty for handball. What happened after that, will forever remain etched in my memory. Wojciech Szczesny made the best and most important save of his career so far to deny Di Natale. It was one of the best penalty saves I've ever seen. Some have even dubbed it the £25m save!

The £25m save!

After that, Sagna showed great presence of mind and some sublime touches to set Theo free to turn on his turbo boosters and score our second goal. That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Udinese and they barely threatened after that. Mission Accomplished!

Player Performance

Szczesny - My Man of the Match, 10/10 performance, FANTASTIC PENALTY SAVE, another two brilliant saves from free kicks, and he's still just 21 years old.

Jenkinson - another impressive display, hardworking and efficient

Vermaelen - only blotch was the penalty conceded, okay performance, since Di Natale really troubled our centre backs tonight

Djourou - shaky at times but enough for the day

Sagna - not his natural position, and it showed as Udinese had plenty of joy down their right at the start. Good counter attacking move to set up Theo for the winner

Song - did all the dirty work, excelled in his role, didn't venture forward too much

Ramsey - better from him, more composed than earlier matches, will get better as the season progresses

Frimpong - good performance, but was edgy at times

Rosicky - not the cleanest of tacklers but was at it today, battled hard in midfield more than usual

Walcott - should really have taken that chance to give us the lead, used his awesome speed to grab the winner

Gervinho - a gem, love it when he has the ball, provided the assist for the first goal, threatening throughout

van Persie - looked to link up play by dropping deep, and sometimes to the wings. right place, right time and a good finish to equalise and more importantly give us the away goal advantage.

Traore, Arshavin - not much time to contribute


Credit must also be given to Arsene and his staff for the way we turned things around in the second half. We played more positively than I can remember for some time. This was reflected on the total number of shots we had, which was 19(with 13 on target). The last time we managed so many shots on target was 229 days ago when we played against Leeds in the 1-1 draw in January.

Where We Stand

We can now concentrate on making the most of the last week of the transfer window to sign players with experience. This performance showed we still have the heart, what we need is some experience to back it up. But for now, I just want to say this:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HERE WE COME!!!

Next Up

Manchester United away!