3 points from Fulham, Mannone the man

We played Fulham at Craven Cottage yesterday and we weren't all that great. We weren't all that terrible either, although we were quite frustrating. We were a little slow in the first half with our midfield 3 not really gelling. Cesc wasn't at his best, Song wasn't at his best and Diaby was very much Diaby, excellent at times, but in an instant awful. They really pressured us hard and used posession well and we really didn't put them under the kind of pressure they put on us. They moved the ball quickly in attack and really went at us down the middle and a little down the our left, which again was suspect. Clichy got caught up a few times and Arshavin gives him near no cover.

We never got much width in the first half and that was a major problem. We went down the middle too often and were just stuffed nearly every time we got the ball. I think that's were Diaby hurts us, his range of passing is very limited and while we did have Cesc, Bendtner never really offered anything wide on the right and Arshavin gave the ball up often.

Tactically they were sound, although you have to imagine with a little more craft and quality down the middle, which would have been offered by either Nasri or Rosicky we could have easily broken them down more often. Denilson would have been useful as well because we were giving away possession like it was the object of the game and he's better at keeping possession than anyone in the league. We were never too patient either, really trying to force our way through, which is what a 4 3 3 can do to you.

We had 2 good chances in the first half, Fabregas hitting over at the near post when he was going for the roof of the net and Arshavin was in on goal after some really nice play on the edge of the area but the ball bobbled at the worst moment. They had 2 excellent chances in the first half and I really think that if Almunia was in we may have conceded, but Mannone did the business with an awesome double save from the scummy Andy Johnson's header and then Dempsey's follow up. The cross for Johnson's header came from the left of course, as did most of their dangerous crosses, and there were quite a few through the night.

We started out the 2nd half really well and moved the ball around really well, with more urgency and flow, but again, we offered little width or patience. The game opened up and they came at us and we went at them and then after 7 minutes a crisp triangle on the half way line worked the ball well around the Fulham defense and then Cesc played the pass of the season so far and put the ball into the path of van Persie's good run. RVP's 1st touch was outstanding and then his finish was nice.

They came at us right afterwards and for the rest of the game and worked Mannone a few times more who came up with the goods with 3 more excellent saves. Late on we subbed Arshavin for Rosicky, which I think was correct despite the fact that I'm dying to see them play together, and Eboue came on for van Persie, which allowed Bendtner to take up his preferred position in the center.

The game opened up after that and Rosicky and Eboue brought some individual attacking quality we didn't have the entire game and we could have had a couple of goals with Bendtner forcing a save and Eboue screwing a shot wide when he should have certainly put a shot on target after being released by a wonderfully weighted and curled Fabregas pass.

Overall a draw probably would have been a fair result or maybe an Arsenal loss but we came through the game without having played particularly well and take away 3 much needed points. 3 good wins in a row now after our weird, but galvanizing come back win in the Champions' League and an easy win against Wigan (who beat Chelsea 3-1 yesterday). We're rolling now, we just need to get our performances together and win our next few games.

I think after injuries are recovered from in the next few weeks and our squad comes back together, with the exception of Djourou of course, we'll see the side shuffled around. I think Bendtner may lose his place with Theo on the comeback. His early season performances have dwindled off and he's just not performing. We could have used Walcott's pace in the last few games and he'll be a very welcomed addition. Eduardo should be used more often if he can stay fit for the next few weeks and same goes for Rosicky. We'll have more craft and quality and will be more dangerous. Come November we'll be something to be reckoned with and I'm excited.

Champions' League next week, our toughest game in the group will see us play Olympiacos. A win against them will have us in good position in the group. More on that later on.

Highbury86