We’re playing the rest of the season for Aaron Ramsey. Its such a stroke of bad luck to lose the young Welshman at this point in the season, but this tragedy-turned-motivation may just be the extra push to get us some hardware. Its all about character and how much you want it at this stage. It was enduring to see all the players wearing “Get Well Soon Aaron” t-shirts prior to kickoff.

Coming into this match against Burnley tonight, we needed to win by 4 goals in order to go level with Chelsea on points but beat them in goal differential. Chelsea were going to have a game in hand after this weekend because they were playing an FA Cup match. Man United were playing Wolves later in the day.

This match would be a coming-out party of sorts for Theo Walcott. He has these games every now and again. He was fantastic. I’m sure I join all Arsenal supporters in wanting these performances to become expected behavior from Walcott. Too often this season, his sprints down the right-hand side fizzle out and result in nothing.

If Nicholas Bendtner had been on his game, the scoreline would have been a lot more. I’m not sure what happened to the Dane. He and Walcott linked up numerous times, only to see his shots go over the crossbar or just wide of the post. You could see the frustration in everyone’s faces by the fourth or fifth attempt.

But, Bendtner’s flubs aside, Arsenal pulled out the 3-1 win. The first goal (34th minute) will probably win goal of the week honors. Samir Nasri floated the perfect ball over the defensive line and Cesc Fabregas ran onto the ball just in time to nutmeg the keeper.

Burnley would pull one back just after half-time.

The second Arsenal goal (60th minute) was Walcott – man of the match himself – finally pulling inside from a run down the right-hand side, and placing the ball ever so nicely in the far corner of the goal. Theo has a tendency to stay outside even though he may outrun a defender and try to cross the ball to another player. It was nice to see him change his normal routine.

The final Arsenal goal, by Andrei Arshavin, was in extra time and an end to frustrations, I’m sure, for the Russian striker. He had numerous chances prior to this. From a short corner kick, he intercepted a loose ball from Eduardo and cut inside. With only a small fraction of the goal open, Arshavin was able to slot the ball just inside the near post.

There was concern with Cesc coming off just before half. Turns out he’s got a hamstring problem and will hopefully be back soon.

Moving on, we’ve got a tough game against Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. Its at the Emirates but we’ve got a 2-1 deficit to overcome. Then, next Saturday, we’ve got an away match at Hull City, who got blitzed by Everton today.

Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky returned to the starting line-up and Craig Eastmond made his first Premier League start of his career.

Bolton came out fighting in the first minutes of the game but those were the only minutes that it looked like they could prevail. Kevin Davies almost got on the scoresheet in the first minute but his first touch let him down. Arsenal would then take over and impose their game after the five minute mark.

Of course, it was Cesc Fabregas who would find the back of the goal for Arsenal. He’s had a tremendous season so far, and when he’s not injured, he’s the heart of everything we do. In the 28th minute, a quick exchange with Eduardo resulted in the Spaniard slotting a low shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Two times there were clear penalties in the box by Bolton. The referee seem to think that our players were making big deals over nothing but replays showed that this referee needs to re-evaluate his judgement on such calls. Just because a player embelishes his fall does not mean its a non-penalty. In fact, for some referees, its required for them to call.

Arsenal’s 19-year-old midfielder Craig Eastmond, making his first league start, almost doubled the lead with a first-time shot from Fabregas’ corner. It was great to see him get some time in the first team but as the game went on, you could tell his mental stamina was waning. Its a tall order for a 19-year-old, no matter how talented, to be asked to play a defensive mid role for 90 minutes in a game of this magnitude.

One of the biggest problems for Arsenal, with this lineup, was that Armand Traore was left stranded on the left hand side. The Korean Lee Chung-Yong was a menace and played havoc for Traore until Gael Clichy made his triumphant return in the 74th minute. Only then was the left side more secure. Clichy came on for Rosicky but slotted in for Arshavin on the left. He played the model winger and tackler for Traore to watch.

Fran Merida was actually the first substitution in the 63rd minute. He came on for Eastmond and scored our second goal in the 78th minute. Arsenal swarmed the box as a cross from Eduardo came back across the goal mouth. Arshavin wasn’t able to get a hold of it but an onrushing Merida defly controlled and slotted to the opposite corner.

Overall, Bolton resorted to their patterns of the past. Its what Arsene’s called anti-Football: lots of dirty fouling and a team effort that concentrates more on disrupting the other team than actually moving the ball toward goal. Teams with a history of being managed by Sam Allardyce can show it. Owen Coyle may want to impose an Arsenal-like style of play on his new team, but when things go bad for them, this group of players will most likely fall back to what we saw against Arsenal today.

With this win, we move within 3 points of Chelsea at the top of the table. Arsene Wenger has told his team to start thinking about taking the Premiership title. Its exactly these types of games that we were not winning last season that makes Wenger and all Arsenal supporters optimistic. We overcame a fighting team at their home and we didn’t wilt in the pressure.

The deciding factor was, is, and will be … Cesc Fabregas. Losing Robin van Persie was a huge blow for the season but, if we lose Fabregas, the top four will be out of the question.

We had some chances before Cesc but he showed the determination to make it happen.

Denilson came out in the 57th minute and Super Cesc arrived. He made his arrival known right away. In the 65th minute, a free kick from the top of the box was placed perfectly in te left top corner, away from Brad Friedel’s reach. The second was a break away by Walcott in the 81st minute, who served up a nice dish for an onrushing Fabregas. Unfortunately, on that same play, Cesc came up with a bad ankle and would go out.

He came, he scored, he left ….

Cesc Fábregas’s two goals worth the risk of injury says Arsène Wenger (Guardian)

Super-sub Cesc sinks Villa (ESPN)

Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa: Magical Cesc Fabregas Double Downs Villains (Goal.com)

Arsenal 3 – 0 Aston Villa (BBC Sport)

The joy of Cesc by Kevin Palmer:

“Truly special players confirm their brilliance when it matters most and in a game that had the potential to define his side’s season, Arsenal skipper Cesc Fàbregas stepped up to the plate in the grand manner.”

Mikey Stafford (The Guardian) gives the best all-around synopsis of the match.

Gill Clark (goal.com) gives accolades to Denilson and Abou Diaby for their performances.

David Young (ESPN Correspondent) calls the team’s performance pragmatic and efficient rather than spectacular and breathtaking. Young points us to the next four games, where 3 of them are at home. Then, starting on Jan 31, we face Man United, Chelsea, and Liverpool within a space of 11 days.

In the postgame interview, when asked about the first goal, Arsene admits that Denilson wasn’t going to take the free kick. Sure glad he did!

Our defense consisted of Almunia in goal, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, and Traore (Silvestre 88). The rest of the team line-up were Denilson, Nasri, Fabregas, Eboue (Ramsey 54), Rosicky (Vela 45), and Arshavin. The reason I list these out is because none of these players play a traditional (or non-traditional, for that matter) form of striker up front. Many of the them are prone to make runs forward but none of them can be considered targets up front, in the mold of RvP, Bendtner, or Eduardo. Even Vela likes to play off of the left-hand side.

None of this is to say that we shouldn’t be playing this way. I’m just pointing it out.

Arshavin’s goal in the 26th minute brought the end of my frustration over the Russian. His touch up till then had been atrocious. In one instance, he could have easily scored but he pushed the ball too far forward and the goalie was able to get to it first. The goal, however, was a perfect example of Arshavin’s knack for shooting without it looking like he’s shooting. He’s got that little flick from a prone position that ends up being a pretty hard shot. It was the culmination of a nice little exchange between Cesc and Arshavin.

It was utter pain to see Cesc miss a penalty.

As soon as Ramsey came on the pitch, our form changed. I noticed that we were playing a much slower, shorter passing game up until that moment. I’m not sure if the change came because of Ramsey but it seemed to coincide with his arrival. His pace was what won him the opportunity to score and he made good on it in the 80th minute. It was a perfectly placed shot which could have gone anywhere if he had taken it harder.

A new frustration has arisen for me with this team … Carlos Vela. I hope he improves. He really added nothing to the team by floating out on the left like he did.

Blackburn scored two goals on us. The first, by Steven Nzonzi in the 4th minute, was either a fluke or one of the best placed headers ever seen. You decide. I think it was a fluke. Arsenal were in complete control of the game when a freekick is awarded on an alleged Cesc Fabregas foul. The ball was sent down the whole field, at which Nzonzi barely got his head on it. The ball just happened to catch netminder Vito Mannone coming out and goes in. Arsenal 0, Blackburn 1.

It only took 13 minutes for us to equalize. Who could it be? Vermaelen, of course. A well placed square ball from Cesc, Vermaelen makes a little space for himself, moves the ball onto his left and boom! He’s become such an outside scoring threat for us! Arsenal 1, Blackburn 1.

Blackburn would then go ahead for the last time and it would only be for 3 minutes. David Dunn sent a hard shot that deflected off of Galas and finds Mannone going the wrong way. Three minutes later, a wonderful feed from Cesc to Robin van Persie on the left side of the Blackburn box, and RvP shoots to the far corner past Paul Robinson and we’re level. Arsenal 2, Blackburn 2.

That was all there was for Blackburn. The rest of the show was ours. In the 37th minute, almost a carbon copy of Cesc’s feed to RvP was given to Andrei Arshavin. From the same spot, at the same pace, Arshavin made no mistake and put the ball past Robinson in the same way that had happened 4 minutes prior. Arsenal 3, Blackburn 2.

Even if you haven’t seen the match or the highlights, you can probably guess who ruled this show. Cesc Fabregas was a part of everything that happened on Sunday. In the second half, he would get on the scoreboard as well. It was a wonderful volley to the top left corner in the 57th minute. After trying to feed Arshavin and then Rosicky, the ball finds its way back to Cesc (by way of Rosicky’s overhead kick) who decides to take it himself. Control. Laces. Placement. It was a beautifully placed ball, well outside the reach of Paul Robinson, who didn’t even try to get it. Arsenal 4, Blackburn 2.

Like most Arsenal supporters, every time I read something coming out of Barcelona about Cesc Fabregas, I cringe, just a little. I know its all garbage and just newspapers trying to drum up controversy. And then, his form will dip, and I start to wonder even more. But then, we have games like this one and that speculation gets put to rest. Cesc orchestrated everything offensively. If you could count assists without the goal actually being scored, he would have had something in the range of 30. To top it all off, after he scores his goal, he runs to the corner flag and salutes the Arsenal fans with a kiss to the Arsenal crest on his shirt. Classy.

Theo Walcott would make his welcome return to the field and score in the 75th minute. Again, Cesc was there to give Arshavin’s ball into the box a little more momentum over to the right where an on-rushing Walcott was waiting in the wing. A Nicholas Bendter strike in the 89th minute would bring the count to its final tally. Arsenal 6, Blackburn 2.

One good sign from the second half was the working duo of Bendtner and van Persie. These two worked tirelessly to push the play into Blackburn’s half. While the whole team can be credited with the effort, I think Bendtner and RvP did an especially good job of pressuring Blackburn up top, which resulted in keeping the ball forward.

The work in progress continues to be our defensive effort. Its one thing to be able to control the play and push forward (which is a form of defense, I guess), its another thing to defend well when the opposition brings it into our half. For the likes of Blackburn, we’re going to score goals; its our collective defense that needs work. I don’t want to see anyone replaced because I think Gallas and Vermaelen, along with Clichy and Sagna, are working really well together. Its hard to pinpoint (Is it Song?) but I feel its something to do with our midfield and their ability to contain other players from going forward. How I long for the days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto.

Blackburn got close twice and got lucky twice. Two times we had to come from behind. On another day, the ref would have called a penalty on David Dunn’s run into box in the early part of the 2nd half. Our midfield could have stopped that from ever starting. A tougher opponent, or someone with the luck of Manchester United, and our goal scoring will be limited. The breaks won’t go our way. Its those times when our defensive effort needs to be better or our recent trip to Manchester will be repeated.

Chin up though. We’ve got a game in hand. Another win and we’re only 3 points out of first place. We’ve got a big break until Birmingham on the 17th. Meanwhile, World Cup qualifiers.

While Arsenal possessed the ball well, this game was settled by set pieces. The first goal was a master strike by Denilson to curl Fabregas’ side pass into the upper left corner. But, it wasn’t the dagger that ended the possibility of an Everton comeback. The 2nd and 3rd goals did that. Both centerbacks, first Vermaelen, then Gallas, headed the ball home on well-orchestrated set pieces by Arsenal, not so well defended by Everton. One team has been practicing these, the other not. After those two goals, any confidence left in Everton was gone. The rest of the goals would come on counter attacks, because Everton was pushing forward. This is what Wenger’s Arsenal does best and its been too long since we’ve seen it happen.

If you go back 3 or 4 seasons, you’ll remember that the way other teams figured out how to stop Arsenal when they were in the mood was to take them out of it by being overly physical. Its part of the English game that a team can push and shove a team with superior ball skills and technique. Its looked upon as opposing “tactics”. Manchester United were the first to employ it. Sir Alex Ferguson knew he couldn’t beat the Arsenal team that had gone on a 49 game unbeaten run by just playing football and so enabled his team to muscle their way to victory. Others (to name a few, Chelsea, Bolton, and any team managed by Sam Alyrdice) have tried the same. Credit should be given to David Moyes and the team he put on the field Saturday for not doing the same. But then, its been awhile since another team needed to employ this tactic.

This should be the season where Arsene Wenger’s plan for this team shows its full potential. After the 2004 Invincibles, he began a work of building a culture and program around his style of all-around football. Now he’s got a complete and youthful team to show it. I hope he’s got a plan for controlling the ball and game when things get rough, when teams decide they have to go back to the imposing game of physical intimidation.

And, even though the flowing free-form game of old seems to be back in this squad, there are still questions to be answered about the defense. Vermaelen and Gallas did a great job as central defenders but (1) they didn’t have someone like Drogba or Rooney to contend with, and (2) neither of them are very tall and imposing themselves. Both play the role of speedy, mobile centerbacks very well, although Gallas, at his age, will probably start to wear over a long season.

In any regard, it was a magical game and was a great start to the new campaign. Champions League football against Celtic on Tuesday (2:45 pm EST, Fox Soccer Channel here in the States).

1 down, 37 to go.

Here are some notes that I jotted down while watching. The highlight reel from Youtube is below.

• Andrey Arshavin is so aware of things going on around him. He had several dummies and its hard to see how he knew that another player was behind him. I’m looking forward to some more magical moments from Arshavin. He might be my favorite current Arsenal player right now … no, that’s not true; although, he’s probably a close second to Cesc Fabregas.
• The last goal is a showcase of the young, young guns coming through at Arsenal. Sanchez Watt doesn’t give up and manages to get the ball off the endline where the defender should have been able to shepherd it out. The ball comes to Aaron Ramsey who has the foresight to not blast the ball at an impossible angle. He patiently waits and sees a running Jack Wilshere through a crowd of players. Then, he manages to dink it over everyone to the opposite side of the goal where Wilshere has the composure to place a well hit ball into the far corner. Its a thing of beauty. Watch the highlights below.
• Jack Wilshere!
• The biggest problem for Arsenal is the ability to clear the ball on corners or set pieces. The ball bounced around too much in the box and luckily Rangers didn’t jump on their chances. Hopefully, having Thomas Vermaelen in there will help to remedy those situations.