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Leyton Orient’s last minute equaliser had originally given Arsene Wenger a fixture headache but after the Carling Cup debacle, it proved to be the perfect tonic. 

Tomas Rosicky was the only player to start last Sunday and on Wednesday so the rest of the team were fresh and ready to prove to the fans that our season hasn’t taken a premature nosedive. It took only seven minutes for the out of form Marouanne Chamakh to open the scoring with a tidy finish from Rosicky’s pull back. The Moroccan has taken a back seat in the last couple of months following his promising autumn but he still has the quality to stretch defences and give our other players space to attack.

Niklas Bendtner doubled our lead in the 30^th minute with an extremely well placed effort into the far corner. The big Dane then went on to cement his claim to be our no.1 striker in van Persie’s absence with a well-placed header from Clichy’s cross before confidently belting home a penalty after Gibbs was fouled in the area. Bendtner often excels against lesser opposition but we will need him to pounce on any chances he gets next week at the Nou Camp.

Gael Clichy wrapped up the win in the 75^th minute with a surprisingly emphatic strike into the far corner from Emmanuel Eboue’s cross. Man Utd stand between us and another trip to Wembley but we have two vital games before then. Tuesday sees us try to avoid defeat at the home of Barcelona but before then we have the chance to put ourselves in a very strong position in the league.

Following Man Utd’s defeat in the week, the destination of the Premiership title is now in our hands. We will be without Song, Fabregas, van Persie and Walcott at home to Sunderland but in their absence Wilshere, Arshavin and Nasri will be determined to put the Carling Cup behind us and re-ignite our season to put us just a point behind the league leaders. 

Photo: Action Images

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