Clinical finish seals crucial victory.

Once again hope returned to the Grove as our tenacious team ground out three points from a dire spectacle. It proved that football does not have to be a technical masterpiece to be enthralling though, as Arsenal fans desperately pushed the team forward.

The clamour for silverware has stepped up another notch this season and the atmosphere was frantic, particularly in the second half as it became apparent that Liverpool were there for the taking, no matter how jaded our players were. Winning the league this season would be ridiculous given the chasm that has been apparent between us and the current top two in our head to heads, but it is still a possibility.

We have been very good at beating lesser teams this campaign and that is all we face for the rest of the season. Wenger’s reluctance to adapt his tactics to suit the opposition is not a problem until we face Europe’s top sides. Liverpool did not have the quality to hit us on the counter, Ngog allowing Gallas to make a magnificent tackle in one of their rare attacks, but Man Utd and Chelsea have proved that we are vulnerable to it if players like Rooney and Drogba are involved. However, for the rest of our league fixtures it is not something to be concerned about and that is exciting.

Bendtner and Diaby proved the importance of having some physical power last night as they both used their strength in the rare moments of quality that led to the goal. Diaby is a dominant force in the central area and made Gerrard look average, leading him to resort to blatant diving again at the end of the game.

Bendtner didn’t have the best game and can look ungainly but he occupies defenders, providing space, which Rosicky exploited to swing the ball straight on to Diaby’s leaping head. Nasri and Arshavin were forced off with injuries but we have a week to regroup now before launching a full on assault for the rest of the season. If we can keep the right blend of players fit, we still have a fighting chance.

Photo: Action Images

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