the good, the bad, and the ugly

Arsenal were finally looking like their old selves again today, at least for most of the game. I've heard all the criticism: so many opportunities and woeful finishing, trying to walk the ball into the back of the net, looking for the "perfect" goal, etc. etc., but I will take this Arsenal over the Arsenal of late any day. The last 15 minutes or so were really nervy, what with Eboue giving the ball away every time he touched it and our back line looking typically porous and panicky, but for a good chunk of the match we were dominating possession and passing like the good old days.

Of course, we're still not quite up to the level of...um, our reserve team--the babies beat Wigan 3-0 in the Carling Cup, all we could pull off today was 1-0--but we're getting there. Slowly but surely.

The good: Adebayor's 16th minute goal; Captain Cesc's third win in a row.

The bad: Palacios' tackle on Nasri, resulting in an Eboue substitution in the 32nd.

The ugly: Eboue's subsequent performance. Also, the boos he got when he was subbed. It really makes me sad when the fans boo their own players, no matter how poorly they may have played.

The announcers likened Fàbregas to an American football player during one play where he stood at the half line and launched the ball down the field to a wonderfully positioned van Persie, which I thought was funny because they used to call Guardiola the "quarterback" for the same reason. Well not the van Persie part, but you know what I mean. I bet Cesc would be happy about the comparison.

Speaking of American football, I've got to go. ACC Championship game on now. Virginia Tech against Boston College.

Let's go Hokies.