Are you all watching, Europe?

Last night was the perfect European night - and with that comes the frustrating task of writing a piece about it. Media outlets and websites are desperately fighting amongst themselves to be the first to insist that they always knew Arsenal had it in them, discreetly kicking the histrionic post-United and -Chelsea "Worst Arsenal team ever?" articles from a few weeks ago under the carpet.

But that isn't to say we can indulge in a bit of Arsenal worship for once.

Firstly, I'm glad that Bendtner has finally shown everyone what he can do. No other player in this team is capable of regularly getting themselves into poaching positions, and when he feels like putting his chances away he can really rack up goals. Yes, perhaps a hat-trick was slightly more than he deserved last night; but he is a striker and desert doesn't always count when you're playing in his position, as was shown in the Burnley game. The strange thing about the previous match was that he actually played very well and showed great anticipation - obviously this was tempered somewhat by the fact that he seemed to think the goal was somewhere near the corner flag, but he showed that what makes him different to most Arsenal forwards is his ability to get himself on the end of our passing moves.

It's a shame for Nasri not to go away with the match ball, but no one will be forgetting his goal any time soon. He's been on brilliant form lately and I think most people wanted to see him start last night; subsequently he earned his place by showing us the kind of skill that earned him the 'new Zidane' tag back in France. Despite the injury problems at the start of the season, he has really started to produce (sound familiar?) and prove to any doubters that the transfer fee was worth it.

Arshavin provided - and forgive me for the cringing cliche - several moments of magic, not least his one-man waltz through three Porto defenders before setting up Bendtner's second. Abou Diaby played a disciplined game and performed his role superbly, acting as the 'all action' midfielder after holding back wisely during the nervy early stages. Alex Song was, as always, dependable as the defenders' shield and bailed them out on two vital occasions; and Almunia actually looked fairly solid, holding onto a couple of palm-stinging shots and reacting well to grab the ball from a corner after Nasri controlled it at the far post.

I should note that we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Porto aren't exactly the best opposition we'll face this season - in fact, I would place them below most Premiership teams on the basis of their performance in both legs against us - and their defensive vulnerability made our own back five look like a thick concrete wall neatly set inside our goalmouth. Sol had a decent game but looked a bit suspect in the first few minutes of each half, while the backline was collectively guilty for a few moments of poor positioning and several rash decisions. Still, our dominance kept us out of too much trouble, and we could afford to take their attack as seriously as I could take Hulk once I realised that he is essentially Denilson on steroids.

All in all, a very encouraging display, and it was great to see our squad depth demonstrate itself as Eboue and Walcott each turned in a decent cameo. Bring on Hull, and what should be our fifth league win in a row...

Another win, another step towards our title

I think we had all expected to see Burnley leave the Emirates in the kind of disarray that has taken over the Chelsea dressing room, but we saw a typical Arsenal home game against a smaller team. We could have recorded the biggest win in league history, but we came just as close to finishing with a draw. Still, three points and a couple of goals for the goal difference - we're very much in the title race.

We were looking very comfortable on the ball, and Ramsey's injury had clearly motivated the team. Again, we finished with about two-thirds of possession and enough shots to floor Sir Alex Ferguson, and some excellent passing moves demanded to be capped with a goal. Most teams would be happy to finish a game with three goals, although most teams aren't capable of scoring ten.

Cesc's goal was absolutely brilliant, and is surely in the running for goal of the month. A wonderful chip from Nasri in what had looked like an unthreatening position, a great tacit understanding from Cesc to start a run, a wonderful finish by the Spaniard underneath Brian Jensen. As for Cesc's injury, it has come at a horrible time, but if Wenger's post-match press conference was anything to go by he has a decent chance of playing against Porto.

The Burnley goal was a strange one, in that there was almost as much fortune on Burnley's part as there was some sort of stupor upon our defence. There was a gaping chasm between Vermaelen and Silvestre - more importantly, the Frenchman didn't really show any signs of a reaction to the long ball up to David Nugent until after the subsequent kick-off had been taken - and most of our central players deserved collective blame for pushing up as one when the clearance was going straight towards the feet of an opposition player. However, had Burnley taken their chance to equalise with the scoreline at 2-1, that goal would have been far worse to concede - good authority on Almunia's part to come out to collect the corner, shocking strength on Almunia's part to be shoved aside, limply flail his wrists at the ball and leave his goal completely exposed.

Theo Walcott will have given his critics something to think about with a great performance. The winger reponded to Chris Waddle's completely unconstructive claim that he 'lacks a football brain' with some smart passes and a pinpoint cross which Bendtner should have put away, and he made up for missing out on at least two deserved assists by netting a well-taken goal on his weaker foot. I was also pleased to see him show some fighting spirit when he completely flipped at Danny Fox for an aggressive challenge with his studs showing, although his opponent did win the ball and technically it seemed legal. I'm not sure what the goal celebration was about, but I'm assuming that the fact he was pointing to an imaginary wristwatch having scored in the 60th minute was something to do with his substitution against Egypt in midweek in the 57th minute - any other theories or news on that would be most welcome.

Less than a week after I insisted with that regrettably memorable phrase 'mark my words' that, fitness allowing, this will be Nicklas Bendtner's season, to say I was disappointed with his peculiar display yesterday afternoon may be an understatement. Unmissable chance after unmissable chance, Adebayor flashback after Adebayor flashback.

But I stand by what I said. He scored in each of the three games preceding yesterday's, and he's certainly looking sharp after all that time on the sidelines. Two of those goals were quality headers, and I maintain that his aerial threat will be important for us over the next couple of months. Remember, at Bendtner's age Didier Drogba was a complete unknown in the French second tier who had only just made his first team debut - and who would lose his place to Daniel Cousin the next season. And at that age, Thierry Henry was no striker.

Three points, both Diaby and Arshavin back to fitness, and our English prodigy back on form... bring on Tuesday.

One of Wenger's greatest masterstrokes?

The treacherous Wembley turf has taken yet another victim. Well, the Wembley staircase - I returned from that ligament injury to attend the England match last night, only to aggravate it in a mad dash up ten flights of stairs to beat the anthems to my seat. Back to bed, back to demanding unreasonable favours from anyone who makes the mistake of coming over.

Theo started brightly but was fairly average overall. In fairness, service was lacking and some markedly optimistic/dreadful throughballs from his teammates were only ever going to dribble harmlessly out of play or bounce beyond his control. It could have been a different game for him had his tidy drilled cross been put away by Fat Frank when the net was beckoning irresistibly like the neon Golden Arches of a West London McDonald's. But an indifferent second half ended in Walcott's replacement by Shaun Wright-Phillips, and the Citeh winger promptly took his chance to shine. Not an awful night for Theo, not great either - but nevertheless a relief to see him get a run out and not pick up a knock.

Closer to the Arsenal training ground (which I understand is currently being re-turfed after Ryan Shawcross played in one of the England team's practice matches), and Gael Clichy has been talking about Big Sol. The left-back was full of praise for his veteran teammate, and his interview made pleasant reading.

"If I’m honest he’s been training with us for three months and I told him before he signed that I honestly believed it was the first time I’ve seen him that fit in training."

I don't think anyone would disagree with him. Sol is in tremendous shape for his age, and no one expected him to make such an emphatic return. Sure, at times his pace is lacking, but he has packed on some extra muscle and looks strong enough to carry the burden of a thousand Silvestres. Plus he seems to be a big influence in the dressing room:

"He is a big influence in the dressing room."

Signing Sol in the window could prove to be the catalyst we needed to push on this season, and he could become as inspirational in the coming months as the little imp who nicked his number last February. He has already played in two fairly big games and impressed:

"The way he played against Porto and the way he came in against Aston Villa showed that the guy is a great leader. We surely missed people like that and it’s great to have him back."

As I mentioned after the Porto and Stoke matches, when Sol signed at the end of the window I had my reservations about replacing a promising youngish centre-back with one more than ten years his senior. Evidently, something was going on in training or behind the scenes which made Wenger opt to let the Swiss go, with his standard blow-softening yet transparent aside that the door was open for Senderos to come back one day.
 
But it seems like bringing back Campbell may well be one of Wenger's greatest masterstrokes. A reliable, enormous, and - most importantly of all - successful centre-back with a huge influence on his teammates, and we brought him in on a free transfer.
 
With Gallas probably out for the next few games, we will need Sol's experience at the back to keep the defence looking solid. The home leg against Porto will be his chance to win back the plaudits he should have received at the Estádio do Dragão...