By Boris Mellor
January 8 2005

The Coalman’s (yes I know I am spelling it wrong Fulham Fans) cunning plan of training all week on set pieces came unstuck. Rather than banking on tripping up Arsenal’s defence, maybe he should have concentrated on his own defenders failings. After all they have conceded ten more than the Gunners.

So rather than see Arsenal drop briquettes it was more a case of nutty slack at the back, as the Coalman’s plan failed to deliver.

Henry scored another great goal and equalled the number of league goals that Ian Wright scored between 91/2 – 97/98. Henry’s 128 league goals have been achieved over the slightly shorter period of 99/00 – 04/05. He only needs 14 goals from all competitions to become the all time greatest scorer for Arsenal. It is clear that he will now set a new and glorious record for the Arsenal. How he did not win the FIFA first place is beyond me.

Arsenal played well today – but the wait for a second goal made some feel rather nervous, especially after Fulham’s last gasp dramatic equaliser against Manure. Once again Van de Saar kept a lot of shots out, but with Freddy playing at his best, and Pires finishing (whatever the criticisms of his current form) immaculate, the game was beyond Fulham’s reach with 18 minutes to go. The team was able to rest on the hoof ready for the long haul to Newcastle on Wednesday.

So the "crisis" is well and truly over, some critics have suggested that performances against Pompey and Fulham are not top drawer. But whatever the assessment we have got six out of six points from these two games, last year we only got 2 out of six points from the same two fixtures, so that will do nicely. It is also two clean sheets in a row; the dividend gained from arial bombardment by our opponents is becoming less and less. In particular Campbell and Vieira are becoming more effective at headed clearances. Almunia also seems to have a calming effect on the back four.

Arsenal Minus

A friend has asked me to raise the issue of the Arsenal Plus commentary – today in particular the correspondent was busy reading out emails as key attacking moves built up. Pires’s goal was greeted with Pires! Pires! Pires! And it was ages before it was confirmed that a goal had actually been scored (its not television mate). Another problem is the five-minute delay in broadcasting, so the broadcast starts five minutes after the game has actually started – are they in a different time zone?