I didn't actually get to watch the game itself, though based on the descriptions I've seen about the first half I didn't miss an awful lot. Indeed, overall it would possibly be suffice to say that we ground out a result up at the JJB rather than cantered through to one.
It is strange how the season has gone for us so far, hasn't it? The result at Wigan, all things considered would be up there with our best results of the season so far. Yet, we have played far better in games this season only to draw or even lose.
Our trip to Stamford Bridge was another similar case in point. It wasn't a game where we played non-stop flowing football. It was a game where we had to dig in and attempt to compete. Were we lucky to come away with a point? Yes, we were, to a large degree. But, in the lead up to the PRF's equaliser, Cashley Cuntface was blatantly guilty of committing a foul on Hleb that everyone in the stadium saw. And, even after they had equalised, Hleb fluffed a golden chance to put us back in front, didn't he?
Moaninho came out after the game praising his team for the character they showed after conceding inside the last 15 minutes. But, having come back once, it would have been very interesting to have seen if the PRF would have been able to come back twice.
Indeed, I couldn't help but giggle at some of Moaninho's other post match comments though. He moaned about Arsenal supposedly coming to play for a draw and suggested that we were in some sort of collusion with ManUre and helping their cause.
It's safe to say without any doubt that Moaninho saw his side fail not only to do what he expected of them but also what the nation would have expected of them. He damn well knew it and sure as hell didn't like it.
In any case, what both games have shown is that there is definitely some life in the Arsenal ranks without Henry and that the numpties that like to accuse us of being a one-man team have been silenced.
It's been a good week for the more maligned members of the Arsenal squad in particular. If anyone was going to get us a goal down that Bridge, who would have thought that Flamini would be the one to do it? We all go on about Cesc and rightly so, but credit where credit is due in that Flamini has actually scored more goals than him this season in spite of the fact that he is largely a bit part player where as Cesc is not.
I've been saying for a while that the next 18 months or so are going to be crucial in assessing whether Flamini genuinely does have a long term future at the Arsenal. I would like to see him succeed because although not as talented as others at the Arsenal, the boy has plenty of heart and every successful side needs an unsung hero or two as part of the set up. Maybe, just maybe, he could round into one of those.
And then there's Manu Adebayor. The lad has copped a load of stick from many Arsenal fans almost from the moment he arrived at the Arsenal and a lot of it has been very unfair. Most of those fans conveniently forget that the boy is only 21 and nowhere near being the finished article yet. He is going to have days when he doesn't look great but there are plenty of players of a similar age, with bigger reputations than him that are not exactly setting the world alight week in, week out all over Europe.
At this moment in time, Adebayor has to fill some very big shoes what with Henry missing as we all know. But then, his outstanding display against Chelsea and his match-winning feats at Wigan were not exactly the first occasions that he has suggested that he has the potential to deputise for the captain effectively. He has put in performances this year that have been every bit as telling as any Henry has managed to conjure up and I think it's time that a few Arsenal fans out there cut him a little bit of slack.
Now, it's time for me to look forward to Saturday's game at The Grove where Portsmouth will be the visitors.
The furore surrounding Harry Redknapp when he left Pompey for Southampton and then returned to Fratton Park has long since been consigned to memory. And if the start to this season is anything to go by, the days when Pompey were actively fighting against relegation from the Premiership could also become a distant memory over the next few years as well.
Harry has certainly been as shrewd as ever in the signings that has made. And some of those signings have even been more successful than even he bargained for. And if you want an example then you can't look much further than our old boy Kanu.
I actually saw the Nigerian play in the flesh against us for West Brom at Highbury last April and the boy looked like a lost soul and a pale shadow of the player we once had on our books. Undeterred by what was an indifferent spell with the Baggies, Redknapp wasted little time in the summer acquiring his services for Pompey and the rest as they say is history.
Kanu is currently the joint top scorer in the Premiership. What odds would you have got on that down at the bookies back in August? All the plaudits must go to Redknapp here because Kanu, as well all know, is the kind of guy that is so laid back he's almost horizontal. Somehow, some way, Harry has managed to light a fire under him in order get him playing the way he has of late. He hasn't performed this well and this consistently for donkey's years.
Sol Campbell will also make a return to play his former club. I certainly think that he will get a better reception at The Grove than the one he got at Shite Hart Lane when he went there for the first time as a Pompey player! The odd man out in that respect might be Arsene, though.
I get the impression that Arsene is still a little bit sore about Campbell joining Portsmouth and apparently he again expressed his surprise that Campbell didn't go abroad today in his Friday press conference. Personally, I'm far more philosophical about the whole thing.
I'll never forget the day when I found out that Sol had signed for us. I honestly couldn't believe it but once the initial shock had sunk in, there was always a part of me that felt that he wouldn't finish his career at Arsenal. I expected him to stay for no more than three or four years and as it turned out he left us after five.
I have no hard feelings at all towards him. He left the Arsenal at the right time for me because from a mental point of view, he had the appearance of a man living in a goldfish bowl type of existence, his performances suffered because of it and in the end he had the look of a man the simply needed a move to pastures new.
It's certainly going to interesting to see how Sol and the rest of his colleagues go against us on Saturday. He has struck up quite a good understanding with Linvoy Primus and they have fairly capable full backs ion the shape of Taylor, Pamarot and Johnson (if it).
Mind you, as I suggested earlier they do have a few problems up front. Benjani, Andy Cole and LuaLua look like missing out and Kanu himself is struggling with a knee problem.
The one time I have seen Portsmouth live this year was at Shite Hart Lane when I thought they were unlucky (not for the first time may I add) to come away from the game empty handed. They were more than a match for the Tiny Totts for long periods of the game but for all the pressure they put on them, I felt that Pompey didn't really create enough chances.
For us, the question is whether we can keep the momentum going. Since the start of December, the boys have rolled their sleeves up and have met every challenge they have been faced with so far with a fair amount of resolve. Our incentive on Saturday is to try and consolidate third place. The opportunity to do that is here. We must not waste it.