Rest in Peace Sir Bobby, Daniel Jarque (and Everton?)

EVERTON 1-6 ARSENAL
Saturday August 15, 2009
Goodison Park, Merseyside

Fabregas (Jarque's fellow footballer) and Emmanuel Eboue (Jarque's best friend for life) pay tribute to the late Espanyol skipper

We witnessed the tribute to a legend (Sir Bobby) before the match, one to a promising young leader (Daniel Jarque whose life was cruelly snatched away) during the match. And in truth, we should have paid tribute to the opposition after the match. They were brutally murdered.

On a serious note (hey, the final statement up there was no exaggeration though) spare some thought for the Everton players. We are talking of a quality side with the likes of Cahill, monster Fellaini (whose hair would really account for half his height), Pienaar, Osman plus also Champions League and multiple-time league winner Phil Neville. I am guessing it just wasn't their day. Knowing the Toffees very well over the seasons, I know they are more than capable of grinding out 2-0 or even 3-0 victories over the top sides in the league. Something must have gone astray with their plans. Whether it was about Everton being all uneasy over Mark Hughes' doggedness to lure Lescott to Citeh , whether it was down to their missing giant at the back (Jagielka) or their attacking options (Arteta, Yakubu, Anichebe) or whether it was simply a case of Arsenal being way too rampant is still unclear. But its a little too late to delve into that.

Having paid my respects to Everton FC, I think its time I start applauding the Gunners here. The pre-season was all about pundits writing Arsenal off (don't get me wrong, they could still be right) and in the more immediate future insisting that Arsenal didn't have a rat butt of a chance in their opening few games (comprising of Herculean trips to Goodison Park, Glasgow, Old Trafford and City of Manchester Stadium). Arsenal have cleared the first hurdle quite convincingly.

What I could gather from the first few minutes was that the Gunners were still looking shaky and a tad bit rusty (especially Arshavin who was struggling to run past defenders with ease, which he usually does so well) and their passing rhythm just wasn't there. In spite of all these constraints, I could still see a self-actualized Bendtner. The lad probably played his best Arsenal game last night. And even though he wasn't among the goals or the assists, much credit should go to him for his industrious play last night. I wonder if Bendy's performance had anything to do with him having seen a screamer scored by a certain player at Ewood Park only a couple of hours before kick off at Merseyside. Yes. Thanks a ton, Ade!

We had to wait for over fifteen minutes to see crisp passes being sprayed around by Arsenal after which we saw a temporary spell of Everton domination.

And then ECSTASY. Denilson's goal (not surprisingly inspired by Saint Nicklas' brilliant play down the right wing) came from nowhere really. A screamer. The Brazilian wonderkid has always been an enigma to me. He started the last season really well and faded off midway when injuries took their toll on other squad players. Once the ball flew into the net, I knew that Arsenal would get their confidence back. But I would never have bet in a million years for their second and third goals to come from set-pieces. Vermaelen seems to be a major attacking threat from corners and free-kicks. Not just his attacking prowess, even his defensive stance really dazzled me (and his fellow players too, I am sure). It was really amusing to watch an all-Belgian battle brewing with the former Ajax captain jumping all over Fellaini's back. In truth, I wouldn't expect more from Vermaelen there. Come on, for god's sake, that's Fellaini.

It was evident that the second half of the game would be more of a stroll. And a stroll in the park it was. I was delighted to see the Arsenal captain score two of the finest before he left the field- a well-deserved breather before his venture out on Tuesday in Glasgow. It was not Cesc's goals that stood out. Both were Cesc-esque (hey, that rhymes). No element of surprise there. It was the tribute he paid to the late Espanyol centre back Daniel Jarque by holding up a jersey bearing the late Spaniard's number (21) which would have moved many a person. (but hold on, what the hell was Eboue doing there, holding the shirt too?! He seems to be the first Arsenal player to run to the goal-scorer and celebrate the exact same way the scorer does. Talk of adaptability. He is at least adaptable there, thank God for that)

Fabregas also seems to be an extremely level-headed person. "Well we wanted to win, for us this is a good start but let's face it we are not going to win 6-1 every day. Its just one game, we won 6-1, one day they beat us 3-0, football is like that", he explains in the post match press conference. He is also one who never looks back. I'm not so sure if he was indirectly taking digs at Adebayor and Toure when he said, "They clearly had their problems with Arsenal. It was best they left us because we want only committed players who feel the sense of belongingness and togetherness." Haha. He sure is one hell of a captain too! (I'd love to see the quotes Andrey comes up with, if he is entrusted with the captain's armband, but no thanks, I'll stick with things the way they are)

This post just wouldn't be complete without the panegyrist in me being unleashed to commend Eduardo Da Silva for his brave recovery and his well deserved goal. (Sigh, how I wish Rosicky broke a leg too) The Crozilian is one of the few people out there on this big blue marble who has managed to get me on the verge of tears not once, not twice but THRICE (at the time of his injury, his comeback match and now his comeback in the Premiership after over 18 months) A truly remarkable success story. If I try to write anything more about the grittiness and insatiable hunger of the legend (I think he already is one, in my opinion, and even if not for his football, at least for his attitude) I'm sure there is going to be some salty discharge from my eyes. So I digress.

On the whole, this was the perfect start to the season. 6-0, for some reason would have put me in a state of euphoria, but I'll take a 6-1. As one of my fellow Gooners had rightly said on facebook, the goal Arsenal conceded had more of an 'Indha, vechuko' (here, take one goal, bud. That's alright. Poor you's) attitude written all over it. Hopefully we get that attitude out too. Sometimes being nice is not all that good. These are still early early times. 37 more fantabulous rounds of football left. Only at the end of that am I willing to let all my emotions out. (be it anger, anguish, ecstasy, surprise/shock)

Before I end this post, I'd like to touch upon just a couple of things. FIRST, Alexandre Song, no matter how we crucify the dude for his inability to play forward passes and the minor tremble we can see in him whenever he is on the ball or for that matter even his clumsy fouls and touches- he is our rock this season. Improving game after game. Let us face it. He had an outstanding game last night and one must have wondered, did Cahill and Neville run off the field after the first minute or so? Well, they most certainly must have, after the final whistle.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I can't help but fall off my chair while writing this. Eboue taking corners?! God, what is the world coming to? That was quite a sight.

The Gunners didn't just chew on the Toffees last night, but swallowed them. And when you swallow something, you generally don't get the taste like you do when you bite and chew. So I am praying Arsenal did not get the sweet taste of victory, which can often lead to the complacency factor creeping in. They should really consider this as a means to the end and not the end itself. The end is far far away.

Parkhead beckons now. Definitely a tougher game on the cards.

'Til then.