Source: Daily_Mail
Arsenal 3 Birmingham 1: Arshavin helps Wenger to avoid birthday blues
The Arsenal fans who debated on the train to the match whether their team would score four, five or six goals should have known better, given the opposition.
Even if this game had ended as another 2-2 draw, it would not have been as traumatic as the teams' last Premier League meeting when a horrific injury to Eduardo, captain William Gallas' mental meltdown and two dropped points destroyed Arsenal's 2007/08 season.
But Birmingham came within a desperate save by home goalkeeper Vito Mannone and a sublime, breakaway third goal by Andrey Arshavin of taking a point which had seemed unthinkable when Arsenal scored twice in two first-half minutes.
There was also a worrying injury to Theo Walcott, who lasted barely half an hour of his first start of the season.
And it was only after Arshavin had put the result beyond doubt, with five minutes left, that the Arsenal fans saw fit to sing manager Arsene Wenger's name ahead of his 60th birthday on Thursday.
For the sake of his own health, Wenger should blow out his candles and repeat the wish he has probably been making for several seasons - for his team to be more clinical in attack and more agricultural in defence.
Wenger said: 'We were cruising, in control, two goals. You were wondering who would score the third goal.
'The Premier League is like that. We made a mistake defensively, they got back to 2-1. In the second half we did not have the same fluency, the same control in the game, the same pace.'
Arsenal took their foot off the gas after Abou Diaby had converted Tomas Rosicky's cross to double the lead given to them moments earlier by Robin van Persie's fine finish from Alex Song's crisp pass.
Having struggled to get out of their half for much of the previous 37 minutes, Birmingham pulled a goal back when Mannone made a limp challenge for the ball with Sebastian Larsson and Lee Bowyer hooked the ball into the net.
The Birmingham fans celebrated with the fervour of people who could not believe their luck. Their team had been outplayed to such an extent that the £40million new owner Carson Yeung had promised for the January transfer window seemed likely to be woefully inadequate.
Lee 'n' easy: Lee Bowyer (right) gave Brum a lifeline
But, buoyed by the goal, Alex McLeish's team showed their battling qualities in the second half and kept themselves in the game despite the best efforts of Arsenal, who missed a number of chances, and referee Lee Probert, who wrongly ruled Larsson's interception was a backpass and awarded a free-kick in the penalty area from which Van Persie hit the bar.
Their chance came with nine minutes left. Left-back Liam Ridgewell, unfairly booed throughout for the strong but fair tackle which had injured Walcott, found himself in the penalty area and his side-footed cross was heading for substitutes Gary McSheffrey and Gary O'Connor at the far post.
But Mannone atoned for his earlier indecision by diving full length to cut the ball out - 'a game-winning save', according to Birmingham manager Alex McLeish.
'I thought we gave a spirited performance,' said McLeish. 'But we've given spirited performances at Spurs, Manchester United and now Arsenal, and come away with nothing from all three games.'
McLeish welcomes the prospect of having money to spend in January, as a means both to add technical quality to his team's other attributes and to encourage current players - he named James McFadden, Larsson and Cameron Jerome - to improve their consistency in the meantime.
'Bring it on,' said McLeish. 'It will be welcome to bring some fresh quality into the team because we certainly need it and it's a challenge to the guys here now. Those guys have got to step up, to take us further up the league until January and to cement their place in the team, because with new players there will be bigger competition.'
Arshavin settled this contest four minutes after Mannone's save, ending a move that started with the goalkeeper's throw out to Cesc Fabregas.
From end to end in two passes and less than 20 seconds: Wenger will wish his team could make everything so straightforward.
