Someone please explain this to me, when Chelsea scored what Drogba admitted was a cross to win their opening game of the season they were hailed as a great team for winning when not playing at their best. When United scrape through a 1-0 win against Besiktas the same applied. Playing poorly and coming back from 2 goals down to win in Belgium however doesn’t put Arsenal in the company of great teams.

Eduardo left to rue is attempt at fancy football

Going down 2-0 within the 1st 5 minutes is either bad luck or lack of concentration and I’d go with the latter, there was no reason for Eduardo’s heeled attempt at a pass and to compound it no one thought it prudent to close down the attacker (Mangala). Diaby could have done the job but somehow thought it a better idea to mark the space on his left —where that boy’s head is? I don’t know.

There is no question about it, our play was atrocious misplaced passes, bad marking, poor tackle and a complete bastardisation of the term free kick. Cesc was the poorest of the lot, nowhere close to what we expect from the captain and up until the second goal seemed intent on wasting every freekick.

So we were a shadow of our usual standards and letting in two goals looks bad, but the truth is most of us were confident of a comeback. Teams like Standard Liege are just not good enough. Losing those goals so early meant that we had enough time to score the 3 goals needed to win. It was just a matter of keeping our heads in the game, and once Bendtner scored that crucial goal just before the half you knew we’d go on to do the job.

That Vito Mannone had nothing to do was a testament to how much of the ball we had, with 10 men behind the ball Liege made it a chore for us and the lack of movement by some of our players made it even more difficult. The effect of our overwhelming possession would eventually be manifested in the weariness of the opposition and the last 15 minutes showed just that.

This game can only be seen as a boost for the team, who have suffered two defeats after outplaying the opponents. It’s much easier to believe that you can win from a losing position, or you can win when not at your best, when you’ve already proved it. I have the feeling that some on the team needed a game like this.

I can’t go out without mentioning something that’s been bugging me for a while. What is wrong with Clichy? I know he’s saved us from 2 goals last night, but recently he has put is in difficulty far too often. It could be that he lacks the discipline to play the current formation, or that he’s just having a slow start to the season, but his performances have been at the least worrying. He has been well known for reading a pass and nipping in just in time to intercept, but when he gets the timing wrong it can be disastrous and lately he has been getting the timing wrong. You need to sort it out Gael.