Cesc is Back in 4-1 Bolton Win - and Koz is Tuff!

This post is going to be short as I just lost 75% of what I wrote and am not in the mood to reproduce. Ugh!
Okay - where to start after not blogging for 10 days? The Interlull did induce a Rumpelstiltskin-like affect on me. Luckily I awoke in time to see our team win against a 10-man Bolton squad who did everything to kick and apparently head butt us off the pitch. They were, at times, aided by the referee who had a good first 20 minutes and then decided that Kevin Davies would be allowed to do whatever he wanted without getting kicked off. But I digress...

The lineup was a little of a surprise with Eboue playing right back and Gibbsy in for Clichy in an attempt - I'm assuming - to save the other two starters for our champions League match on Wednesday. Jack started in place of Diaby and Tommy, Cesc, Chamakh, Shavy, and Almunia rounded out the squad.

I thought our back four were tested right off the bat but stood firm overall. We had plenty of chances from the start with Arshavin having a one-one-one thanks to Tommy, but this shot was saved. And then Koz got his first Arsenal goal. Jack executed a beautiful pass and floated it to Cesc at the far post who then tapped the ball to the penalty area right to Koz who poked it home. After 24, minutes we were up 1-0. We should have been up 2-0 with Cesc giving another gift to Shavy, who promptly put it into the side of the net. He looked frustrated at his lack of completion and his incredible number of offside’s calls. Was he trying to break Cashebayor's record? Ugh. But once again, I digress.

Koz again was the center of attention but not in a good way. He made another rookie mistake by heading a long ball from Bolton so softly that all Almunia could do was scramble to defend his post as Lee then chipped the ball that had landed at his feet to the Salamander who then scored. Remember I said last game that I was alright with Koz making mistakes as long as his learning curve was fast and our offense could outscore the opponent? Well, I still stand by that with the mid-table teams. But when it comes to the title contenders, he better shape up. I like him overall. He has great attributes which I'll discuss later.

The match saw our Captain with three assists. One to Chamakh (great header), one to the aforementioned Koz, and the other to Vela who calmly slotted the ball home sans chip. Song also got into the act with Arsenal's 1,000 goal scored under the reign of Wenger thanks to an assist from Arshavin.

Back to Koz. We left him aiding the Bolton squad with their equalizer and headed to halftime. He could have come out disheartened and put on a shameful showing, but he didn't. He continued to help mark Davies and out jump him in headers. He very nearly died beating him to one. I am not exaggerating. Koz got to a header before Davies and after the ball was away, Davies continued his jump and thumped Koz in the side of his temple with his skull. They both went down after the collision but Koz definitely got the worst of it. Everyone knows that a blow to the temple can result in serious brain injury except the elbow throwing idiot I guess. In his pre-match interview, Wenger called Davies "committed" rather than dirty. He certainly was reckless. Forget it, he was dirty. He had a horrible foul on Tommy with no card given and then promptly received a card for fouling - was it Jack? Anyway, he may not be dirty but he is 33 and while I commend him for playing with the vigor of a younger man, its clear his reactions are late so he needs to either quit the game before he seriously hurts someone, or temper his challenges.

What else? The ref was a total and complete crock. Perhaps the red card on Cahill was a bit tough, but if I were a teammate, I'd be mad at him for making such a stupid decision. Chamakh going out of bounds means you want to attack from behind with both feet cleats up? He wasn't a threat. And the crock of a ref, instead of allowing us to play on, stopped the play which meant Arshavin - who was on his way to a break away to the goal, was stopped short. Bleck.

Not so Bleck was Diaby's reaction to Robinson's challenge on him (high above the ball with studs up and no card). Diaby, when he was upright and had recovered from the blow went after Robinson and had to be held back. I don't think our boys are intimidated anymore. They have grit. Me likey.

All in all that's six points from two very physical teams. It allows one to garnish some hope. And it sends out a message to the other teams whose strategy is to foul us into submission...kick us (if you can catch us) but beware...for we are The Arsenal!

Highlights of the game are below. Have a good one Gooners