Fabiaski Doesn't Fumble as Partizan Falls Plus...I've Decided I Don't Like Jamie Redknapp

I guess I can't call him Fumbling...at least not until next time. I'm not trying to be pessimistic. That's not my nature really - I just want to be realistic. Fabianski had an error free night last night laced with saving a penalty and a late attempt on goal by the opponent. There's a good chance for him to be in goal against Chelsea if Almunia is still out due to his elbow injury. If Fabianski handles that game without major errors then I will truly drop the Fumbling from my collection of nicknames for him. I will also drop Flapping, Flaptrapski, and some other not so nice ones. He'll become Lucky Lukasz. How's that?

Unfortunately we were not error less overall last night. We played a decent match, should have been up 3-1 in first half alone but their goalie was having a nice night. Our first big error came when Denilson was called for a handball in their penalty area. I have to agree with the call after seeing the replay. He had plenty of time to get his arm down before receiving the ball with his chest. I don't know what he was thinking but his lack of focus was evident (Denilson had a great passing night though as - according to Orbinho on Twitter - he had 94% completion rate of his 98 passes.)

Our other error came when Gibbsy got skinned and took down Ivan Stevanovic. Parkiztan were awarded the penalty which at that time would have put us 3-2 with at least six minutes left. Too close for comfort, right? That's when Lukasz saved the penalty, let out a roar of self satisfaction - and relief I think - before getting a thank you hug from Gibbs. Minutes late he made an even more acrobatic save from an attack from Ivica Iliev which I think was icing on the cake for him.

Overall, Fabianski's performance added to a good overall performance from the "offensive" end. Our midfield and front men worked hard as well. Whatever potion Andrey is taking I hope he ingests as well on Sunday as he was a working dynamo on the pitch. Tommy and Jack were creative (we all love Jack's back heel to Andrey for the first goal), and only a great save by Parkiztan's keeper kept out Tommy's first goal of the season. I feel for the guy, I do. He has become a great part of the midfield this year intricately creating and making beautiful passes. He really needs a goal. I think that will seal his confidence.

Song...Song scoring his goal against Bolton has possibly distracted him from his primary duties which are to protect the back four. Clog up the midfield and try to keep the opponents in our half of the field. Pass safely and don't commit forward in case of counterattacks. He seems off track to me. Especially his passing. Could he think he has no competition for his place? When Cesc gets back, Jack can take over those duties. Denilson can fill in. When Aaron gets back, he can take that spot as well. I truly hope that someone is giving him a talking to. He's been a bit of a liability the past few matches.

That's about it as far as the match goes. Onto Jamie Redknapp. I never heard of him (being a Yank) until I perused the Skysports site and read an article by him. I figured out he's Twitchy's boy (as he refernced "Dad" several times in the article), and I also figured out that he's not much of a writer. No big deal. But then I caught, through watching some one's YouTube highlights, his prematch commentary. There were a panel of three assessing why Arsene gets so much "stick" from the fans. Jamie responded by stating that he doesn't really have a problem with Arsene apart from him not having "enough English players". He did say he loves Jack Wilshere whom he recognized as having a great future for England. See, here one can tell Twitchy Jr. lacks intelligence and is quoting a party line. Arsene has stated that the EPL has great English players and would like to buy more...but they are too expensive. So he goes abroad, buys cheap, develops the players into world renown talent, and sells high. Jamie also neglected to reflect on the fact that Arsenal now has three times the amount of "Engish" players as last season. We only really had Theo last year. Now add Jack, Gibbs, Landsbury and Aaron (Welsh but a U.K. -er) can be counted when he returns in November. Our Academy is stock full of English talent that will be attempting to push for first team football. We will be turning out more technically gifted English players in the next decade than anyone else. Plus, I looked up Jamie's playing record and wasn't that impressed. Yes, he played EPL ball but only achieved one year of silverware and was out injured often. He doesn't seem to have the playing pedigree that many of the British pundits have. I think his pedigree is his last name. Anyway, he just rubbed me the wrong way and so I had to say something, that's all. Let me know your opinion of Jamie by leaving a comment.

Well - that's it for today . I'll be back after Wenger's pre-game interview to assess the possible starters (fingers crossed for Cesc) and our chances against Drogba and Company. Until then...