Man of the Match: Andrey Arshavin

Yes, you would think I am nuts. Clearly the man is suffering from a loss of form in front of goal. Together with his strike partner yesterday, Bendtner, they very nearly cost us the game with some very poor finishing. Both of them were guilty of squandering chances after chances in a match which we should have won easily. In the end, it took the intervention of the skipper yet again to come in and safe a FA Cup tie for Arsenal.

However, I saw a much different Arshavin compared to his woeful displays this season. No doubt he missed opportunities, but he was much more energetic and creative. His running and dribbling looked much sharper yesterday. But his most worthy contribution yesteday and deserving earning him the man of the match yesterday was when he made a last minute intervention to stop the Huddersfield striker from scoring. Had he not tracked back and made the last ditched tackle, Hunt would have scored and we would be trailing 2-1. Seriously this is the first time I have seen Arshavin so deep in our own penalty box and making the defensive save. Looking at this performance yesterday, I am optimistic that we will soon get back the real Arshavin and not the pathetic looking imposter that we have had to endure all these while. Really, with the big blow of losing Samir Nasri for at least 3 weeks, we need the Russian to go back to his best and carry the team as he did when he first joined two years ago.

Although it was much harder than expected, we made it through to the next round and will be facing another League One side in Leyton Orient. I expect more the same from the Gunners: making hard work for themselves but prevailing in the end. However, what's important now is to concentrate on the Premiership with the home game against Everton come up tomorrow.