Frequenters of this blog will know that I get nervous before big matches. Actually, frequenters of this blog will know that I get nervous before all matches; there are no gung-ho, intrepid chest beating, let me at ‘em kind of previews in the Nicks anteroom at BigFourZa. But because of the wide range of faces Arsenal have shown against the big boys, I especially balk whenever these fixtures come along.

Frequenters of this blog will know that I get nervous before big matches. Actually, frequenters of this blog will know that I get nervous before all matches; there are no gung-ho, intrepid chest beating, let me at ‘em kind of previews in the Nicks anteroom at BigFourZa. But because of the wide range of faces Arsenal have shown against the big boys, I especially balk whenever these fixtures come along.

Arsenal fans are no strangers to consolatory victories. After contriving to exit competition after competition every season like a seasoned stack of dominos, the team turns up in spades against one daunting opponent, blows them out of the water and licks the wounds of an incompetent season with this fleeting moment of sunshine.

I felt that recently we had quite good performances but did not get the results. Today we got the performance and the result, which is ideally what you want.

- Arsene Wenger, post-match wibbling session

Arsenal's January has been like the ice-skating learning curve from hell.

With both Euro 2012 and the Olympics getting underway this summer, it is perhaps no surprise that speculation has been rife over who will make it into Fabio Capello's final squad for Poland and Ukraine, and who is in line for a call up for Stuart Pearce's Olympic Team GB squad and the Euro 2012 betting odds for one youngster in particular have just dramatically shortened.

Sunday's match turned up a lot of heroes and villains for both teams. The match itself went like most people had predicted; a close encounter that could have gone either way... that is until 75 minutes into the game, when what can only be considered a game changing event occurred. But I'll get to that later.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain

Alex made his big move to Arsenal in the summer for a massive £15million. The England U21 international has been outstanding when he has featured this season and will have a big part to play in the second half of the season. At the start of December Wenger tipped Chamberlain to make the England 2012 squad for the summer tournament which could him play more and more in the second half of the season.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain scores just 8 minutes into his Champions League debut to put the Gunner's 1-0 up against Olympiakos.

We won against Shrewsbury Town! Woooooo...*cough* *cough* erm, yeah. A 3-1 huff-puff win against League Two opposition is hardly the tonic you'd want after the League run Arsenal are having at the moment, but I'd prefer to concentrate on the ‘win' part of things for now.

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Team Selection.

After a lengthy pursuit for Southampton whizz-kid Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Arsenal have finally got their man following a deal believed to be worth £12m. The deal is believed to be £5.5m upfront with the remainder tied into performance related add ons.

Chamberlain 18 next Monday helped Southampton to promotion to the Championship last season scoring 10 goals in 40 appearances for the Saints, and is set to follow in the footsteps of former Saints winger Theo Walcott who the Gunners snatched from Southampton in 2006.

1. OTP is wondering just how many Get Out Of Jail Free last-gasp FA Cup penalty cards Arsene Wenger has up his sleeve. Cesc Fabregas' late spotkick saw the Gunners past Huddersfield just as he had earned a replay against Leeds in the previous round. 2. Saddest sight of the weekend: Michael Owen's post-match interview.