Arsenal v. Cardiff City 4-0 16/Feb/09

The FA Cup fourth round match replay gave the Gunners a pass to the next round against Burnley in what will become the "Capital Punishment V." But far better was the performance by the team that outclassed the Bluebirds, but with a special delivery by Eduardo. This man may have had the worst moment of his life following Martin Taylor's horrific tackle, which kept him sidelined for nearly a year.

In February Arsenal faces one of the toughest months in the last years' calendar, among next April. Facing two FA Cup games, two Derbies, an International break and the famous match against AS Roma it appears that this month is by far the most crucial for Arsenal three-tile contending aspirations. If the Gunners manage to overcome in the three fronts certainly the future is brighter than it is now.

Regarding next week clash, AS Roma lost in a dissapointing match against Atalanta three-nil. After showing such resilience and prowess against Genoa with the same score reversed, the level of expectancy that the Italian side has raised is similar to Arsenal's . Even though I watch Italian football often, spying activities from Deviations on the Capitaline team have commenced. We will keep you informed.





The topic of the day was Eduardo's comeback. And with this setting Arsenal started to attack and by the 15th minute, the home side was confident enough, through a good Eduardo start and Vela's crossings, and five arrivals had been made to Heaton's goal. With the game flowing on one side of the pitch, the lead came through an incurssion of Mexican Vela in company with Eduardo, that headed for the lead. The emotion of the Croatian was such that his passion spilled up, and the whole stadium bent towards him. With this catharsis, the Bluebirds found themselves in the worst-case scenario, and even in 25', with the way Cardiff was playing, it was unlikely to show any signs of battle. Nasri shot at 26' was still another warning of the danger to come.
Eventually another goal arrived at 34', when Bendtner headed past the defenders, in a Nasri corner. The Welsh team did not have the grip to manage the situation, and being outnumbered and outclassed any arrivals by them would be nullified by Arsenal's solid defense. As if it where enough Bendnter missed a clear chance twice in the dying moments of the first half.





In the second period, Cardiff's futile attempts were constant, and by the 57', the visiting side second shot on goal arrived. Carlos Vela simply dazzled with his pace the Welsh defense, and in a dubious penalty kick awarded to Arsenal, Eduardo converted to give a three goal advantage to the North Londoners. Substitutions seemed evident with the game on the pocket. Quique Sacco, on ESPN's Latin Amercian broadcast, highlighted Heaton's actions, which saved Cardiff from having a broader scoreline. At 74' Amaury Bischoff entered to fortify the right side; he did enough work to be named in the squad. In the final minutes Robin van Persie widened the gap when Bendtner set him up, to finish with a thundering strike. The Dutchman could have added to his tally another number but the woodwork denied him, in the 93'.