If we draw with PSV, and Pana beat Rosenborg, then we could still beat Rosenborg and go out if Pana beat PSV was the general feeling amongst the crowd. The atmosphere was helped last night by the very vocal Greek following but you could feel the tension amongst the Arsenal. There was a feeling of doom even before they were awarded a penalty; everyone seemed to feel that we would not hold onto the lead and that a second goal was needed to kill the game off. The groans of discontent as Cygan's OG went in summed up the night. So it's onto PSV in three weeks for another nail biting night.

The night was not a complete disaster as I took Joanna for her birthday treat to the best little Italian restaurant near the ground - the San Danielli on Blackstock Road. We were joined for dinner after the game by Patrick Vieira, Liam Brady, David Dean and Nick Hornby, well when I say we were joined for dinner they just happened to be in the same restaurant but who was counting the forty or so people who were also there. This is a great restaurant to go to after a game, because you are guaranteed to see faces, the only problem is its normally booked months in advance but sometimes it helps to be friends with the owner. We have had some fantastic nights there in the past after European wins but I am afraid to say last night was not one of them.

Southampton
The sun shone on this the last match before the clocks went back and the general consensus is that now is when the season really starts. The first two and a half months are looked on as an appetizer but once the clocks go back and we go to games in semi-darkness it becomes the main course. The feeling was that this game was a "gimmi", all we had to do was turn up and Southampton would roll over and die, the trouble was no one had told The Saints this. They were 16/1 to win this game and the way they played you would have thought they had put a few quid on themselves. It never ceases to amaze me with teams like Southampton and Spu*s who play crap every week but when they come up against us they find an extra gear. If I was one of their fans I would feel cheated that they didn't play like that every week. The simple fact is the team had an off day as did the crowd, which reverted back to type as the "Highbury Library".

The other thing that I can't stand is people booing the team; we are not going to win every game 4-0 and these so-called fans have to accept that teams will take points off us; heaven knows what they would be like if we lost. They should have sat through some of the rubbish we had to endure under Graham, Howe and Neil to appreciate the gourmet football we are being served now.

Another question: why do people leave games early? When the Saints second goal went in there seemed to be a mass exodus. These people always say they are leaving early to avoid the traffic. I have this image of them going to restaurants and leaving before the desert trolley comes so they can avoid the rush. This reminds me of the time my mate Metin went to a League cup tie a few years back when we played Birmingham at Highbury. With the score tied at 1-1 Met left, thinking the game was going to a replay. When he got home his wife asked if it was a good game to which he replied is was a 1-1 draw. She said that his face was a picture when she told him it went into extra time and we had won 4-1. So to all those who left early on Saturday, we drew 2-2 by the way.

I Heard It Through The Grape Vine
Edu chinned Van Horse during the food fight.

Life After Arsenal
Gilles Grimandi left Arsenal after our double win in 2002 and ended up stateside playing for Colorado Rapids, but after a few months returned to France and took up an administrative post at French second division side Valence. He also works for Arsenal as a France-based scout.

Spotted Out and About
Ashley Cole & Jermaine Pennant at Eros nightclub on the A10 near Enfield.

Players We Have Been Linked With This Week
Diego Capel (Savilla) Spanish midfielder
Francesco Toldo (Inter) Italian keeper
Stav Kyprianides (Aris) Greek full back
Zoltan Stieber (Ujpest) 15-year-old Hungarian
Adrian Mutu (?) Unemployed Romanian white-liner

Useless Arsenal Trivia
The Arsenal Director Ken Friar has Silver Cloud granite on his kitchen worktops

This Weeks Celebrity Gooner
Prince Harry, third in line to the crown and royal scraper.

This weeks "Totally Irrelevant" link to Arsenal
Anders Limpar has a bar in a railway station in Sweden called "Limp's"

All the best,
Teabag