Following on from last season’s form we had the lion’s share of possession (63%) and looked comfortable against a team that lacked direction, but like preseason we lacked the cutting edge in the final 3rd and despite scoring two quality goals, we conceded a couple of really soft goals. The first goal came from an attempted clearance by Distin and then with 5 minutes remaining we conceded yet another soft goal. I just can’t understand why Howard goes to ground so early, this was picked up by pundits during the world cup. I am pretty sure opposing teams we be well aware of Howard’s inability to stay on his feet and make himself big, going down early makes the attackers decision far easier before pulling the trigger, the opposite of this is if Howard stays on his feet, the longer the attacker has to think then maybe makes the wrong decision and fires wide.

There were a few positives during the game, Lukaku managing 90 minutes, Mirallas making an appearance and Baines/ Pienaar reunited on the left and causing havoc. I was a little bit surprised that Martinez didn’t replace McGeady with Atsu, instead opting for Coleman.

Having watched Arsenal tonight, I feel quite confident that we can get our first win this Saturday, Arsenal’s defence was all over the place tonight and I can see Naismith having some real success with his timely runs in between the centre backs, hopefully creating opportunities for Lukaku to get involved.

It’s also a massive game for James McCarthy, he will need to be at his very best against Aaron Ramsey, who will be making late runs into our box and looking to get on the scoresheet. It’s looking likely Arteta won’t be playing due to injury and with Wilshere looking off the pace, we have a real opportunity to dominate the midfield and dictate the play from the start. I honestly believe that when the fixture list came out, Wenger would have been disappointed to be playing us so early in the season, with the memories still fresh in his mind following last season’s 3-0 drubbing. Early evening KO, full house and live on sky will bring the best out of the old lady, Supporters and more importantly the players, who should surely rise to the occasion like last season.

COYB