Arsenal 1-0 Birmingham City

In 2003-4 we knocked in 14, in 2004-5 we slotted away 22, and this year it’s just 10 goals scored in our first seven league games.

For a plethora of reasons – most of which have been gone into, some of which may not have been – we’re just not as prolific this year in front of goal, and today that was perfectly illustrated in a performance when much was done right but one thing never quite got going; namely the getting-the-ball-in-the-net bit.

We missed a penalty, hit the post and were denied on what seemed like about fifteen occasions by the excellence of the Blues’ keeper, Mr M Taylor. But would the goal come? Would it my foot. It felt like it just wasn’t to be.

In the end – and perhaps this was the only way it was ever going to happen – a subtle deflection won it, and managed to make mine (and everyone else’s) man of the match look just a bit daft (even though there was little he could do about it).

Few complaints about anything else I suppose – the sending-off was correct under the current rules, the penalty was poor, and my post-match frankfurter was tip-top (though I overdosed on English mustard again – a common and uncomfortable error).

One paper has already picked up on Henry’s comments, made in the programme notes, about how he’s not thinking about new deals right now, “at the end of the season we will talk about it”, while Wenger, in his own programme notes, points out “we want him to stay, and we will try our best to make that happen”.

That’s that sorted then.