Soon after Jose (aka The Special One) joined Chelsea, he encountered (and had to counter) ludicrous, widespread criticism that his charges were winning far too many games 1-0. He retorted to the effect that many people think they know about football, but they don't. I was forced to agreed with him and the same must surely go through Arsene's mind regularly; but he's simply too much of a gentleman to be so outspoken. That's why I'm always reticent to criticise; especially when the object has as fantastic a track record as AW.

Contributors to The Gooner website, and many other Arsenal outlets, have been highly critical of individual players and also the wider set-up, often citing lack of expenditure on superstars. When will they learn that pouring money into a situation - any situation - simply is not the answer (think the inefficient and bottomless pit that is the NHS)?

I wonder how some Gooners assess the current situation at Chelsea, where everyone is concentrating on the negative (their home form of 3-4-2) rather than their record-breaking away form (8-0-0). Clearly money is not the answer here. Some things are random and people make the mistake of trying to non-randomise (i.e. rationalise) events. But one cannot rationalise an irrationality. To attempt to do so is to provide "solutions" even more absurd than the seemingly illogical situation that one is trying to explain away. It's like being in a hole and continuing to dig. Enough.

I went to Underhill on Tuesday. The match against Pompey Reserves was in my diary long before Eduardo's return was mooted, may I add. The first 10 minutes were pretty even, and the Portsmouth number 7, Paris Cowan-Hall, caught the eye. I thought we had a real game on our hands. But as the first half progressed, Arsenal assumed almost total control. I went with a friend who is somewhat protective of his young daughters' chastity; a classic case of poacher turned gamekeeper. When one intricate move broke down due to a lack of red-shirted personnel in the Pompey penalty area, I commented that I bet he'd like that space in their bedrooms, as nobody got near the box. We guffawed.

But it really was a master class in possession football. So many players deserve a mention. I was shocked to realise after the match that the right back, Francis Coquelin, was playing out of position. He's quick, gets stuck in and I can fully understand the expectation there is for him at Arsenal. The great thing about Underhill is the intimacy. Being so close to the action is like going back in time. Ramsey did some amazing things but all our players looked comfortable on the ball. Centre back Paul Rodgers, for example, turned his every which way out of trouble with ease when his choices appeared limited. It all looked so simple.

Ramsey made more than a couple of stray passes but all can be forgiven, given the rest. In the second half, for example, and very close to us, Aaron fizzed the ball to Wilshere on the right flank. Being adjacent, it was amazing to experience the power, speed and accuracy of the pass, which Jack took in his stride, as one has already grown to expect. We shook our heads in admiration. Wilshere himself was a joy. Merida has been highly praised by Arsene, and again it's obvious why. He has a fantastic left foot but I got the impression early on that he is somewhat less comfortable on his right. Comparisons with Nigel Winterburn would be grossly unfair, however.

Portsmouth defended increasingly deeply and Paris was too busy manning pumps to provide any longer a second outlet for increasingly rare counter attacks. We faced a massed rank of blue shirts - make that two ranks. Few would probably have tipped Randall to score the eventual opening goal but he took Merida's pass with aplomb and finished clinically (think Freddie circa 2002). In injury time, the goalkeeper would have done well in the foggy conditions to even see Gibbs' ferocious shot. Fabianski had a virtually untroubled game, especially after the opening exchanges. I don't remember him kicking the ball all evening, preferring to collect errant Pompey passes and roll under-arm to one of his back four, as if giving batting practice to a three-year old nephew (do they play cricket in Poland?).

Oh, Eduardo! Yes, he looked sharp and forced a great save just before half time. Before the second half started I thought I saw Neil Banfield mouth "hamstring" and gesticulate appropriately to someone in the crowd. And so it later proved. All together a more enjoyable "matchday experience" than many we've become accustomed to at Emirates, later capped by a few pints of Timothy Taylor's Landlord, my favourite beer.