The weather was foul, but the football warmed the soul. The difference between yesterday’s FA Cup win over Burnley and so many other disappointing matches witnessed during this campaign was the quality of the finishing. The Carling Cup tie at Burnley could have been a similar affair if Bendtner and others had worn their shooting boots.

But Carlos Vela and Eduardo showed great skill to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead and Emmanuel Eboue re-found his party trick of putting the ball in the net when the game has become academic. One of these days he’ll score when it really matters. Still, in fairness, both he and fellow boo-boy Alex Song had decent matches against Burnley. Vela’s finish came at a critical moment. I’d just looked at the scoreboard clock and saw that 24 minutes had been played. ‘The team need a goal or there is a danger of déjà vu here,’ I thought to myself. Thankfully it came just at the right time and lifted both the crowd and the team, in spite of the rain.

That’s two wins on the trot now, albeit against sides Arsenal would not have thought twice about turning over before the stadium move and the decline in the club's ability to compete for honours. But, compared to recent weeks it is definite progress, and the return of injured players and the gradual integration of Andrey Arshavin gives hope. Additionally, Kiaran Gibbs’ performance at left back should have Gael Clichy worried. The club’s website still lists Gibbs as a reserve team player rather than a first team squad member. Are you telling me Mikael Silvestre, when fit, would do as good a job at left-back as Gibbs has been doing? Time for an update.

There were banks of empty seats at the stadium yesterday amongst the usual proliferation of odds spread all over. High up behind the goals, there were evidently a few rows of tickets the club could not shift. That the club can get 57,000 people to pay for their tickets for this kind of match is encouraging, but how many of them are season ticket holders who chose neither to ‘opt out’ of this game nor bother turning up? It should also be remembered that Burnley had a much bigger allocation than a normal away team, meaning that in theory, there were less Arsenal tickets available. So less seats to sell. I’d like to know the numbers of fans that decided not to take up their season ticket seat. Next season will be the real test. What is certain is that the team have to give fans value for money and there has been scant evidence of that far too often this season.

Arsenal looked a bit zippier yesterday afternoon, and there is no doubt that the presence of the mobile front pair made a hell of a difference in this regard. Carlos Vela is unlikely to partner Eduardo in what the manager feels is a more important game for some time, but there is no doubt he gives the team something extra compared with the – at times – more laborious approach of Adebayor and Bendtner.

Eduardo is a class apart and assuming he is match fit, realistically, the only decision Arsene Wenger needs to make is who to play alongside him. In Rome, the manager will almost certainly go with a 4-5-1, but his only hold-up forwards are the injured Adebayor and Bendtner. I suspect Van Persie will get the nod, with Eduardo playing wide left. Eboue will start ahead of Walcott and Nasri will be played in the centre alongside Denilson and Song or Diaby. Arsenal seriously need to think about an away goal, so should not go to the Olimpico with an ultra-defensive mindset. Attack is the best form of defence where Arsenal are concerned. Or at least getting in the opposition half and playing keep ball. To do that enough players with quality in possession are required. I’d be tempted to start with Walcott instead of Eboue myself. Neither are truly convincing trying to hang onto the ball, but at least Walcott will keep two Roma players busy due to his reputation. And I am certain he can buy a few fouls, some time and a couple of yellow cards for the opposition. It might mean both Song and Diaby play and Nasri or Eduardo step down. But Wenger won’t start Walcott. He will come on as a sub if the team need a goal with 25 minutes left.

As for the FA Cup, the fans are already savouring the prospect of the Gunners’ first trip to the new Wembley to face Chelsea. It’s the kind of thing that leads to defeat in the next round if the players are of that view. Hull at home is no formality, and Arsenal should not approach that match in anything other than top gear. There’s a referendum question that can be accessed from the front page of the website (scroll down on the right hand side) that asks if fans would prefer the FA Cup trophy and fifth place instead of a trophyless season and fourth spot. Arsene Wenger’s team selections in the games v Blackburn and Hull will tell us where his own priorities lie. All past evidence points to Blackburn facing a stiffer line-up than Hull. At least the manager has more players available.

Wednesday evening against Roma will tell us if the season is about to turn for the better or if West Brom and Burnley were another blip in a season of ups and downs. Have Arsenal weathered the storm (literally v Burnley, the front seats of the north end lower tier saw an evacuation to the sanctuary of the concourse during the first half!) to pull something out of this season? Hope springs eternal. Let’s keep our key players fit and see the improvement continue, not least in front of goal.

P.S. - The dugout. Arsene Wenger decided he didn't want a roof over it. I bet the subs just love that idea. We've had Kolo Toure with malaria. What price Niklas Bendtner with pneumonia?

2.30PM – postscript 2:

Received this email from Gooner and vitalfootball contributor Tim Stillman. Reads as follows –

Just read your editorial re: yesterday's game. I have to don the anorak and take issue with one sentence:

Emmanuel Eboue re-found his party trick of putting the ball in the net when the game has become academic. One of these days he'll score when it really matters.

I make Eboue's goals for Arsenal:
v. Sunderland away, League Cup in 2005 to put us 1-0 up. (We won 3-0).
v. Hamburg in the CL in 2006 to put us 2-1 ahead with three minutes to go. (we won 3-1)
v. Bolton this season to make it 1-1 at the Reebok. (we won 3-1).
Surely you were thinking of Rosicknote?

Who said never let the facts get in the way of a good story? I stand humbly corrected. I guess, somehow, it just felt that way. The memory plays strange tricks when youth becomes a distant memory, as Marcel Proust probably said at some point in 'À la recherche du temps perdu'!