It was back to the Brazil ’70 version of Arsenal at Newcastle, a direction the team has slowly been headed in as the defensive (and often quite dull) resilience of the winter months has given way to spring. It’s thrilling and not always good for the nerves. It’s the Arsenal that play a game like that at Anfield last April which saw their exit from the Champions League. Some fantastic, exciting possession football combined with opportunities gift-wrapped for the opposition.

Where it will take the team, nobody knows. If their luck is in, then to a trophy. Ironically, the dour style of the football the team produced when European competition took a break – as they attempted to consolidate things and regain confidence through results – is probably what they require in Europe. It was effective in Rome, albeit laced with a shade of fortune. But which successful Champions League hasn’t benefitted from the rub of the green somewhere along the line? Maybe, Arsenal, with surely the weakest team seen under Wenger’s tenure, could buck the odds and surprise us all. In fairness, though, I am not sure the nerves could take much more of the kind of football witnessed at St James’s Park.

Ultimately, the best team won, and there were of course, moments of pure delight. There was also profligacy aplenty in front of the posts, the Robin van Persie’s greediness when the team were two up might be excused by some under the circumstances, but Nicklas Bendtner would be justified in feeling aggrieved when a more team-orientated striking partner could have helped him to a hat-trick. I still haven’t forgotten Spurs at home back in late September, and when Martens was presented with a chance to make it 3-2 whilst the Gunners were freely spurning chances to nab a fourth, I momentarily feared the worst. But such collapses can’t happen every time the team have a two goal lead. Hopefully the players are over the trauma of this, even if some of us watching are having trouble forgetting.

If Arsenal do manage to progress into a semi-final in Europe, they will have an interesting run of matches between now and the season’s end. It would read as follows –

Man City (H)
Villarreal (A)
Wigan (A)
Villarreal (H)
Chelsea (Wembley)
Liverpool (A)
Boro (H)
Man Utd or Porto (A)
Portsmouth (A)
Man Utd or Porto (H)
Chelsea (H)
Man Utd (A)
Stoke (H)
And for the sake of argument, let’s say they were triumphant in both semis Champions League Final (Rome)
FA Cup Final v Man Utd or Everton (Wembley)

15 matches, of which eight are in the Premier League. Ok, it’s a long shot, but if Arsenal are to have the kind of end to the season the supporters would like, they could be seeing plenty of the other ‘big four’ sides. The one thing the current campaign has established beyond doubt is that they need fear none of them, with Liverpool the only team that they have not beaten for a while away from home.

Football’s strange. Although this does appear to be a far from classic collection of Arsenal players, they have the possibility to bury a few ghosts in the event that they do win either of the Cups they are competing for. But that is how the game goes sometimes.

What is most important about the Newcastle result is the continued momentum of the team, the self-belief. Yes, the Toon defence was poor at times, but St James’s is never an easy place to win a match, whatever the table looks like. Arsenal have failed to beat several poor sides on the road this season, so three points was at no stage taken for granted. The question is whether the self-belief that has recently developed can lead to better performances in tighter games against opposition that is more of a test than a relegation zone managerless outfit.

Still, you can only beat what’s in front of you, and Arsenal eventually managed that. If it looked convincing in the end, we can only be thankful for Almunia’s penalty save before the interval. Arsenal can get 79 points by the end of the season if they win their remaining Premier League matches. Obviously they have no chance of winning the title, but their aim must be to try and sneak into third place. It would save a potentially tricky qualifier to make the group stage of the 2009/10 Champions League, an early season commitment the team could do without. It’s a huge ask in tandem with their cup ambitions, but by hook or by crook, Arsenal have put together a long unbeaten run. Long may it continue.