I must say that I really enjoyed the game on Tuesday night. Up until RVP scored I thought it would be two points dropped but to be fair their keeper kept it from being a cricket score. The main thing was in the end we won the game, no matter how late in the day we left it.

We huffed and puffed and eventually their defence caved in. We didn’t lack creativity or sharpness as Wenger likes to put it, and all this without Nasri, Walcott, Bendtner et all. The main thing was that the players didn’t get too frustrated. Mannone was a virtual spectator and it’s yet another clean sheet for the youngster. His performance at Fulham last Saturday was one of the best pieces of goalkeeping I’ve seen in a long time from an Arsenal keeper. Is Almunia really suffering from a chest infection? I think not. It will be hard for Wenger to leave Mannone out but if Almunia keeps going the way he was before he was out then it won’t be too long before we see Mannone between the sticks again.

It’s nice to see that yet again we make record annual profits and that matchday revenue has risen again. There is no excuse for not going on a shopping spree both in January and next summer. Wenger said before that he does not believe in the January transfer window but he bought Arshavin in the most recent one and its paid dividends. It shows that if the right player is available at the right price, Wenger will buy. He made a valid point in his pre-match press conference that if he did buy new players, then it would not be fair on the youngsters coming through, which is true but the squad needs three old heads maximum and the kids are adequate cover.

I hate to draw comparisons but if you look at Manure, some of the players in reserve they have to call on are John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Anderson. Ok, they may not be certain starters but they have shown that they can do a decent covering job for a short period. In the past we had Vivas, Grimandi, Luznhy, Flamini and Wiltord - who did a great job covering Pires while he was out. We don’t have that luxury at the moment.

We’re going to lose Alex Song and Eboue for January and though we wont miss the latter, there isn’t another player in the current squad that can cover Song for that period. Yes we have Wilshire and Ramsey but they don’t have the stamina that Song has. Rosicky is too lightweight, Diaby too inconsistent and what shape will Denilson be in after his injury? Or for that matter, Nasri.

January's fixtures look quite tough. The start of the FA Cup, a home game with Everton then trips to Bolton and Villa followed by Manure at home. Then at the start of February, Chelsea and Liverpool. For me these games will define our season regarding the title challenge. If we can come out of December and January relatively unscathed, sign a couple players - even if it means loan signings (Flamini, Vieira anyone?) - and we stay in touch with whoever is in the lead, then I think we have a good chance of at least second or third place.