Arsenal could have won at St James’ Park last night with either Fabregas or Hleb in the team. No matter the strength of your squad certain players bring something to a side that simply cannot be replaced when they are absent.

A couple of times against Newcastle, Arsenal were breaking and a simple ball at the right moment, or the ability to wait on a run and avoid an offside decision meant that chances to create clear goalscoring opportunities were spurned. Unfortunately, Adebayor is often the worst culprit at such times, and yet the man is the leading scorer in the League so it’s hard to be over-critical.

The football Arsenal produced before Hleb was removed against Villa was rarely seen last night, and the absence of the team’s two best creative players is the reason. Such key links in the thread of passing that makes Arsenal so watchable on the good days are really noticed when they are not there. Rosicky can contribute to an extent in the snappy passing play that terrifies defences, but on his own he cannot compensate for the absentees.

Diarra looked superb in the Carling Cup game against Newcastle, but he has struggled to reproduce that form in his chances since, although he did well in the physical aspect of the match, albeit sailing a bit close to the wind once he had received a yellow card.

Arsenal got what they deserved out of the trip – an even share of the spoils. Not losing was important after the defeat in Sevilla last week. The three away League matches over a week were always going to ask questions and if the Gunners can get three points at the Riverside on Sunday against an out of sorts Boro, the seven from nine on their travels will be regarded as satisfactory given the injuries hampering the manager’s selection decisions just now. There is little doubt that Fabregas, Hleb and Van Persie would all be starting matches if fit.

Away draws at Newcastle and Liverpool. A home draw with Manchester United. There are echoes of the 2002-03 campaign. The eight points dropped so far have been on occasions when, in truth, it would have been a big ask to win every time. That is unlikely to happen at such places. So is the concept that some are starting to bandy around about going the season unbeaten. It’s happened twice in over a century, so such talk is ridiculous. What Arsenal must ensure they do is not sacrifice cheap points. Newcastle away would have been a win were the team at full strength, but under the circumstances, remaining unbeaten will do for now. The game in hand is gone, but the lead over the chasing pack has increased by a point. However, to fail to beat Boro, currently relegation contenders would be folly indeed, even without the missing stars. A win on Sunday would set the side up nicely for the visit of Chelsea the following weekend, when I am sure Wenger is hopeful that all of the injured players could be back.