1-Nil to the ARSENAL!!!!!!!

And suddenly, 1st place doesn't seem quite as far away...

In dramatic fashion, Arsenal get their 1st victory of the season, a 1-Nil victory over Manchester United. Emmanual Adebayor (L) scored in the 86th minute, and GK Jens Lehmann made a spectacular save just minutes later to deny Manchester United F Ole Gunner Solskjaer, to secure all 3 points for the visitors. Arsenal, playing without their first choice strike partnership of Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie, controlled most of the game. The attacking midfield of Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky, Aleksander Hleb, and Freddie Ljungberg made this possible, as they were running at the United back four all day. Adebayor, acting as the lone striker, also worried the defense, and was unlucky not to open the scoring earlier than he did. But the result is what was important, and with our next 4 games agains Sheffield United, Watford, Charlton Athletic, and Reading (all winnable games), the climb to the top of the table isn't as steep as it was 24 hrs ago.

However, my bid for 'best weekend ever' fell short of the mark, as both the Lions and Tigers lost today.

The Lions got killed 34-7 against Chicago, and they actually killed themselves in the first quarter, as 11 penalties and 2 turnovers will do against a very good defensive team. We did manage to find the endzone, however, but consolation scores are not good enough. After playing so well last weekend, and were unlucky to lose, we took multiple steps backwards this week. All correctable, and the offense showed marked improvement, but not good enough. Here's hoping that next week vs Green Bay, we show the league (and our own fans) a better performance.

The Tigers ended up on the losing end of their finale today, losing in 10 innings to Baltimore, 12-8. Detroit had to fight back twice to tie the score, but each time, it was Baltimore who would grab the lead back. Which leads to a big series for the Tigers, against the White Sox, with Minnesota once again 1 game back in the central.

So close to the playoffs, yet so far away...