Fight!

Going out of the Europa on Thursday was a kind of mixed blessing.

I had thought of trying to get tickets for the game but decided against it in the end because Mummy wouldn't want to go, and I did not want to leave her alone again - I do that enough when I go golfing. It was just as well I skipped the game. Not just because we lost, but because we lost on penalties.

The last time I was there for a European night game, we were playing Olympiakos in the second leg. Gabriel and Charissa were there too. That game also went to extra time and we lost on away goals. If the away goal rule was still in play, we would have gone through this time - we drew the first leg 2-2. That was a devastating loss because we thought we were through, and the Greek side scored in the last stages of the game.

This time round, it was down to penalties and that is always a bit of a crap shoot with the pressure. Martinelli was the unfortunate player to miss and that was that. We actually had more than enough chances but it was one of those days when nothing goes your way. Worse, we lost 2 players, Tomi and Salida to injuries, and also had to play those extra 30 minutes before the next game less than 3 days later. It was undoubtedly one of the worst ways to exit a cup competition given the packed schedule remaining because of the World Cup in Qatar in the winter.

But the silver lining was that we had no more distractions. Just 11 more cup finals to go. Rotation has not really worked for us this season with the possible exception of Nketiah. He really stepped up when Jesus got injured at the World Cup and it looked like our chances had taken a big hit. We have had stuttering performances each time we rotated in the Europa League or the Carabao Cup.

Then we signed Trossard.

That has got to be one of the most inspired January signings ever for any club, not just Arsenal. He scored against Brentford in just his second game - a game we should have won but were robbed by VAR that failed to spot an offside in Brentford's equaliser. Lee Mason was in charge of VAR and forgot to draw the lines...if we lose the league by a point, it would be the worst mistake/scandal in EPL history. Mason lost his job but it really is a scandal the way VAR has impacted so many games negatively. Football is not and never will be a perfectly adjudicated game, and VAR was supposed to reduce the number of wrong decisions.

Last week Trossard went and provided 3 assists... in one half! Away! Against Fulham, who admittedly weren't very good on the day but still. And to cut to the chase, he provided yet another today for Xhaka who made it unnecessarily close when a more nimble player would have scored it without fuss. Trossard has 6 assists in 5 games. Remarkable. I've always thought he was a good player, even when he was playing for Brighton. After getting White, then Trossard, and it looks like we are also keen on Mitoma, Caicedo, and maybe even World Cup winner McAlister, the club seems to be like a feeder club for us. Like Southampton used to be for Liverpool!

Today, we played Palace, who sacked Patrick Vieira a few days ago. Our beloved Patrick. And on St Patrick's Day too! So take that Palace!!! Palace set out to frustrate us and hit us on the break. True to our little recognised role as the patron saint of struggling teams needing a result, Palace created a few real dangerous moments (hitting the post in one instance) when they had not had a shot on target for 3 games before today.

There had been concerns about fatigue and the injuries disrupting our style but this was soon dispelled. Holding isn't as good as Saliba but he's not bad. Jesus didn't start but Martinelli did, which was surprising given he had played the entire game against Sporting. Then again, not starting him maybe would have felt worse as it would feel like a massive loss of confidence in him. The smart thing to do was to play him and if he was off his game, Jesus could come on and Trossard moved out wide. In any case, the decision to start him proved inspired as he scored the opening goal.

He's not the most skilful or creative player but there is something about him that makes him really lethal. This was one of those archetypal Martinelli moments. He got the ball from a Saka cross on the right, shifted the ball left and before the defender could react fast enough, he had already lashed the ball home with his left foot - and presumably his weaker foot at that.

Lots of lovely football followed, and Saka rediscovered his scoring touch with 2 goals. With wide forwards like the two of them, who needs centre forwards?

But quite apart from the flowing football, which has won over many neutrals, what I loved in this game was the fight we showed. Even if we only won by a scrappy goal, I would have been delighted with the response after Thursday. This is something a young and hungry team has over more cynical and experienced players who only play for themselves, for their paychecks.

10 more nailbiters to go. There might be more twists and turns yet. City are still in the Champions League and that could prove a distraction. We may not win it, but this season has shown how exciting the future will be. I can't wait to see who we will sign in the summer.