Off-topic: Arsenal 1 Birmingham 1 - A lack of hunger for the goal

And to think I could have been skiing.

Instead, Jen took our three oldest kids and I stayed home to watch Arsenal slump to yet another draw. The team's form for the past month or so has been skidding. Perhaps it's a case of too many fixtures in too little time. Perhaps it's a demonstration of Arsenal's young side showing a lack of resilience.

Whatever it is, it was mighty frustrating to watch. Arsenal dominated the first half yet rarely threatened the goal. It was like the Arsenal of the past two seasons, making nice runs at the goal but lacking the shot. Even so, as the second half started I was confident Arsenal's good form would net them a few more goals.

Nope. Instead, Walcott continued to blank and give the ball away, Hleb and Fabregas failed to penetrate the defense (possibly because there was no width at all to Arsenal's play - we really need a left winger), and we gave away a goal on a corner (Arsenal's Achilles heel).

The one positive to take from the match was that Senderos actually did very well on the back line. He came forward to proactively stop the attack and rarely looked shaken. That's comforting, given Toure's long spell with the African Nations Cup.

It looked like Manchester United would also draw today, going into half. But they've quickly blistered Newcastle so they go to the top of the table with Chelsea also gaining points on Arsenal's lead. We'd better start playing better.