A 2-0 victory against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium after two disappointing loses to Newcastle and Boro wasn't quite what most of us would have expected, but we'll all be delighted. Obviously.

Sometimes it seems to me like we allow ourselves to sink to the level of teams we'd expect to beat and turn on the style against the teams we'd expect to struggle against. Is that complacency perhaps?? It certainly shows how good we can be and exposes our consistency as a key area of improvement.

Was it just a coincidence that Petrov returned today and the team once again showed how good they can be??

MON sent most of the XI out to play in their natural positions, more or less. Did that have an influence?? (On that subject, what was up with Shorey?? He wasn't even in the squad, but earlier this morning was really looking forward to the game.)

The back four aside, MON assembled a midfield five of A. Young, Barry, Sidwell, Petrov & Milner all playing roles that suited them. And it worked. Without the big target of Carew up front the long balls were a little more limited and I actually spotted some passage of play with some impressive passing and movement.

That said, Villa only enjoyed a third of the game's possession and were out-passed by Arsenal by close to a 3 to 1 ratio. Stats can often reveal the hidden nuances of a game, they can also gloss over the true nature.

In this case I barely recognise the game I watched from the stats. I felt Villa pretty much bossed the first half. Arsenal looked slick, but apart from a couple of early warning signs from the impressive Walcott running riot on the right, they never looked to have Villa stretched at the back.

Villa, on the other hand, created some very good chances at the opposite end, but failed to finish. Young earned a penalty at a conclusion to some good build up play from the midfield. Barry was apparently unable or ineligible to take the penalty, but who was concerned about that when Ashley Young placed the ball on the spot?? I wasn't. That changed as he commenced his run up to take the shot though. Somehow he just didn't look confident and the resultant effort was poor. Just where goalkeepers want them. They guess the right way and it's an easy save. And so it was.

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among a certain section of Villa fans in the online chat. Apparently that was our chance to win the game squandered. It's academic now, but surely a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes would have lead to Villa sitting a bit deeper and Arsenal taking the initiative. I wouldn't have felt confident about heading into the break in the lead.

As it was, the stalemate continued until the 70th minute when Ashley Young's perfect delivery into the box caused Clichy to nod into his own net attempting to prevent Gabby Agbonlahor from having the same opportunity.

Ten minutes later, with a classic piece of route one football, Martin Laursen cleared his lines and hoofed the ball up field to Agbonlahor at full pace. A deft little nod on while holding off Gallas put Gabby in a great position to fire home from just inside the box. An assured finish to the near post and it was game over.

So that's it. Do we get carried away again now?? Do we expect the same when Man Utd visit Villa Park next weekend?? One thing I do expect, since we're playing one of the big boys, is a performance. I can take losing to anyone when the lads play well and, naturally, I don't mind winning when they play badly. I just can't stomach a loss when the team don't look interested in winning.