So we might’ve missed out on making the Carling Cup final earlier this week but we could be on our way to Wembley in the cup that really matters. A good performance and convincing score yesterday and we’re dreaming of the FA Cup Final once again. We played a fairly strong side, Theo started with Ade up front, we had Rosicky and Diaby on the wings and Hoyte was at right back; apart from those it was full strength.

However Wenger had to change his plans after 10 minutes when Tomas Rosicky limped off again. Theo went out wide and Eduardo was brought on. I haven’t heard much detail about his problem but he’s a doubt for Tuesday’s game. Arsene said last week he wants Theo to be a striker but he did really well yesterday when he was moved out wide; he was causing Newcastle all sorts of problems with his pace.

Kevin Keegan’s side played attacking football rather than just sitting and defending and this meant the first half was wide open with chances at both ends. It was great to watch. The visitors’ best chance was when Clichy headed off the line from a curled shot. They didn’t really have much else to shout about though, a few corners, a few shots from outside the box but nothing clinical.

We had four or five decent chances but Shay Given was on form again. The best chance was probably when Eduardo found himself one-on-one in the box, he smacked it towards the near top corner but the Irish ‘keeper put it out for a corner. Also just before the break Diaby found some space and hit a shot that was perfectly dipping under the bar but it was another good save.

Half time came, both sides could be reasonably happy with themselves and were still in the game at 0-0. However we finished the half looking more deadly and we were not up for being knocked out of two cups in a week. In the second 45 we went for the kill.

We took the lead in the 51st minute from the goal-machine Emmanuel Adebayor. As the goal went in I had my hands on my head in disbelief as Eduardo found himself in space and curled a shot against the base of the post. However Ade reacted quickest to it, took a touch, then slotted it past Given to take us 1-0 up. This guy is proving something really special for us; recently we’ve seen fantastic examples of his ball control, vision, finishing, heading and pace. He’s on course for the Golden Boot now in the league, something I would never have thought not so long ago.

The goal killed the Toon; they were on the back-foot for some time and were finding it hard to get back in the game. We looked like scoring any minute and were in complete control of the game, but at 1-0 you can never be sure.

We secured our place in the next round with 6 minutes to go when Adebayor got his second. It was a well taken goal, he skillfully passed the Newcastle defense then it was a perfect finish that this time, Given couldn’t get to. It really made me think how much trouble we could be in if Togo qualified for the African Nations Cup.

Nicky Butt added the icing on the cake with a headed own goal from Fabregas’ corner, not too dissimilar to Bendtner’s in the week. It was especially nice that it was Butt who put his side 3-0 down too.

So all in all, a good afternoon for The Arsenal. Flamini, Clichy and Adebayor were all magnificent, Senderos had a pretty solid game too. Next up we’ve got Newcastle at home again, this time in the league. I’d take another 3-0. Thanks for reading.