Henry keeps his head, as Adams reigns again.

The result of last nights (Group C) encounters is that a win for Arsenal at Bayern Munich next week, will take us to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, for the first time: Thats the good news. The bad news is that Lyons surprise 3-0 pummelling of Bayern has made things significantly more difficult for us, in that both of these sides have a realistic chance of qualifying as well! Destiny is still in our own hands and a win will place us top of Group C, therefore avoiding encounters with ceded teams like Real Madrid.

However, on the basis of such profligate finishing last night, maybe managing our destiny is not such a plus for most Arsenal fans: This was yet another last minute nail-biter, a game like many this season, that could have been finished off in the first half. If only we could compliment Henrys pace with an accomplished finisher. Or better still, if only we could compliment Henrys pace with accomplished finishing. Since Henry had left his shooting boots at home it was fitting that the prolific Frenchman won the game in the 84th minute with his head. It was Arsenals 15th corner of the game, curved in by the impressive Ashley Cole. Somehow Henry rose 2 feet above his marker to (gently) head it in. Henry looked as surprised as the crowd was that he converted with his head celebrating by slapping his forehead in disbelief.

Forgetting poor marksmanship for the moment, this was a very good team performance, which overshadowed the side described by Wenger as "the best we have played since the start of the season". Adams worked his magic at the back transforming Grimandi into an accomplished centre-back and the rest into a cohesive unit that worked for each other - a far cry from the shambles on display at Old Trafford in February. Viera and Lauren dominated the centre of the park, robbing Spartak of possession time and time again. Pires and Ljungberg equally industrious, with some clever play, troubled the Russians on the flanks throughout the game as well.

The introduction of KANU and Wiltord in the last 20 minutes provided the impetus and added pressure required and Spartak visibly buckled under an increasing number of attacks. Wiltord almost converted a chance from nothing himself with some fast footwork inside the area. Unfortunately his effort drifted just wide of Filimonovs upright. Everyone sensed that it was only a matter of time before one of our efforts went in, but no one expected it to come from Henrys head, to redeem him. But they all count.

A team performance like this, with Adams in the side, is good enough to overhaul Bayern Munich next week. The one additional ingredient required will be Henrys ability to capitalise on a reduced number of opportunities, as Bayern will also be fighting for their European lives!

ARSENAL: SEAMAN, DIXON, ADAMS, GRIMANDI, COLE, LJUNGBERG, VIEIRA, LAUREN, PIRES (WILTORD), BERGKAMP (KANU) AND HENRY
SPARTAK: FILIMONOV, KOVTUN, TCHUISSE, BARANOV, BULATOV, IRISMETOV 6, KALYNYCHENKO, PARFENOV, MITRESKI, ROBSON AND TITOV (PISAREV)