That’s it then. Arsenal have officially turned the corner. In the same way that Eduardo’s injury, Stuart Parnaby’s dive and William Gallas’s teary outburst reflected the collapse of their 2007-08 title challenge, so Ramsey’s injury, Danny Pugh’s waving arms and Cesc Fabregas’s penalty will reflect Arsenal’s glorious rampage to the title. Yet despite the significance of the result in terms of getting Arsenal back into the title race, is there really enough to suggest that Arsenal have turned the corner, other than the obvious historical overtones to the result?

On the surface, it certainly seems that they have. As Aaron Ramsey was carried off the field, it seemed that Arsenal’s title hopes were being carried away with him – not as such due to the Welshman’s impact on the pitch, but to the effect that seeing another broken leg would have on this ‘notoriously brittle’ Arsenal team, who were obviously going to collapse in a heap against a physical Stoke side, at the Britannia where they never lose, in a decade in which they had never lost: the ghost of St Andrews was rearing its head in an eerily similar way… but this time Arsenal didn’t crack. Instead of collapsing as the game meandered along, they dusted themselves down and went for Stoke head on, tackle for tackle in what was surely a must win game. As the clock ticked over 90, just before Stoke cleared it upfield and Sol Campbell gave away a stupid last minute penalty… Danny Pugh stuck out his paws and the penalty was given… to Arsenal. Cesc Fabregas was never going to miss, and he didn’t – low, in the corner, Arsenal take the lead. As Thomas Vermaelan tapped in a third, Arsenal fans and players, instead of smiling and cheering, were growling and shouting – scars had been healed, surely now was the time for Arsenal to grow a pair… and they did. It is understandable for fans and players to be swept along the narrative saying ‘This was the game where Arsenal grew up’.

Understandable, but premature. Whilst the mental effects of Ramsey’s injury were damaging for Arsenal, surely they were also damaging for Stoke – it can be argued that while Arsenal’s players had lessons to learn from previous, similar episodes (like the aforementioned events at St Andrews), Stoke would be inexperienced at having to recover from seeing such a serious injury in such an important game. Moreover, while Arsenal could pass the ball around as they recovered from those events, Stoke had to chase – Stoke’s ten men had to chase down Arsenal’s shadows, no doubt fearful of a similar tackle causing a similar injury. As many of Stoke’s chief threats: energy, physicality and the crowd were all drained from them, Arsenal could pass around them with impunity – and even doing that they struggled to break down Stoke’s determined rearguard. In the same way that Arsenal dominated That Game At St Andrews after Taylor’s dismissal – McFadden’s goals both came completely against the run of play – so they dominated this time, only with arguably less incisiveness. While Theo Walcott’s magnificent performance, the refereeing howler and Arsenal’s largely remarkable composure at St Andrews has been overshadowed by the narrative history, so it may be that Arsenal’s inability to create chances against 10 men, and Stoke’s remarkable ability to organise themselves a man down will be forgotten if Arsenal go on to win the league.

Whilst it is tempting to conclude that Arsenal’s result at the Britannia was a sign of a New, Mature Arsenal, it would be wrong, as ultimately the only difference between now and That Game At St Andrews is that while a dodgy penalty decision went against Arsenal on that day, a fortunate one went for them on Saturday. In the same way that the Lion in the Wizard of Oz had courage all along, so Arsenal’s cubs were always as courageous as they are now. A subsequent league triumph would be down to a consistently good campaign waged by an already spirited team, rather than a corner being turned at the Britannia.

In the Jewish faith, the act of becoming a man at thirteen is a huge step. Standing before your family, friends, and the community as a whole, you are recognized as a full member of the community. For me as a Jew, that is the moment that I became a man. For most of you, you can probably remember the moment that you became a man. Whether it was your first car, your first apartment or house, or your first kiss, that moment sticks out clear as day. For those of us who consider ourselves to be Gooners, we have found that moment.

As Arsenal battled the first hour against Stoke on Saturday evening UK time, our steady dominance was overshadowed by a horrible incident happening to one of our most promising young players. While Ryan Shawcross went sliding at Aaron Ramsey, the look on Thomas Vermaelen’s face said it all. We have seen this before. Arsenal gaining in confidence, the league title in sight, overwhelmed by a horrifying injury. But when it appeared that the season was about to fade away, another disappointing game in a teasing, disappointing season, I saw something that I hadn’t seen in years out of the Arsenal.

Gael Clichy, having his best game in months, was trying to rally his teammates. Sol Campbell, the old legend, was slapping his teammates on the back, yelling “let’s go!” at them. And then there was Cesc. Even though the game restarted slowly after the injury, it was clear that Arsenal were not going to let Stoke get the best of them. They were going to attack, and solve the hex that was Stoke. Responsible for two crucial goals and his signal to Tony Pulis were clear as day, it was clear who was in charge today. Cesc Fabregas, for whatever his faults at times, is consistently the best player for Arsenal. Should we win the league, he should be the player of the year. Now, while I am done marveling in how this team grew up today, you probably want me to comment on the biggest story of the day: the injury to Aaron Ramsey.

Here is my question about this injury. How is it that the FA allows these things to continue? The way the FA currently operates, there is no downside to attempting to injure players. In the long run, the loss of a Ryan Shawcross or Martin Taylor for three games will not be much as compared to the complete decimation of someone’s career. There is a simple way to stop these tackles from occurring.

• First, when one of these injuries occur, the player who commits the injury should be suspended for as long as the injured player is out. Not just from the Premier League, but from all competitions.

• During this time, half of the offending players wages should be donated to charity.

• The club of the offending player should pay the entire medical bill for the injured player.

Only when you have severe financial sanctions for nasty challenges like this one will clubs like Stoke and Birmingham City think twice about trying to kick us around. As long as the FA allows teams to do this, bright young talents like Ramsey will continue to get injured.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Arsenal grew up tonight. When it would have been easy to fold and let the season end with a whimper, Arsenal have found that they no longer have a team of boys. Tonight in Stoke-on-Trent, as the remaining Arsenal players huddled together on the pitch, it was clear that Arsene Wenger’s boys have finally become men.

**Video removed per the request of Premier League**

Anyone watching the Stoke City against Arsenal game on Saturday would have been absolutely sickened to see the horrific injury against Arsenal forward Aaron Ramsey. The horror show tackle could easily end Ramsey’s career such was the extent of the injury.

The incident happened in the second half when Ryan Shawcross knocked the ball ahead of him and tried to catch up to it while Aaron Ramsey ran forward to intercept the ball. It was a fifty fifty ball, but Ramsey got to the ball first while Shawcross was late and ended up missing the ball completely and went in to Ramsey. Ramsey fell forward from the impact and, in a sickening scene, you could see the bottom half of his right leg completely flop in mid-air as he came crashing to the ground.

Arsenal and Stoke players quickly called for the Arsenal doctor and medical help to rush on to the field. Arsenal players, who were sickened at the scene, could be seen with tears in their eyes. Shawcross, meanwhile, was red carded but instead of leaving the field, he walked over to Ramsey to see if he was OK, was understandably pushed away by Arsenal players and then walked off the field crying and wiping tears on his shirt.

While our prayers go out to Ramsey for a safe recovery, he’s unquestionably going to be out for the rest of the season and may have played the last game of his career. However, let’s wait to see what the medical experts say.

As for Ryan Shawcross, it was a horribly late tackle from the Stoke City defender. But it was not intentional and there was no malice in what he did. As unfortunate as they are, these late tackles happen in soccer from time to time. In the case of Ramsey, he was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Let’s hope Ramsey will have a speedy recovery.

When Ramsey was injured, the scoreline was 1-1. But the Gunners came back late in the second half and ended up winning the game 3-1. Despite the victory, all the discussion will be overshadowed by the horrific tackle.

When was the last time Arsenal looked so pathetic?

Today, they were defeated 3-0 away against Manchester City in a game where it could have easily been 4-0 or 5-0 to the blue half of Manchester.

I’ve never seen so many poor passes from Arsenal in one game. Their first half performance was dire. Man City’s play in the first half wasn’t that much better either but it took a defensive error between Gael Clichy and Mikael Silvestre to give Stephen Ireland the opportunity to knock the ball into the back of the net.

In the second half, City replied with two more goals. A beautiful chip by Robinho and a late penalty winner by Daniel Sturridge.

Arsenal deserved to get a goal back in the second half when City goalkeeper Joe Hart lifted the ball into the air before kicking it, but Robin van Persie nicked in and slotted the ball into the net. Unfortunately, referee Alan Wiley disallowed the goal.

There were so few highlights for Arsenal in this game. Whenever Arsenal received the ball, Manchester City players quickly pressured the Gunners to prevent them from playing their sleek attractive passing game. Watching this game, it didn’t really look like Arsenal on the pitch. They were that awful.

I was surprised by the performance of Arsenal. I honestly thought that William Gallas being away from the team would galvanize the players and help them focus on the task at hand. This Arsenal side is desperately lacking experience and, without Cesc Fabregas due to suspension, is missing a true leader.

Arsenal have now lost in the league to Manchester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City, Hull City and Fulham. Before the season started, most people who have put money on the Gunners to win all those games. Now Arsenal languish ten points from first place.

It’s time for Wenger to go back to the drawing board. His decision to start Gavin Hoyte for his first Premier League debut seemed mistimed and a poor decision in hindsight. When Aaron Ramsey came on for Hoyte in the 60th minute, the Welshman made an immediate impression which benefitted Arsenal’s midfield play.

Wenger doesn’t have much time to right the ship. Arsenal plays Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night in the Champions League. And who is their next Premier League opponent? None other than Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Sunday. Luiz Felipe Scolari will be licking his chops in anticipation.

What does it say about Arsenal when their reserve team last night beat Sheffield United 6-0 in the Carling Cup? Maybe the tournament should be renamed the Arsenal Youngsters Cup?

Here are some of the impressive young starlets who played last night:

• Kieran Gibbs. Midfielder, 18 years old, only made his second appearance for Arsenal last night. His debut was one year ago in the Carling Cup when he came on as a substitute against, coincidentally, Sheffield United.
• Mark Randall. Midfielder, 18 years old, made his fifth appearance for Arsenal yesterday — but only his second start for the club. His debut was August 2007 against West Brom in, you guessed it, the Carling Cup.
• Francis Coquelin. Midfielder. The 17 year old made his debut last night for Arsenal although the Frenchman did make a couple of friendly appearances this summer after joining the Gunners from French side Laval.
• Henri Lansbury. Midfielder, 17 years old, made his debut one year ago against Sheffield United and played again last night, coming on as a second half substitute.
• Jay Simpson. Striker. 19 years old. This is another player who made his official debut last night for Arsenal against Sheffield United. Last season he played on loan at Millwall scoring six goals for the London club.

The teammates who played alongside those youngsters were:

Lukasz Fabianski, Gavin Hoyte, Alexandre Song, Johan Djourou, Fran Merida, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Carlos Vela and Niklas Bendtner.

The amount of talent that Arsenal possesses is staggering. Many of the players fielded last night were essentially C Team players with little or no first team experience. Yet the team still clobbers Sheffield United six nil. Unbelievable.

While Premiership footballers are working on their tans, the businessmen within football are busier than ever. Silly season has well and truly begun as football agents, chairmen, publicists and executives burn the midnight oil.

As we’ve seen in the past few days, it’s not been just player transfers that clubs have been dealing with (such as Aaron Ramsey moving from Cardiff City to either Manchester United or Arsenal). The executives have been dealing with manager contracts too, whether they’re coming or leaving at clubs such as Chelsea, Blackburn and Manchester City.

But perhaps the busiest professionals involved with these negotiations are the press. The hacks that write about the latest transfer negotiations from a tip or an agent who is trying to create a bidding war for his player. The executives at newspapers know that transfer speculation drives up the sale of newspapers. They know that football fans lick their lips in anticipation of reading the back page of their newspaper to find out what the headlines say about who’s joining their club.

The amount of transfer talk in the press is increasing daily perhaps more than ever before in the history of English football. Goodness knows how much additional transfer talk there’ll be in July and August this summer after Euro 2008 has ended and new players are the target of the top football clubs.

To give you a sense of how ridiculous most of this transfer talk is (other than to create hype, sell newspapers and keep people addicted to Sky Sports News), Aston Villa has been tracking the number of times a player is rumored to be interested in signing for its club. It’s only June 3rd — very early in the silly season — but Aston Villa has named 85 players rumored to be joining its club.

To me, the whole transfer talk is interesting if there’s some validity in it, but in the secret world of transfer dealings, how are we to know what is real and what is imaginary? All I know for a fact is that the newspapers are loving the attention and we’re eating it up.