THAT'S the English champions accounted for. Now for the Scottish ones!

Highbury has proved a surprisingly happy hunting ground over the past decade and so it proved on Saturday.

In nine league visits we've had three wins, four draws and only two defeats. The result was the best since the Dalglish era and sitting just one point off third place following four wins in five, it's easy to fall into the trap of assuming we'll beat anyone put before us at present.

Of course if truth be told we played far better in the 3-3 thriller produced by last season's corresponding fixture.

It was white knuckle stuff for the sold out Rovers contingent. Our midfield failed to compete, left the front two isolated and we looked vulnerable in either full back position. If Arsenal had won five or six two we wouldn't have had any genuine cause for complaint.

But who gives a monkeys', they didn't. The fact they didn't was down to several outstanding performances.

Top of the heap was of course Brad Friedel. I am frequently guilty of not giving the big man the credit he deserves simply because of him being a goalkeeper.

Whilst it is easy to bandy superlatives about when one of the outfield players burns the pitch up I have often found myself thinking "It's only what he's paid for" when Brad throws in one of his match winning performances. He is usually a colossus.

Saturday's display transcended even those high standards.

Not far behind was the central defensive partnership. Ice cool Norwegian Henning Berg rolled back the years to produce by far his best performance since we returned to the Premiership.

By his side, Martin Taylor never put a foot wrong, as usual.

If the fee for Rio Ferdinand is the going rate, last week's news that Tiny had signed a new four year extension to his contract was like picking up a £30m defender for nothing.

Provided he can keep his feet on the ground and maintain the normal sort of progression to be expected with experience a long and illustrious international career surely awaits.

Despite the exceptional result at Highbury the attention of the nation is naturally focusing already on Thursday's "Battle of Britain".

The match represents a huge opportunity. In terms of TV audience we will never have been watched by so many. Half of Glasgow and the majority of England will be glued to the set on Thursday.

Not out of affinity for Blackburn Rovers, but in the hope the Premiership will assert its obvious supremacy over the SPL.

Win, and the media's long held and jaundiced view of us as an unfashionable club could be banished once and for all. We might also pick up a few admirers along the way.

We will also learn a great deal about the team. Man for man I believe we have the better players.

The outcome of the first leg will however depend on how we handle what will be a unique atmosphere.

Truly great players thrive when the going gets tough. Will our young players wilt or blossom in the greenhouse atmosphere at Celtic Park? I have every confidence it will be the latter and the night many formidable reputations are forged.

I am intensely proud to be a supporter of Blackburn Rovers Football Club. I'm reckoning on being even more so by 10pm Thursday night.