They are going to take it out on someone and while I don’t like it I’ve never been one to duck my responsibilities.” It was a sentiment with which Southampton’s Gordon Strachan sympathised as he celebrated his 50th match one day short of his first anniversary in his latest job “We live in a blame culture. If you are in the top half of the table people are happy, if you are in the bottom half you are rubbish.” Southamptom had a chance to take an early lead when Enckelman saved with his legs from Anders Svensson but largely it was Villa’s first half, their performance let down only by their continuing failure to turn chances into goals. Half a dozen times in the opening 45 minutes, Villa built up promisingly, creating three clear chances, even apart from the header Dion Dublin directed against a post when offside.Darius Vassell had the first opportunity, flicking his shot over the bar after Gareth Barry had linked smartly with Dublin to set up the chance.Then Barry, making room for himself after Dublin’s cushioned header made good use of Ulises de la Cruz’s deep cross, fired narrowly wide.Next, Lee Hendrie played the ever-dangerous Barry in again. This time the shot was going inside Antti Niemi’s left-hand post, but the Finnish goalkeeper pushed it wide with an outstretched hand.Maybe what Taylor lacks is luck. It must have felt that way to him when the penalty went against him.

Forced to reshuffle, Taylor took off Mark Kinsella so that his reserve goalkeeper, Stefan Postma, could face the penalty. It was an unfortunate moment for Taylor’s £1.5m signing from De Graafschap to make his Premiership debut, the first act of which was to retrieve the ball from the net after James Beattie converted the penalty.Villa responded with commendable heart and Vassell three times went close to putting them level, forcing Niemi to make a fingertip save from one fierce, rising effort. Niemi kept out a powerful volley from substitute Mustapha Hadji but the balance of confidence swung towards Southampton in the closing stages and Ormerod should have put away a Beattie cross to make sure of the points.Aston Villa (3-5-2): Enckelman 5; Mellberg 6, Alpay 7, Staunton 6; De La Cruz 5 (Hadji 6, 58), Kinsella 6 (Postma 5, 46), Hendrie 7, Barry 8, Samuel 5; Vassell 7, Dublin 7. Substitutes not used: Angel (gk), Moore, Leonhardsen.Southampton (4-4-2): Niemi 8; Dodd 5, Lundekvam 5 (Williams 4, 72), M Svensson 7, Bridge 6; Fernandes 5 (Telfer, 90), A Svensson 7, Delap 6, Marsden 5; Ormerod 5 (Tessem, 77), Beattie 7.

Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Oakley.Referee: S Bennett (Orpington) 5.. Far from the wheels coming off following a first defeat in seven months, in the last minute at Everton, the Arsenal machine has not even stalled. In the words of the manager, Ars? Wenger, yesterday: “We’ve not come to a full stop, just maybe taken our foot off the accelerator. It’s not like we hit a tree at 160 mph.”

Far from the wheels coming off following a first defeat in seven months, in the last minute at Everton, the Arsenal machine has not even stalled. It’s not like we hit a tree at 160 mph.”
There are two other reasons why optimism pervaded talk about this evening’s Champions’ League tie at home to Auxerre: firstly, the French club were involved in a much worse looking scrape themselves at the weekend, losing their position as league leaders – unlike Arsenal – after a 3-0 prang in Lyon; secondly, last season’s Footballer of the year, Robert Pires, is in contention to be on the substitutes’ bench seven months after sustaining knee ligament damage during the FA Cup quarter-final against Newcastle.Having suffered exactly the same injury in his playing days, Wenger is well placed to assess his influential winger’s state of health and state of mind: “There is always a little apprehension.

You think, ‘will it resist the first tackle or not?’ But Robert has had that already, in training and in a [reserve] game against QPR.”There is no risk, because the surgeon said it would be six months – he had surgery on 25 April and now it is 25 October.” Well, almost; Arsenal’s normally precise mastermind knows full well that today’s date is three days short of that mark, for today is his 53rd birthday. He expects to be celebrating it with a second victory in three weeks over Auxerre, which would guarantee qualification for the second stage, though not necessarily winning the group.The recent success in France, with Gilberto Silva’s goal just after half-time, was more old-school “one-nil to the Arsenal” than New Arsenal, and Auxerre have achieved commendable draws on their two visits to England, at Highbury and Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.”French teams are very well organised, and very physical away from home,” Wenger said. “Auxerre have a reputation for being difficult to play at home too, because they play counter-attack They will try to close us down. It will not be straightforward, but when you lose, you want a quick response and it can also help motivate you for the next match.”Goodison brought no new injuries, other than to Arsenal’s pride, and Sylvain Wiltord is expected to start tonight’s game instead of Kolo Toure in an otherwise unchanged side. Injuries to Dennis Bergkamp and Francis Jeffers mean that for once there are few other options, though an appearance later on in the evening from Pires would bring the house down – something Auxerre should not expect to do, however much they huff and puff.The visitors will feel at home in one sense. As Wenger said of those other strikers in the news, the firefighters: “It reminds me of France. It’s part of our culture.” At least one big red machine is ready to roll again, after a bump from the Blues on Saturday.Arsenal (4-4-2, probable): Seaman; Lauren, Campbell, Cygan, Cole; Wiltord, Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Ljungberg; Kanu, Henry.Auxerre (4-4-1-1, probable): Cool; Radet, Mexes, Boumsong, Jaures; Lachuer, Tainio, Faye, Fadiga; Kapo; Benjani.Referee: D Messina (Italy).GROUP A PWDLFAPts Arsenal3300709 Bor Dortmund3201546 Auxerre3012131 PSV Eindhoven3012171 Results: Arsenal 2 Borussia Dortmund 0; Auxerre 0 PSV Eindhoven 0; Borussia Dortmund 2 Auxerre 1; PSV Eindhoven 0 Arsenal 4; PSV Eindhoven 1 Borussia Dortmund 3; Auxerre 0 Arsenal 1.Fixtures: Today: Borussia Dortmund v PSV Eindhoven; Arsenal v Auxerre.