Birmingham City 0 Arsenal 2

As Corporal Jones repeatedly said in such emphatic fashion in arguably the BBC's finest comedy, Dad's Army - don't panic.

Birmingham might have slipped to their seventh home defeat of a grim Premiership campaign and are currently five points adrift from safety, but they look well set for a war of attrition.

Squadron leader Steve Bruce has primed his side into a real Dogs of War outfit and their bludgeoning approach will reap rich dividends for the remainder of this campaign.

Artistic merit might not be top of the agenda for Bruce but, given the circumstances, who cares?

Jermaine Pennant tossed in a plethora of hand grenades all afternoon while the heavy artillery of Emile Heskey and Chris Sutton bludgeoned their opponents.

Throw in the aerial prowess of Jiri Jarosik, who always looks Birmingham's most likely goalscorer, Matthew Upson, Mario Melchiot and Martin Latka and it is clear that Bruce's troops are best served by the aerial route.

It isn't all crash, bang, wallop, however. They possess enough quality, in the likes of Pennant and Jarosik, to unlock the door by alternative methods.

Nevertheless, the approach of bombing the ball into the penalty area from all angles, a la Bolton, has paid dividends in 2006, so there is no reason to change despite this blip against the Gunners.

Arsene Wenger's team aren't known for their British stiff upper-lip style resilience. Their last two visits to the West Midlands saw both West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa pummel them into submission. Yet, Wenger's side, who were under heavy fire before their latest expedition, rediscovered the art of winning ugly.

For sure, their two goals were superbly crafted and pleasing on the eye but Wenger had his very own version of 'Land of the Giants' as his team was crammed full of players who wouldn't have looked out of place at Twickenham.

All of which ensured that despite a host of corners, free-kicks and crosses winging their way into Arsenal's penalty area, Birmingham were unable to muscle their way through.

Jarosik (twice) and Heskey had both come close to opening the scoring during Birmingham's early period of ascendancy.

But a sprinkling of Thierry Henry magic, a fortunate ricochet and a well-placed header from Emanuel Adebayor settled the visitors' nerves.

Adebayor and Heskey both spurned presentable opportunities as Birmingham turned the screw in the belief that Arsenal's Gallic temperament would implode once again.

Yet when Henry sped away from Latka on to Cesc Fabregas' through ball and regis-tered his 200th goal in an Arsenal shirt, Bruce's beleaguered troops faced a mountain to climb.

They redrew the battle lines and launched a fresh offensive that saw Upson hit a post just two minutes after Henry's goal.

The introduction of Dudley Campbell provided fresh impetus and he offered Bruce an extra dimension.

Sutton and Heskey went close and there were numerous examples of head-tennis in the penalty area as the ball bounced around like a hot potato, but it wasn't to be Birmingham's day.

Their woe was compounded when Heskey was dismissed for two bookable offences, but there is no doubt that there has been a seismic shift in Birmingham's mindset in the second half of the campaign.

Thirteen points from their first 19 games was a pitiful return but they have since garnered seven from five. Taking into account that three of these games have been against clubs in the top six, the auguries are good for Bruce's men.

There will be opponents who don't possess Arsenal's quality in attack and are likely to succumb to the aerial bombardment they face from Bruce's well-drilled troops.

But they cannot afford any more injuries or suspensions, as the likes of Stan Lazaridis, Damien Johnson and David Dunn were sorely missed.

The decision to omit Stephen Clemence, but include Nicky Butt as John-son's replacement, was puzzling. It looks like a long road back for Clemence now.

Bruce also had to gamble and bring on Campbell and Mikael Forssell, but Jarosik is a natural goalscorer and Birmingham's biggest threat was removed when he was substituted.

Nevertheless, on this evidence, Bruce appears to have bought wisely in the transfer window with the acquisition of Latka, Sutton and Campbell.

The reinforcements have enabled him to beef up his Dogs of War policy, which needs six more wins to be deemed a success.

They have their very own D-Day looming when they face Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Albion over three consecutive weekends. At least seven points are required from those fixtures.

But they are far from doomed and possess enough weaponry to upset opponents. This war story could have a happy ending.