There are a couple of strange and, for some younger fans, unfamiliar emotions permeating the terraces at the emirates; those of hope and expectation. Arsenal are without a trophy for four years, and while some more experienced fans will shrug their shoulders at this and say they’ve seen their team go much longer without silverware, today’s game is played with a constant sense of impatience and a demand for success. Trophies bring money and prestige which in turn leads to better players and more trophies. Four years is a long time for a proud and sometime successful team. What’s more, the four years went by whilst offering little in the way of optimism, as Wenger’s persistence apropos his youth policy seemed to be rooted more in stubbornness and a desire to be vindicated than actual reason and logic.
However, whilst this season may only be two weeks old, a transformation seems to have taken place, and it is a metamorphosis which few saw coming. Arsenal losing two big name players in Adebayor and Toure, a proven goal scorer and a reliable defender, and only bringing in an untried and young (23) centre back in Vermaelen could only spell disaster, or so the pundits would have had you believe. Four wins and 15 goals later, most experts have been hastily re-writing their end of season predictions.
There is a belief creeping into players and fans alike that Professor Wenger’s grand design is coming to fruition, as a balance of youth and experience has finally been found that will lead Arsenal to realistically challenge for honours. In their first four game Arsenal have comprehensibly outplayed and outthought domestic and European opposition, and they go in this weekend’s crunch match against old rivals Manchester United full of confidence. Saturday’s game will represent the first and probably the biggest test for Wenger’s men, and could be an indication as to whether, come the final game of the season, Arsenal will be right up there with the top (as opposed to flirting with fifth place).
Wenger should take real encouragement from the performances of some of the players often derided as the weak links in his team. Diaby is easily the most enigmatic player in the squad, showing flashes of brilliance but habitually looking lazy and uncommitted, giving the ball away too easily. In the 4-1 demolition of Portsmouth though he showed fantastic composure and vision, breaking up opposition attacks before setting up Arsenal ones. Inevitably this has led to comparisons being drawn with Patrick Vieira, and now might be his chance to fully justify the belief that he can fill a similar role to the leggy Frenchman.
Song has always showed promise but is only now starting to fulfil it, bossing the midfield in front of his back four. The same can be said of Denilson who has looked really sharp and creative; and with the young Cameroonian and Brazilian stepping up to control the defensive side of things, Cesc Fabregas will be given license to roam up field behind the front three. His presence there will be instrumental in almost all of Arsenal’s success, much akin to Gerrard and Lampard at Liverpool and Chelsea, and the maturity of the three young midfielders has established a real sense of equilibrium between attack and defence.
This evening Arsenal eased their way in the group stage of the champions league, outclassing an average Celtic team, the draw finishing 5-1 on aggregate. Arsenal’s first goal at the Emirates unfortunately came about through a bit of play acting on Eduardo’s part, the little Croatian going down in the box under minimal contact from the keeper. It’s always disappointing to see one’s own players hamming it up, and it’s especially disappointing to see it from a player that has always seemed to play the game honestly. What’s also irritating about the situation is that whilst Eduardo has taken a lot of stick about it (as he rightly should), English players that have behaved similarly (an awful piece of acting from Steven Gerrard in the CL a couple of seasons ago to keep them in the competition springs to mind) have been given the benefit of the doubt, and at worst accused of gamesmanship. It’s indicative of the infallibility of English players in the eyes of the press (and perhaps a very ugly undercurrent of xenophobia). Regardless, I hope that Wenger will explain to Eduardo, as an aside, that that’s not the way to play the game and with any luck tonight will be the end of his acting career.

Open Season

The premiership is back at last, and not a moment too soon. The story of the summer was of course the exorbitant amounts of money being exchanged for Europe’s top players (also Adebayor), but now is the time for them to start justifying the jaw dropping sums of money spent on them. For some this will be easy; Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema, Real Madrid’s new attacking line are good enough to shine in any league (Benzema is definitely one to watch).
However, oil-rich Manchester City’s transfer purchases might struggle to live up to the enormous expectation heaped upon them by long-suffering fans of the club. Suffice it to say that even the best players in the world would labour to atone for the deficiencies of centre back liability extraordinaire Richard Dunne, or the prosaic managerial style of Mark Hughes. City are without the best players in the world, instead toiling with an ensemble cobbled together from cast-offs from other premier league teams. Some early predictions had them pipping Arsenal to fourth place, but there’s a fair chance the gunners performance this weekend up at Goodison Park will have a few revising their opinions.
Wenger’s men put in a very respectable opening day performance, strolling past a lacklustre Everton side 6-1. One particularly notable performance came from Cesc Fabregas, dedicating his performance to Dani Jarque, Espanyol captain and friend who died of a heart attack during pre-season. Two goals and an assist saw the captain deservedly take the man of the match award, although some credit for the lopsided scoreline must go to Everton’s normally resolute defence who crumbled half way through the first half. The main focus of post-match analysis was on Everton’s uncharacteristic collapse and its implications for the rest of their season, but this will suit arsenal well, who function best when expectations are low and they left to fly under the radar. Credit must also go to a couple of others, namely the debutant Vermaelen, grabbing a goal and looking assured at the back, Denilson who scored a spectacular effort and was composed in his passing, and Alex Song who looks better with each passing game. It is of course premature to suggest that he will solve Arsenal’s defensive midfield problems, but he is showing a great deal of promise, and this might just be his season.
Song put in another great performance against Celtic in the midweek champions league qualifier, proving to be Arsenal’s standout performer. Involved in breaking down opposition attacks all over the pitch and in driving the team forward, he showed composure beyond his years and seems to be justifying Wenger’s decision not to enter the transfer market in search of a defensive midfielder. The rest of the team meanwhile looked uninterested by comparison, but will still have a two goal lead to take back to the emirates for the second leg. Arsenal’s young side refused to be overawed by the daunting atmosphere inside Parkhead, playing much the better football whilst barely breaking a sweat, and should see themselves through comfortable in one weeks time.
A rosy start to the season for Arsenal, but potential clouds on the horizon in the form of successive trips to Manchester to play Utd and City later this month. Still, in this form Arsenal need fear no one, and if there is a serious title challenge to be mounted, the foundations will be need to laid now.

Close season

As the season draws to a close, it seems fitting to congratulate Manchester United for winning a record 18th league title, albeit through gritted teeth. Their achievement is indeed an impressive one, and players and pundits alike agree that the current squad is probably the strongest that Sir Alex Ferguson has ever assembled. Whilst the FA cup may have eluded them, they are still on for an historic treble of sorts, and aside from my unbridled and fervent dislike of the manager, most of the players and the franchise, there is no one is England, Europe and probably the World who are better, and as much as it upsets me to say it, I expect them to put Barcelona to the sword in Rome. Still, one could take encouragement from a spirited Arsenal performance from a team with nothing but pride at stake. The game was billed as a grudge match, revenge for the defeat inflicted on Utd in 2002, when a Sylvain Wiltord goal saw Arsenal clinch the title in Utd’s back yard. Given that this game was played at Old Trafford and not at the Emirates, as far as I was concerned it was far from revenge; until Ferguson’s men win the title in North London the derisory chants should be reserved strictly for Arsenal fans to direct at their Manchester counterparts.
Utd were caught in two minds, struggling to decide whether to go for the jugular and seal the deal with an emphatic win, or put in a solid defensive performance and play for the draw which would seal the title for them. Consequently Arsenal were able to exploit this indecision and dominate the midfield for long stretches; several chances were created which should have been dispatched, Van Persie notably heading over the bar, unmarked, from 10 yards out. Arsene Wenger can take heart from his team’s efforts to spoil the party; confidence will be high going into the last league game, a home fixture against the bully boys of Stoke, and a win there will give the fans something to cheer about at last after a wearisome month.
Reports linking Wenger to Real Madrid meanwhile seem premature. Wenger described the prospect of working with the ex-president of the club, who is running for re-election, as ’interesting’. Commentators looking for any juicy piece of gossip as the season tapers off in excitement levels jumped on this, interpreting it as a clear indication that Wenger is on his way to Spain. Unlikely, I feel, given Wenger’s stubborn nature and his prior refusal to abandon his youth project. He has also intimated that he may bring in some experienced players over the summer transfer window, suggesting that he has no plans to leave; exciting times ahead for us beleaguered Arsenal fans perhaps.