Last year we played a great part of the season without any of our 4 regular midfielders from the previous season. Name me one team that could do this and even get 4th spot. Or name me one manager who could do this apart from Arsene Wenger ?

But Arsene has fashioned his new team more around Van Persie and Fabregas.

Uprooting Fab from his Alonso role and transplanting him into
Gerrardo role has been an incredible masterstroke.

That’s the reason why AW is a manager and we are armchair critics.

Arsenal are great, Arsene is sublime!

At the moment, I would actually be very dissapointed to see this side fall away this season as I think they are very well equipped to handle the pressure of a full season at or near the top.

I NEVER felt that way about our team last season, and even the season before that I was wary.

I am sure many readers knew all about Gibbs before he suddenly appeared on the scene – but he slipped under my radar – yet there he was a year or two back, suddenly ready for action.

We can and should rave over the first team squad, but we should also know that the moment any of them get a touch of the Adebayors or Coles, or a tragic injury we have the likes of Ayling, Barazite, Bartley, Coquelin, Cruise, Eastmond (where the f*** did he come from???) JET, Freeman, Fimpong, Gilbert (feels like he has been here forever), Hoyte, Lansbury, Murphy, Nordtveit, Randall, Simpson, Sunu, Watt.

Those on loan are playing sensationally – I was raving about Lansbury the other night watching him for Watford, and just listen to what the managers of JET and Simpson are saying during their loan spell.

We urgently need another team.

As a manager, you MUST take a supportive approach when dealing with young players. They cannot feel as if they will be replaced by a “high-priced replacement” the moment they make a few mistakes that are due mainly to inexperience in the first place. Young players MUST be allowed to learn from their mistakes. I can remember the likes of Tony Adams as a teenager and yes, he was indeed every bit the “Donkey” that opposing fans said he was. Man, he made some blunders. Given the way some modern fans are impatient with certain players you would have to think that Tony Adams would NEVER have been allowed to learn and progress as a player nowadays. The fans would have crucified him. I think a lot of modern managers that have gotten used to “chequebook managing” have forgotten the art of developing young players, something Fergie and AW have never forgotten. You have to be patient and you have to allow them to screw up. Luckily for Fergie, he has always had the biggest chequebook as well (except for Roman) so he could cover up mistakes with the most expensive talent as well.

And “Dont believe the Hype”‘s point about supporters needing to give as well as take is a hugely important point as well. When that young Arsenal team of the mid-80′s was developing there was very much an attitude around Highbury of “the fans have to help these kids learn by encouraging them at all times” that is nowehere near as prominent nowadays. The need for instant success seems to overwhelm many fans, and that is a great pity since watching a TEAM grow and build and mature is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest joys that a supporter can have.

I think watching young players develop is insanely exciting, and so much more rewarding for supporters than “chequebook” success.

Our players know that when they sustain injuries, or go through a temporary loss of form, they will be given every chance to recover and regain their place in the starting lineup. This is so important in creating a sense of optimism and of loyalty to the team and the manager.

Of course, he has also made it clear that there is an expectation that every player will put maximum effort into their preparation and their game, and where this hasn’t happened individuals eventually lose their place and go elsewhere.

Contrast this with the sudden death approach to management advocated by many of the moaning minority. If a player is underperforming, they assume it is due to lack of effort and motivation to win, and say simply, drop him. Following this advice could well have seen the loss of many of our best players and the rapid disintegration of our team. If you want an example of how unsuccessful this method can be, look no further than Roy Keane’s managerial record. Scary, yes, effective no.

Flint makes a good point because there is ‘many a slip twixt cup and lip’ so whether we can sustain the level of performance and get the good fortune to see us to silverware is yet to be seen. But as supporters all we can do is enjoy the performances and lift the team up in the low periods. It’s not all about them giving and us taking, we have to give something too if we want the shiny trophies. That is what the anti-support fail to grasp.

First of all there is no guarantee that we will finish any better than last season. At this stage I am getting the feeling that we are really ready to at least strongly challenge until the end. Actually winning can depend on so many things that do or don’t go your way, so I would never predict a certainty of winning anything. To me enjoying the football is the most important thing, with the trophies the sweetest bonus.

My differences in no particular order:

A seemingly much improved team spirit & attitude;

Much better confidence shown within the team (Darius’ point important here);

Another season on in developing a young team, personal improvements in a number of players;

Fully fit Cesc accommodated in a system that suits him & the other players much better;

No Euro or World Cup in the previous summer;

TV has been an excellent signing, replacing a Kolo, who had not looked properly fit for most of the previous 18 months;

Injuries so far have been in areas where we have strength in depth;
Much better support at the Emirates, I think a boil was lanced with the march in support for AW, when he seemed threatened by the anti-support.

Tony – I was thinking this weekend about Usmanov and David Dein and wondering what must David Dein, who loved our club so much, be thinking now given that Usmanov wouldnt be around had Dein not sold him his stake. I wonder if Dein looks at our revenue now, and looks at the destabilising influence of Usmanov, and thinks “what on earth did I do?”