Arsenal: Make hay while the sun shines

Moving on to the bigger picture, it is not unreasonable to be very excited about the potential of this team. Even with the many experienced heads, this team is a young team which has got a few years in it at the very least. The camaraderie too seems to be at its highest level since a number of years. No doubt thanks to the amazing and increasingly influential, both on and off the pitch, British core. But I can’t shake off the feeling that Arsenal would need to be very lucky to win anything significant with this squad. At the moment to me it feels like a 2 year project and if the recent trend of buying proven quality and the massive changes on the pitch in terms of formation, mentality, etc continue then I would have no qualms about proclaiming the team as title challengers next year. Not this year though.

Arsenal will be in trouble if any injury to Olivier Giroud does occur

There is a decent amount of gambling going on at the moment with the squad strength and that does make me slightly less certain of success this season. The trick to mounting a very strong league challenge, something we last did in the season of 2010/2011, would be to go on a sustained run early in the league until other top teams try and come to terms with a summer of changes, which has seen managerial changes at Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea. This is where the title of this piece makes sense. Suddenly the stability and the quality inherent in the squad even before the transfer window business looks like the real deal, doesn’t it?

Brilliantly assisted by the presence of the Özilof course. Arteta is supposed to be back within 10 days and Thomas Vermaelen was already fit enough to play 10 or so minutes, after missing the entire pre-season with a back injury. There are other reports too that the Ox and Podolski aren’t too far away from being match-fit. The cavalry, that is the hordes of injured Arsenal players, is surely coming over the hill soon. Eerily reminds me of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and his last minute return to save Rohan. Can it get the ground running? Only time will tell I guess.

This kind of nit picking is for another day though. We can celebrate the return of Wengerball but with an increased defensive assurance. We can celebrate the return of the smug Arsene. Till then we can see Wilshere develop, free of pressure and learning from some of the best on and off the ball proponents, namely Cazorla, Özil and Rosicky. Till then, we can enjoy Ramsey’s late runs, technique, unparalleled industry and oodles of heart. Probably on his way to become one of the most complete midfielders in the Premier League since Steven Gerrard. Long may his resurgence continue.