Premier League Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope
110 comments September 10th, 2011
A short time ago in a stadium far, far away, Arsenal were on the receiving end of a defeat so humiliating that it prompted one of the greatest periods of introspection in the club’s recent history. Since then, a great deal has passed. Five new players have joined the club, and another five have left. The club have taken the opportunity provided by the international break to regroup, recoil, and reinforce.
We’re undoubtedly in a stronger position that we were ten days ago. The addition of established players like Mertesacker, Arteta and Benayoun has provided the squad with a depth it was sorely lacking. Arsene Wenger has even suggested the squad may be better than it was twelve months ago:
“The squad is stronger. If you look at the squad now and imagine Wilshere and Diaby coming back, plus the players like Vermaelen who will come back soon and I think we have a more mature squad.”
Only time will tell if he’s right. The loss of Fabregas and Nasri has been a tremendous blow, but if the likes of Mertesacker, Santos and Arteta can make the team more robust, we may see the emergence of an Arsenal side with a different personality. One with less flair, but more fight. Mertesacker and Vermaelen should have the ability to bind in to a formidable defensive unit. Arteta, meanwhile, has “amazed” Arsene with his strength in the tackle – a toughness forged on the battlegrounds of the SPL and the Old Firm Derby.
The new boys in training
We may be lighter on big names. We may be lighter on creativity. But we won’t be lighter in the challenge. It’s important to remember that whilst we’ve lost two lynch-pins of the side, they didn’t lead us to any great success, especially in terms of silverware. Arsene’s additions this summer have been unusual for him, but isn’t that just what people wanted? Fans cry out for a departure from the philosophy of signing unheard of youngsters, and then when he does just that, they ask why we didn’t sign players like Hazard and M’Vila – both less than 21 and without any experience of the English game. I believe Arsenal tried for both – the latter in particular – but right now the likes of Arteta could prove more useful.
It’s our fourth league fixture, our sixth game of the season, and yet Arsenal fans and players alike seem united in the belief that the season starts now. Winger Theo Walcott says:
“We need to start our season against Swansea. We need to forget about the games against Liverpool and Manchester United.
We need to react in a positive way. We need players to stand up and be counted because, if we’re honest, it wasn’t good enough against Manchester United.”
He’s right. We need to be positive. In order to do that, we’ll have to be realistic. We’re currently in 17th place, already 8 points behind the Manchester clubs. With that start and the disruption we’ve suffered, winning the league seems improbable at best. At the moment, our priority has to be overhauling Liverpool and retaining that valuable Champions League spot. If we can do that this season, as well as have a decent stab at the cups, we’ll all be mightily relieved.
That battle starts today against Swansea. I suspect a couple of our new signings will be on show: Per Mertesacker is likely to start alongside Laurent Koscielny with Bacary Sagna and the fit-again Kieran Gibbs at full-back. Andre Santos is not yet fully fit, and will begin on the bench, and Wojciech Szczesny – our player of the month for August – will continue in goal. In midfield, Emmanuel Frimpong and Aaron Ramsey will be joined by Arteta, whilst captain Van Persie is likely to be flanked by Walcott and Arshavin. There is the possibility that Yossi Benayoun could be thrown in ahead of the out-of-sorts Russian, but J. Y. Park is unlikely to be involved: as of last night he was still in Paris awaiting clearance on his visa.
I’d love to see Arsenal come back in style and make a real statement, putting four or five behind a newly promoted side. I don’t anticipate that, however. Swansea are a decent side and won’t roll over. We may need to be patient today: the fans as much as the players.
After Swansea, we face Blackburn and Bolton in the league, and have the chance to build some momentum before the North London Derby. If we can embark upon a winning run, then the Old Trafford debacle will soon seem light years and galaxies away.
It’s time to look ahead. Or as the marketing folk at Nike would have us say: Forward.
 Come On You Gunners.
