What the hell is going on?!

So...how come we're brilliant?

Towards the end of last season we were getting the results but in a lot of games didn't look that convincing.
We looked solid at the back but rather pub-teamed a lot of games 1-0.
The mood on here all summer was pretty dark and after the Villa game even the most loyal of us to Wenger had snapped.
Now we're all :dance: and :patrice: and :woohoo:

Özil is clearly a fantastic signing but he is only one player, can it really have made that much difference?
Flamini was a good signing too and both Ramsey and Giroud are like new signings ™.

Are we really that much better than last season or are we going to run out of steam? Squad depth remains a concern so I fear the latter but it's good to see us playing with such confidence right now. Bit confusing though, tbh. :blink:

I think we have the most competitive midfield of any team right now, even with injuries.

Defence is solid; Sir Ches is akin to a renaissance man.

Just need another striker now to add some balance and we could really go places this season.

Time the championship came home...again, and I think no one reckons this more than Wenger.

I think everyone has improved really. Ramsey's improvement is ridiculous and Ozil has just lifted the whole place.

It's quite fun.

You posed and answered the first half of your question. A club who has a central midfielder who is scoring in every game and even when he doesn't, should have done so and sets up the goals is going to be a huge boost to any team. He has gone a long way in covering the cracks of our lack of centre forwards.

The influence (and vast influence at that) of the four players you mentioned in Flamini, Ramsey, Giroud and Cazorla (that is more than a third of the first team) allied with the new found systematic defensive strategy and organisation is enough to make the huge impact it has.

Whether we can sustain it will depend on injuries from this point on and what we do this January. If what Josh said in his last line is true then Wenger won't let the next window pass him by without taking action. We are significantly better than the Arsenal of the second half of last season and are monumentally better than the Arsenal of the first half of last season. A little simplified perhaps but that is about the size of it to me.

The signing of Özil has just reinvigorated everyone, as soon as he signed the poisonous atmosphere was lifted in an instant. The players are probably even more excited than the fans because he's all the motivation they need to better themselves.

On the team as a whole, the biggest and most crucial improvement has been the defence. We saw at the back end of last season how stubborn they could be and now with Flamini in there as well we've become very solid and composed. Those nervous kittens have been locked away and hopefully we've thrown away the key. Ramsey's performances are a bonus, I always thought he'd be nothing more than a dime a dozen centre midfielder but suddenly he's this all action beast who's become vital for us.

The squad just appears light at the moment because of the injury situation, if you add Podolski, Cazorla and Theo to the mix then we have options galore.

Confidence is high right now just enjoy it while it lasts, it's so early in the season there's no point in concerning ourselves with long term projections. We'll hit a bad patch at some point, however for the first time in years I'm hopeful we could be on to something good and that's much better than having the life sucked out of you which is what it feels like this club has done to us in the past.

What has happend is that a bunch of players we didnt expect to perform, are suddenly performing like some of the best players in the league (Ramsey, Giroud and Flamini) and on top of that we have added one of the best players in the world to our XI, the scary part is that we still havent played with our best starting line-up yet.

Seriously, Cazorla and Özil are so good and creative, that if played at the same time, i believe our opponents cant hold us away from creating atleast a couple of 100% chances per game.

People are talking about our depth, i think its quite good and that we actually have one of the best back-up line-ups in the league (without all the injuries ofc), my only concern is in the striker position, but there we can still rotate podolski and walcott who can benefit from the sexiness of cazorla and özil

Fabianski
Jenkinson - BFG/Kos/Sagna - Verm - Nacho
Arteta - Wilshere/Diaby
Ox/Gnabry - Rosicky/Wilshere - Podolski/Ox
Walcott/Giroud/Podolski

Sorry Jonas...didn't mean to call you Josh!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice

Sorry Jonas...didn't mean to call you Josh!

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???

Wenger's changed

For the first time in years:

we have squad depth in many positions
the defence is drilled and organised
tactics are being applied i.e. flamini man-marking hamsik
he bought an experienced world class player
motivates the team

he has found himself again. That's what's going on.

I think we're all just getting carried away with it.
I'm enjoying it so far, especially how quickly Ozil has fitted in.
I also think having that level of player improves everybody else.

But...

We've had a powder puff start to the season so far.
5 wins, 1 loss, 13 for, 6 against
In the corresponding fixtures from last season, we amassed a perfect 18 points.
6 wins, 12 for, 3 against

I'm not getting carried away.