My point is that there needs to be a time allowance. I thought our pre-season this year was pretty lame and the Euro 2012 players had so little time to gain fitness and play together. Possibly we are playing catch-up now which is not great. Since last season the entire attack has been overhauled - one being Cazorla as the playmaker, another being Podolski out wide (hopefully instead of Gervinho next game). Van Persie was quality but these are all changes to make up for his absence.