Dropping Vermealen was key, weve been pretty good since then. Just a shame it took him so long and dug himself into a silly hole by making him captain.
I dont think weve been that outstanding this season. Its not the brilliance of autumn 07 yet, but we are deservedly top, and who have we played? For once the Premier League hype merchants may have it right. This looks like a genuine 6 horse race. I dont see any extra quality in the so-called big 3 to separate them from us, Liverpool and Spurs.
Last edited by BOBN; 03-10-2013 at 01:50 AM.
It is amazing that we are only 6 games into the season. And November is traditionally are feck it up month. But I think the improvement is because of the closure of the board I used to use. It was created in summer 2004 and ended just as we signed ozil. Perhaps realizing that we need to give arsenal the best opportunity possible.
SpoilsportOriginally Posted by Transplanted Gooner
You're right though, we haven't had many tough tests in the league yet.
That said we got a tough CL group and we're sailing through that so far.
Having a settled squad is also key, not losing anyone of note for a change is bound to only be positive.
FLAMINI.
/thread
Bergkamp would have loved that.Spoilsport
You're right though, we haven't had many tough tests in the league yet.
That said we got a tough CL group and we're sailing through that so far.
If you don’t send this signature to ten people, you will become a Spurs fan.
I must say the attitude from the players is absolutely tremendous. Our focus and desire is as well there. Before where we used to drop a little bit physically in the second half, you can see now the energy levels are much higher. Flamini has made a big impact of course, I'm just sorry that he didn't cost £25m. The answer in England is always to spend spend spend, but if you look at players like Ramsey and Gibbs, you can see they are always hungry to improve and are now ready.
I'd put our improvement down to 3 main things for me...
1) Simple continuity / consistency from one season to the next - we've kept all of our key players together for the first time in god-knows-how-many-years, so all the lessons learned and experienced gained from last season have been carried into this one, and we're not having to re-learn all the same lessons again, for the umpteenth year on the trot, with a new set of players. The players also have extra bit of familiarity, so everything's just picked up nicely from where we left off last year, and we're not waiting around for anyone to get used to the league or their new team mates.
2) The Mesut Özil effect - there's just no getting around the lift he's given Arsenal Football Club, both on and off the pitch. The players are happier, the fans are happier, and everything is just more enjoyable.
3) The gradual binning off of all the players who either weren't good enough of just weren't pulling their weight - IMO, this has quietly re-set the mentality within the squad, and sent a clear message out as to what is required if you want to be a player at this club. When any of the players looks around at their team mates now, what they see is other players who will match their effort and back them up (and take their place in the side if they don't perform), instead of passengers and sulkers who drag everything down.
Other factors that have played a part are the refresh of the coaching team, the better balance between youth and experience, better competition for places in most areas, and the slightly more ruthless, pragmatic version of Arsene Wenger that has replaced the old one...
Last edited by I am invisible; 04-10-2013 at 07:59 AM.
And I think it's important to remember that we're not just talking about a good start to this season here - it's the continuation of a run that stretches right back to the away leg of the Munich CL tie last season...Spoilsport
You're right though, we haven't had many tough tests in the league yet.
That said we got a tough CL group and we're sailing through that so far.
Never mind if you didn't notice.
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