David Showell
Arsenal’s early season form has been promising and, as usual, extremely easy on the eye. Their now-familiar passing game is at times sublime, and so far has been paired up with a new-found ruthlessness in front of goal. In recent seasons, Gunners fans have been treated to some stunning build-up play with very little result at the end of it.
This season has been somewhat different. Six against Everton and Blackburn, four against Portsmouth and Wigan, three against Celtic and Standard Liege; the goals have been coming, like a milkshake on a skateboard, thick and fast. 12 games into 2009/10, and Arsenal have scored in all of them.
Quite why they’ve been finding the onion bag more often is unclear, but it’s helped in many ways by the diversity of the scorers. Robin van Persie, Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner would be expected to spearhead the hunt for goals, of course, and midfielders like Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott can be counted on for a few; but the likes of the so-far prodigious Thomas Vermaelen, William Gallas, Abou Diaby and the prodigal Tomas Rosicky have scored, too. It was perhaps a sign of things to come when Arsenal’s first of the campaign was scored by the usually goal-shy Denilson.
In the two games that Arsenal have lost, both in Manchester, it could be argued they were unfortunate to come away with zero points. At Old Trafford, they were the better side for most of the game, and even Fred the Red himself would admit they deserved a draw at least. At Eastlands, though they conceded four, they made plenty of chances in a thrilling match.
Robin van Persie has been playing as a lone striker, helped by a fluid midfield five, several of whom can support him at any given time. But van Persie isn’t a prolific goalscorer, and is unlikely to be a 30-goals-a-season man like Thierry Henry, or even a 25-man like Emmanuel Adebayor. But the Dutchman brings other qualities to the side, including a keen eye for a defence-splitting pass, similar to his esteemed countryman, a certain Dennis Bergkamp.
Apart from a poor chance-to-goal ratio, last season’s Arsenal were also hindered by a soft underbelly. That may take a little more time to cure, although early indicators are optimistic. A potentially difficult tie at Celtic was dealt with in an almost casual manner, with a surprisingly easy 2-0 away win in the first leg.
In their first group match, at Standard Liege, a disastrous start saw Arsenal 2-0 down before they’d got their boots dirty. In previous times, there would be no coming back for the team. But this time around, they showed a more steely side and a refusal to be bullied. Instead of whimpering and giving up their lunch money, the Gunners bared their teeth and came back to win 3-2. Not so long ago, they’d have keeled over like a ping-pong ball in a blizzard.
Arsene Wenger will have been rightly pleased with the team’s progress so far, and will be waiting to see if they can maintain the momentum. Losing at the two Manchester clubs isn’t a total disaster, especially if Arsenal can win the reverse home fixtures. The so-called big four/five will take points from each other every season, but in truth the title is usually won by whichever side avoids the banana skins elsewhere.
Last season, Arsenal lost at Fulham and Stoke, for example, and at home to Hull. In 2009/10, Chelsea have been beaten at Wigan, while champions Man United lost at Burnley. These are the games that usually decide who is in the running for the gold star and a tick from the teacher. The team that loses the least of these matches usually takes the top prize.
In September, the Gunners returned to Craven Cottage to face a resurgent Fulham side. Manager Roy Hodgson is a wise old owl, and has turned the team into a well-organised and efficient machine. It was a difficult game on a difficult day, but this time Arsenal toughed it out, and snatched a 1-0 win thanks to the old one-two, a slide-rule Fabregas pass, and a clinical van Persie finish.
Only time will tell if this promising start can be maintained, of course, and as always there are plenty of ups and downs on the menu for the coming months. But it can’t be denied that Arsenal have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, and Wenger will be eager that the next 12 games should be played in the same manner.
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