THE SAINTS ARE COMING

International football breaks things up: momentum, loss, victory and controversy. Going into this break we lost a rather dull fixture at Old Trafford but still retained top spot in both Premier League and Champions League. Those pointing the finger at ex players and missing players were missing the point somewhat. Our season has been going alright: as alright as the other teams with whom we are competing only guess what? we are in the position that they would all love to be in. 

Bouncebackability is the attribute I think this model of the Arsenal has and the facts of the last 38 league games support that. Leading from the front can be viewed as a blessing or a curse depending on your mind set and often the talk is about handling the pressure. Well someone has to be in the lead and why not us. Young players, they say, can often deal with pressure in sport well as perhaps they tend to worry less and throb with ambition if that is the case it is to our advantage that we have a fundamentally young team but with that all important smattering of experience.

Southampton are a good side, let's be under no illusion on that score, but as challenges go its within our grasp to take three points from the fixture. The month of November has been a bit of a pain in the arse for us and the naysayers will be waiting with breath baited to see us stumble.

The games between the Southampton clash and the double header with Man City and Chelsea are all winnable which sets up these potential six pointers nicely and in reality I feel that these two sides are the ones with the most realistic chance of winning the league (coincidentally the two richest). These are the games that represent the real tests of the credentials of the Arsenal as serious contenders, when they arrive we should have a larger healthier squad to choose from so there will be no excuses But lets not get ahead of ourselves, the Saints await and this has been a good fixture for us over the years: let's hope it remains so on Saturday.