PAVED WITH EXPECTATIONS

It won't be the game against Manchester City at the Emirates or the away game at Chelsea that will show us what the new look Arsenal is all about, it will be playing away at Crystal Palace in a fixture where we have previously been outgunned in the cojones department. it will be at home against West Ham United: a game we are expected to win but lost on the opening day of seasons past. 
These are the games that will show us where our year one strategy will take us. Getting on equal footing with the five teams that finished above us will take longer.
So far what we have seen is players having to be accountable for poor performance as evidenced by  substitutions, we've seen a team adjusting and trying not to slip back into bad default habits. We've seen the importance of being clinical in the final third and we've seen a young man with belief in midfield and an experienced Swiss show some jiggery pokery that is always a delight to see.
At this moment it is still far to early to get into tactics, team selection and whether Ozil is just a player that appeals to Hipsters.
Emery's tenure has started with two losses but the feeling of disappointment that one usually feels under such circumstances is absent, theres a feeling of interest and hope. A feeling that the manager is actually working things out, examining character and seeing who wants it and who doesn't. It feels like this is the beginning of something and that its going to be an exciting journey as opposed to the treadmill we've been on for years.
Heres to the next game, and the next, and the next.