I get uncomfortable when the
Arsenal receive praise of any kind. I don’t like our club being the centre of
attention, I cringe when pundits extol our virtues, I groan when there is a
consensus that we are going to do this or that. I like it low profile. Fortunately
there has been more focus on DiCanio, Moyes, Mourinho and a host of others to
occupy the media spotlight.
We are just quietly getting
on with the business of winning games: pretty much adopting that cliché “one
game at a time”. That approach suits this group of players. They seem a modest
bunch who have grown into a resilient unit. That resilience was sadly lacking
in previous seasons and now we see a galvanised team who at times capture the
spirit of the Arsenal Way.
We have seen what a touch of
real quality brings in Ozil’s contribution, his control and passing are a cut
above and one can’t help but wonder what might have been had we added just one
player of his quality each season. Having an injury ravaged squad seems to have
bought the best out of those players who now have to be relied upon and we have
seen Ramsey flourish, Flamini show real grit, Giroud gain confidence and Sagna
recapture the form of the reliable player we have seen over the years. The rest
seem to be digging deep at this early stage and it will be interesting to see
how things develop as more squad members return from the treatment room. Some
might say we are simply taking advantage of the instabilities elsewhere in the
league but if so, what of it? that's like criticising a boxer for taking
advantage of an opponents weaknesses.
Today we have the dreaded 5:30
kick off in a foreign field against a team who play the game the right way and have
proved to be tricky customers in the past and I for one embrace it. We have to
have the mentality that says ‘bring it on’ for every fixture and against every
opponent: that’s the arsenal way.
Of course there is a long journey
ahead of us in this season of optimism and adversity so nobody need get
carried away but one couldn’t ask for much more with the start to the season we
have had. Seeking perfection would be churlish so let’s just sit back in quiet
satisfaction and see what “one game at a time brings” maybe opportunity has finally come knocking.
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so I said...