Be Champions

Good morning, friends of the Arsenal!

I was going to write a formal Arsenal preview but can't be fucked to do so. Plus, you can find any number of these previews on the web starting with Champions down to relegation. I'll spare you the drama. As usual, I always pick Arsenal to finish top of the league; winning the Carling, FA Cup, and Champions League along the way. Admittedly, I can't see beyond this fog of optimistic success. But I feel this year may be different for a few, often unreported reasons.

One: Morale. Morale is an intangible term used for the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others. The main culprits for ruining this belief last term was the players themselves. Maybe we could call lack of maturity due to their collective age, or because there weren't enough senior players in the squad...who were leaders. But either way, I don't feel the majority had their head right. Example: Arsenal had Donkeybayor talking up a transfer that fell through, which can't be good for him and his relationship with the team. I know for a fact that if one of my teammates was want-away but then stayed it would be tense and unfriendly from then on out. Oh, and one of my favorites was Capi 'Gallas' and his televised pre-games talks...where you could see more than one player half-listening but mostly "stretching". It's hard to respect a guy who refers to himself as Capi and sports a balding mohawk. Sorry, but really? What a prime example of a poor decision! Then, of course, the series of injuries that could not be predicted, and that ultimately led to an inconsistent, mix-mash of selections every week. When players are coming in and out of it's really hard to get a sense of team, and really hard to have a coherent method to the Arsenal way. I think this phenomena, above all, was the main reason morale was so poor and we witnessed a very poor first 14 matches. There are many more to add...but, in short, the Arsenal lacked the coherent togetherness that a team needs to be champions. Once Capi was demoted, Cesc took over and there appeared to be a change in behavior for the positive. Notably, it's only after Capi lost the captaincy that the Arsenal went on that tidy unbeaten league run. Unfortunately, Cesc was injured...and we had some other terribly timed injuries that kept us from regaining some silverware. Injuries kill morale.

I know, I brought up the injuries. Sounds like an excuse. Well, it's a fact. I won't ignore or sugarcoat the fact that we had numerous key injuries throughout the season that came at inopportune times. I also know that other teams had injuries that affected their run but I dare you Gooners to find a Premiership team that struggled as much as we did in nearly every position of the field, week in, week out. Right.

So, moving forward I defer to Bobby McMahon's blog Some of you overseas fans may or may have not heard about this guy but he is a regular pundit in America who has, in the past, made some good comments/predictions. Bobby has Arsenal finishing 1st.
I agree because he mentioned our slow start to last year's season; since it is a new season we can now control and rectify those first, horrid 14 matches! I prefer to think that with the addition of Vermaelen and "new signings" Arshavin, Eduardo, Rosicky, and Jack Wilshere that each player could contribute to a better start. In truth, Arshavin is key. The mighty mite came into the squad late but adjusted quickly. In the new-look, 4-3-3 Arshavin could not only score a load of goals but he could also influence the play and distribute the ball. I really enjoy his off-the-ball movements. Defenders are so scared to lose him that they will actually stretch their defense in an attempt to locate the lil' fucker. Hilarious. Also, Arshavin's size...is an advantage in the penalty box as it is inevitable he will win a penalty because he is so small and hard to tackle off of the ball. If we can keep Arshavin fit, and safe I feel we can expect a healthy start to the season. Note: I just knocked on every piece of wood I could find. So, we're good. No jinx.

As Bobby points out, and something I had not paid much attention to is the fact that Arsenal was scoring loads of goals....Away. Bobby states, "[Arsenal] scored more away goals last season than any other Premier League team – 37". So up your Arse-nal, all of you doubters/pessimists who state that the lads lack experience and can't put up. What better example of getting stuck in than scoring away from home! If Arsenal can put up similar numbers away this term, and turn Draws into Wins they will close the gap on the traditional top teams. With the return of the striking force of a fit Robin Van Persie, Eduardo...and the do-or-die season for Bendtner I think we can get those goals. Throw Arshavin in with a possible attacking role from Theo Walcott and we could be celebrating in our living rooms every weekend; I'll even learn the Crouch robot :D

Lastly, the Arsenal put a long unbeaten run, and "over the remaining 24 games Arsenal and Liverpool only lost one game apiece although they did rack up 10 and 8 draws". Again, turn those Draws into Wins and we are well on our way to becoming champions. Even half of those Draws-into-Wins would mean 10 more points. If the lads can regain that consistency of play they showed at the end of the season and change those first 14 matches we could be sitting pretty by December. I think, with another season under their belt, the players will be ripe for a strong challenge.

I know that pundits, and fans alike (but really, what is the difference most of the time?) will be barking about the Arsenal's lack of defense, or rather lack of strength in the back four. I can see their point but I won't concede. Reason being that we have three experienced defenders (Sagna, Clichy, Gallas) coming straight back into the starting XI with the addition of Vermaelen AND the return of everyone's favorite, Eboue, into the back. Plus, add Gibbs, Djourou, and even Song to the mix and it's not as full of holes as reported/hypothesized. In the 4-3-3, we'll see Song and/or Diaby or Denilson sitting in front of Capi/Vermaelen and assisting with defense. It begins to look like four center backs when under pressure. Now, will Arsenal leak goals as regularly as they did last year? Hard to say...but at the end of the day a football match is won by how many more goals you score than the opposition and with our potent striking force I feel that for every goal conceded we have the quality to score more than the other team. Arsenal may concede...but we'll also score.

So, that's it from Arse505. I don't feel like breaking down the rest of the league because it doesn't matter. What matters is what Arsenal does and I could care less about how old Chelsea appear on paper; how United will struggle to replace Ronaldo's goals, influence; Scousers will be asking for Rafa's head my Christmas. It's up to the Arsenal players to perform. I'm behind them 100% and I believe we can do it. Be Champions.

ArsenaLOS