And then came the humiliation to end all humiliations at Old Trafford followed by a rather heart-stopping closing to the transfer window. Whew! And due to the lateness of five signings, the question of the team's ability to gel in time to rise from the relegation portion of the table and compete for the title was in question.
And parts of that question have been answered since Saturday. While winning against the newly promoted Swansea 1 -0 didn't leave us with tons of euphoria, I for one, exhaled in a bit of relief. We were better. Maybe we weren't astounding in our play - we could have been more efficient with a few more goals - but, we moved up the table from 17th to 11th, and I saw a small ray of light at the end of the bleak tunnel that breaks onto the Emirates. I saw an improved team that with more time together could provide the foundation for snagging fourth place this year and maybe a cup title.
I think it's of the utmost importance not put the cart before the horse. Let's not kid ourselves. We are NOT going to win the title. We probably won't beat out either Manchester team for points, and overcoming Chelsea could be impossible. Taking fourth place make require putting up with Liverpool and Spuds nipping at our heels and a cup title will probably be done to mostly the luck of who we draw, but it is doable and attainable if we continue to take tiny yet important baby steps forward with each game.
Robin is firing in goals again. History shows that our Captain usually needs about four to five games under his belt before he consistently finds the back of the net. Tonight was only his second Champions League appearance this season, and he scored, but the Swansea game was his fourth which means he should be making goals left and right starting Saturday.
Arshavin showed last weekend that he still has the chops to have unbelievable finishes and energy when his head is screwed on straight. We have been missing the magical moments he can provide regularly ever since Russia lost out on going to the World Cup 2010, and Andrey subsequently lost his confidence. Arsene thinks he's ready to go this season, he's set a personal goal of netting 15, and I think he could make a real difference.
Gervinho loves to run at defenders and attack the goal but needs to improve his final product. His lack of finishing was apparent at Newcastle, but improvement was easy to recognize at Udinese. He seems a quick study and although his finishing was not at the calibre we needed today, one has to remember he has not played for Arsenal for almost three weeks due to his ban, and the rust is probably just temporary.
Mikel Arteta is just excited to be at Arsenal and his urgency to help the side is apparent. His almost mythical reputation at converting free kicks hasn't come to fruition yet, but his tenacity and fight on the pitch is welcome. My favorite Mickey moment so far is when he went up fearlessly for a header today against a Dortmand player in the 57th minute and got his skull cracked for his effort. He left the pitch bleeding and came back on patched up and ready to go. He looks like a pretty boy, but I think he's tough as nails.
Song was back today picking player's pockets almost as effortlessly as a thief on busy New York sidewalk. No stupid tackles or lazy fouls. He just always seemed to come up with the ball. That kind of beast-like performance is what is needed from him every time he plays to help our team improve. If he now feels the pressure as a leader because there are so many new players, let's hope today's performance is a sign of how he will respond to that pressure.
Koz continues to improve. Today, I saw him as the leading center back even though he had a German giant alongside him. He made some mistakes the first half as Dortmund attacked, but he was smooth and calm the next 45 minutes. I had no idea why Wenger spent nearly 10 million pounds on him last year as he was so unproven, but if he continues to learn after being thrown in with sharks last year, he will provide competition to Mertesacker for a place and quality of depth once Vermie returns.
My only real concern is Theo. While small progress is being made by most of the players and the group as a whole, our pacy right winger worries me. He seems unhappy and petulant on the pitch. Against the Swans, he got dispossess while being tugged at the shoulder. He stopped to complain to the ref while the Swansea player left with the ball instead of fighting to get it back. He had a nice assist to Robin today, but with all the new wingers available to play at his spot, he needs to turn it around and quickly. He has voiced once again his desire to play centrally as a striker, and maybe playing on the wing again this season has brought out the bad performances, but he has too much at stake to allow disappointment to affect his game. We need him. And he needs good perforamces to keep his place in the England squad as well. Theo's has taken a lot of flak over the years about his supposed disappointing development. And he's taken it with grace while seemingly having his feet firmly planted on the ground. I hope he can return to that unaffected state of mind.
I guess that's it for now. While reading this report over, I'm reminded of many a season previews that I read a month ago. I didn't write with a preview in mind, but as far as my mindset goes, our NEW season started last Saturday. And after today's match, I am much hopeful now than in August. If we keep building week after week upon small improvements, we could end the season with our heads held much higher than thought possible. Remember, we're not going to get there in leaps and bounds, but with small, steady, consistent movement forward.
You know - baby steps.
That's it for tonight. Take care and enjoy the pitter patter of little bits of improvement. Cheers.
It's worrying to think 4th is the best we can hope for but realistically it seems our target. Hopefully a shot at the FA Cup along with 4th place will mean we have a relatively successful season, and spend some more of the we made this summer in January or next summer.
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