We Gotta Stay Positive...

SO... is the presence of Nasri, Arshavin, Rosicky, Wilshere, and Ramsey reassuring, in the inevitably impending event of the captain's departure?

Now, it is true that Fabregas is Arsenal's best player by a country mile, their only GREAT player. But he is most impressive in the creative sense and Arsenal do, at the moment, have a surfeit of creative players. Perhaps, when he leaves, this relieves Wenger of the nightmare of having to find a direct replacement.

In fact, I think that one of the foremost priorities when Fabregas leaves should be a free-scoring striker, because last season Arsenal started to rely on the skipper for goals as well as passes. Chamakh, Bendtner, and, because of his frequent injuries, Van Persie are unlikely to hit 20 goals a season; with th loss of Fabregas's goals from midfield, that could become a problem.

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MORE CESC-CENTRED RAMBLINGS
A fascinating question that I think last season posed was whether Fabregas, and by extension Arsenal, lost something for the deploymentof the captain further up the pitch. Obviously, it freed him up to do some serious damage in the final third and unleash his latent goalscoring prowess, but in the bigger games, Arsenal's central midfield looked rudderless without his metronomic passing, and control of the game was often ceded as a result.

I frequently look back on 07/08 as Fabregas's real golden period, as he formed a formidable partnership with the dynamic Flamini. The Frenchman covered enough ground to allow Fabregas to indulge every facet of his game. Unfortunately, Arsenal do not have a Flamini now, and Wenger has had to adapt accordingly.

Interestingly, in the wake of the Blackpool game, the boss did mention the prospect of Chamakh and RVP linking up in a 4-4-2, which might suggest a return to Fabregas's previous 'midfield general' role. I think what could be more likely, and more effective, is a 4-2-3-1, with Cesc and Song as the '2', and Rosicky or Nasri in the middle of the '3'. The million dollar question is whether Wenger feels that this could offer the defence the protection it needs. I think it could, if Fabregas can indeed return to his role as a classic midfield playmaker, while not curtailing his instinct to get forward at the right times.

It's just a pity Arsenal don't have a more mobile midfielder than Song to partner Fabregas- for all his talent, the Cameroonian does not cover the ground as quickly as Flamini did. And as for Denilson and Diaby....

Arsenal 6-0 Blackpool but...

in the words of The Wolf in Pulp Fiction, "let's not start suckin' each other's dicks just yet".

THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE DIABY
Walcott and Rosicky both performed as well as they've ever done for Arsenal. In both cases, there has to be caution. Walcott's best display last campaign was at home to BURNLEY, so he is flirting a little with the "flat track bully" tag; then again, this time out it wasn't just raw pace and some tidy finishing that stood out, but some intelligent decision-making, leading the manager to suggest that he's become "more mature". He scored three and but for the profligacy of others might have made as many.

Remember, too, that Walcott's hat trick for England against Croatia in the Autumn of 2008 was a prelude to his best (fleeting) run of form, before injuries derailed his progress. Maybe the chastening snub from Capello in the Summer will indeed prove the kick up the backside that he needed. Can he develop a semblance of a football brain? Or is that simply something inherent to a player, something that can't be learned? Don't get me wrong, I'm still skeptical. But a little more optimistic now. I reserve the right to make these U-turns. Expect another one next time Theo runs into a competent left back...

As I've been saying, Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky and Arshavin would all probably prefer to play in the same position- off the frontmen. Fabregas had his most productive season from there last time out. Nasri's best performances invariably come when he plays there. And it's no coincidence that Rosicky produced his best display in years when he was finally unleashed in the central creative role. He was at the heart of a lot of the best play on Saturday. I hope he stays fit for the season, but it is sad in a way that he will probably be shunted out wide or into cameo roles when Fabregas is ready to play regularly again. Could they both play centrally, with Song doing the donkey work? Maybe, but a team with a defence as suspect as Arsenal's can't really afford to compromise solidity much more. Then again, Fabregas is more a classic midfield player than he is a half forward, and frankly, Diaby and Denilson often don't look to be working hard enough to shield the defence anyway. So why not Fabregas, Song and Rosicky/ Nasri across the middle, in home games at least?? Something to ponder.

In the final analysis, it was a handsome win, though aided by Blackpool's concession of a dubious penalty and loss of a man at 1-0. Before that, they had exposed Arsenal's defensive frailty at times. It was the right fixture after the difficulties at Liverpool, and this Arsenal team has to prove that they can perform in the big games that define seasons (although, to be fair, the anaemic showing at Anfield was, it could be argued, largely due to rustiness and ill-preparation). Blackburn next week will be a lot more telling.

Scorers: Walcott 3, Arshavin pen, Diaby, Chamakh.

Can Anyone Stop The Chelsea Juggernaut?

Twelve goals in the opening two games is surely an unprecedented statistic? (I can't be bothered looking it up).

But West Brom and Wigan was a welcoming one-two to start a new season, especially with Chelsea having endured a torrid pre-season.

And Arsenal fans know only too well that the post-title winning glow of Champions in Autumn can be misleading. In 02/03 and 04/05, Arsenal kicked off with some of the best football they've ever played under Wenger, before finishing 2nd both seasons.

Chelsea already look the team to beat, and if they are beaten it might be as much a result of injuries as of formidable rivals, with United, Arsenal, Spurs and the rest all failing to significantly strengthen so far this summer. When you consider that Michael Essien missed most of last season and Chelsea still won the league, it is hard to see them not retaining their crown, but then if injury were to strike again for him, or Drogba, it would lead to a difficult period for the Blues.

As well as that, they've lost Carvalho, and Terry's fragility was evident in the World Cup. Unlike the Mourinho years, the likeliest way to beat Chelsea now is to try and get at them, because they're far from watertight at the back.

Given or Schwarzer or... the Unthinkable

It looks like Mancini's choice of the admittedly excellent Joe Hart has forced the Irish no. 1 out of Manchester. In theory (though maybe not in fact)this gives Arsene Wenger an alternative should his ridiculously drawn out pursuit of Mark Schwarzer hit a big, bruising brick wall in the shape of Mark Hughes.

But who would be the better option of the two??

For me, it's Schwarzer (although I'd love to see an Irish player at Arsenal). My reasons are probably not the same as Wenger's. Word has it the manager does not want the younger keepers at the club held back- one hopes this does not include Fabianski, because he should really have run out of chances by now- so he wants to sign an experienced stopper with not many years left, and Schwarzer fits the bill.

While Given is the more accomplished shot stopper of the two, there are weak points in his game. You have to wonder why a guy who consistently makes amazing saves and does not fumble many shots has never played for a really big club, especially when United and Arsenal have both suffered goalkeeper problems at times in the last decade.

Surely it is his command of the penalty area, or relative lack thereof, that has held him back.

Does he organise a defence as well as others? Is it just his poor luck that he always seems overexposed behind a porous back line?

Aerially, does his comparatively diminutive stature, in goalkeeper terms, root him to his line too often when crosses rain in? I think so, and that could be a fatal shortcoming for an Arsenal goalkeeper.

That said, he is absolutely streets ahead of what we have. Surely Wenger should at least test the waters, see if City would be willing to sell to a close rival, which is of course questionable in itself.

City: Silly Money, Silly Deals

In: MILNER, another overpriced grafter
Out: IRELAND, one of their few crafty players

Maybe the model is Mourinho's Chelsea, but Adebayor is no Drogba, Milner no Lampard, De Jong, Barry and Yaya Toure together are not worth one Michael Essien... Usually a club splashing ridiculous amounts of money is more interesting than this.

Even Mourinho himself looks to be adapting his worldview a little. Already saddled with the walking Ego that is Ronaldo and a misfiring Kaka, he (or is he calling the shots???) has still seen fit to add Mezut Ozil to the mix. If Mourinho signed a player like that while at Chelsea, they probably would have won that elusive European Cup by now.

A Familiar Failing

David Pleat in the Guardian writes that Samir Nasri taught Joe Cole a 'masterclass' in how to play behind a frontman.

While Nasri found space to get on the ball a lot in the first half, though, there was an almost complete lack of penetration from Arsenal. Chamakh looked isolated and ineffective, but where were the runners?

It's a problem this team has often suffered from. In essence, the attacking part of the team is full of 'half-forwards'- they would all prefer to play where, on Sunday, Nasri was playing. Arshavin, stranded again on the left, has never been given a chance. Wilshere might get the job some day, but here he had to play deeper. Rosicky on the bench is the same sort of player. And it's the position, more or less, that Fabregas will be asked to take up when he returns.

All of them want to get on the ball, wait for a clever run, and release a player into space. Or, when that's not an option, keep the ball in little triangles. But so often with Arsenal, we only get the second thing. Because they all have the same instincts, they all want to do the same thing. Arsenal are lauded as the most attacking team in the league, but they often look the least penetrative.

It's for these reasons that Theo Walcott, bad footballer that he is, often looks necessary. Sometimes, he shows a willingness to go beyond the full back, without the ball, and look for a through pass. When he is given the ball at his feet, he is invariably clueless, and even when he gets in behind, he's even more profligate than the average brainless winger, but he still sort of works because he's so different to everybody else in the team.

Sometimes I wonder if even the great Dennis Bergkamp would be a frustrated force in this side: he had Overmars and Anelka, then Ljungberg, Pires and Henry- all targets, people who would move away from, as well as towards, the ball. Now the balance is askew.

Spain, of course, can suffer from a similar problem (Barcelona can often solve it because Messi is so adept at taking on and beating players- at least against weaker teams). Funnily enough, Fabregas looked the closest thing to a solution to Spain's problem this summer. Perhaps his time in the Premiership has taught him the benefit of direct running. He was he only Spanish midfielder who looked to make runs through the opposition back four, and it almost gave him a goal in the final.

At Arsenal, becuase his team mates don't have the class of Iniesta and Xavi, he often has to be both conductor and finisher. What trouble Arsenal would be in without him.

shit performance, better result: Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal

That ninety minutes encompassed the good and the bad of this Arsenal vintage, but there was no sign of the great that now seems consigned to the past.

The first 45 minutes saw some tidy football, but- and this is hardly unfamiliar territory- an almost total lack of penetration, of chances, of dynamism. Liverpool eased their way into the Hodgson era, and were content to play a game of containment. While this made it difficult for Arsenal to find openings, it also gave the fresh partnership of Vermaelen and Koscielny a relatively easy ride at the other end.

Then Joe Cole got sent off for a pointless lunge on Koscielny, just before half time. Could Arsenal take advantage, or would Liverpool be galvanised by the adversity?

Liverpool were galvanised. Wilshere lost the ball cheaply on the edge of his own area, Mascherano passed to Ngog, and he blasted a shot in high at the near post. Andy Gray made a point of questioning Almunia, and while it's clear to all and sundry now that the Spaniard is out of his depth, I thought it was a bit unfair. That was a fine finish. For all the peddling of that cliche that keepers shouldn't be beaten at their near post, it happens all the time, and to better keepers than Almunia.

The bigger mistake was Wilshere's. Playing in central midfield, his naivety leads him to do final third things in the middle or back third. It's probably the result of playing further back than he is accustomed to, but it's a dangerous habit. It hardly helped that his "senior" partner today was that clown, Diaby.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, the extra man looked irrelevant; Arsenal barely got into the Liverpool half. And for the last half hour, they displayed a lack of urgency that either displays an overall lack of sharpness, or a lack of hunger that is going to be terminal to this side's hopes of silverware. Obviously, Liverpool's massed defensive ranks made things tough, but Arsenal set about the challenge at a snail's pace and looked incapable of a single move that could surprise the opposition. That same old parody of themselves, they funneled almost every pass through a congested central area, and when the ball went wide, Liverpool were happy, because Clichy and Sagna still can't cross a fucking cheque.

For me, outside of the two centre backs, the only Arsenal players emerging with much credit were Nasri and Rosicky, who looked sparky after coming on and almost scored a lovely goal late on.

The equaliser was undeserved, and worse still, a fluke, a mess, Reina shovelling the ball into his own net after the ball hit the post from a Rosicky cross. Chamakh deserves credit for putting him under pressure, forcing the first mistake. But it was an embarrassingly lethargic performance overall, in which Arsenal's much-vaunted pass-pass-passing game looked utterly ineffective. Again, you have to worry about the character of this team when they fail to show much of a reaction to Liverpool taking the lead.

At the same time, Fabregas and Song have to come back. Hopefully, Diaby won't get many more games in midfield. Surely, another centre back will come in (especially now that Koscielny faces a suspension for an amazingly harsh second yellow). And maybe, just maybe, Wenger will sign a goalkeeper. Things should get better, so a point from Anfield, even if undeserved, is a good haul.