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Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
19 Sep	3:00 PM	P	Wigan Athletic (H)	4	0	Win

A convincing victory over Wigan Athletic at home right after an amazing comeback win in the first group match of the Champions League at Liege is indeed refreshing and should help override the blip of the two Manchester defeats. The team should be in a buoyant mood and looking to change gears, with their confidence high and belief in their own ability. As Wenger put it, this team is 'special' and can go a long way this season.

Though we may still be in the race for all the honours this season, a word of caution needs to inserted here. There are apparent chinks in our armour which can turn our dreams into a potential nightmare.

Starting with the most important position in the team, the goalkeeper. Almunia has been improving over the years, but there are blatant faults in his game, which persistently cost us in important ties. His indecisiveness in coming forward to collect in the six yard box is definitely an alarming sign.

Two instances – in the game against Manchester United, when Gallas was tracking the ball back with Rooney in pursuit, there was little need for him to come so far out and give Rooney the chance to be one-on-one with him.

The result – penalty to United. In the same game, he should have come out to collect the Giggs free kick when it was so close to goal, and he was under no threat. One could argue that Diaby was there to cover it; Almunia should have called for it to end the threat. These instances glaringly suggest that Almunia needs competition for his spot to up his game. Unfortunately, the other goalkeepers in the pecking order are still raw and need development time.

The partnership between Vermaelen and Gallas has been brilliant. Wenger has again proved his critics wrong by signing the right player for the right spot. Vermaelen reminds me of Campbell. His aerial ability to defend as well as score, his reading of the opposition's game and finally his commitment (the box to box run against Celtic was just fantastic) is just what was needed in the Arsenal defence.

With him as a partner, Gallas is back in his favoured right center back position and has upped his game to rise to the challenges. With them in defense, Clichy and Sagna can make those runs down the flanks to trouble the opposition and create chances for our strike force. However, what if one of them is injured? Or more frighteningly, both are? Who do we fall back on? Will we still be attacking as we are without them? The answer is NO.

As back-ups, we have an ageing Silvestre and the still inexperienced Senderos. (Djourou is still injured and won't be back for a major portion of the season). There is a big, big gap between the ability and resilience of the first choice and second choice center backs. This is something that needs to be addressed in the January transfer window.

The third position in the team is the one occupied by Alexander Song. Wenger's conviction in him is finally bearing fruit. Song is quick to fall back, break up play and more importantly, is willing to do the dirty work to stop the oppositions to dictate terms. He is linking well with Fabregas and stands tall in front of defence to cover the back four.

Due to this, our other midfielders are more focused on breaking through into the final third and put the opponent's defense in disarray. Though he needs to keep improving, he has been a force to reckon with for the oppositions. However, if he is injured, or away for international duty (African's Cup), who do we have to fall back on? Denilson or Diaby can fit into this role, but both of them are more of an attacking force, rather than defensive midfielders. In addition, both have been tried before, giving mixed results. Song was the only one to come through on the test. Arsenal needs another strong player in its midst, a no nonsense player, who is not afraid to put in tackles and break-up play, track back to cover the back four.

Arsenal has a very lethal attack force comprising of some of the best to have ever walked onto the soccer pitch. But in terms of defense, there needs to be some strengthening to be done.

However, the season has just started, we are off to a reasonable start and still in the race to win the premiership, Champions League and all the domestic cups. Maybe Almunia will not make any more errors, Gallas and Vermaelen play all our crucial games, and Song remains as tough as ever throughout the season. Football is unpredictable and that's what makes it such a fantastic sport.

Signing off on the news that the young Arsenal team of an average age of just over 20 defeated West Brom 2-0 at the Emirates.

Until, next time!

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