Season taking shape

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
31 Oct	12:45 PM	P	Tottenham Hotspur (H)	3	0	Win

I had written before Saturday's game that it was Arsenal's first real test since the successive defeats in Manchester and if that was the case they passed with flying colours.

The 3-0 victory over the 'noisy neighbours' showed just how far Spurs still have to close the gap on Arsenal and it also showed Tottenham just what is needed to be considered real title contenders, which the Gunners this season are.

Two goals within seconds of each other just before the half-time break in the 145th North London Derby was enough to hand the three points to Arsenal. It was a lack of concentration that perfectly demonstrated why Arsenal could be title winners this season and why Tottenham won't. Arsenal, this season at least, have cut out their lapses in concentration and Arsène Wenger's desperation to keep the clean sheet showed that he knows what his sides weaknesses are and is trying to cut them out.

The other pleasing thing about Saturday was looking at the table after the days play, after beating the fourth placed side and after Aston Villa, Liverpool and Sunderland all dropped points it gave the table a kind of top three going for title and the rest kind of look to it and gladly Arsenal are in that top three going for the title once again.

There were still frustrations during the game, frustrations Wenger clearly felt. Diaby was his usual overly relaxed self and gave some sloppy passes, this was only further highlighted by the amount of work and good passing being done by his midfield team-mates, Fabregas and Song.

Speaking personally, I felt that as good as Arshavin can be, he hasn't been himself recently and looked quite lazy at times on Saturday, he is also partial to tunnel vision when he gets his head down and running at the defence which on Saturday at least led him in to dead ends.

With Walcott, Djourou, Denilson and Rosicky still to come back, I think for the first time in a few seasons, Arsenal do finally have a squad to rely upon and could definitely stage a title challenge. What also helps is that amount of points needed to win this season will be less than recent seasons, due to the fact that there are more teams that can beat the top teams, which is why even with five defeats, Liverpool cannot be ruled out altogether, as it is they are still only nine points behind which at this point in the season isn't impossible to close.

Song, the most improved player this season, could well be the reason Arsenal may win the title, his position was the problem last season, his growth has solved a major, season ending problem. What will be interesting is what January will bring, as Song will be in the African nations and who will fill his position will be a huge obstacle. Nasri looks like he is being shaped into the defensive midfielder while Freemont impressed in the Carling Cup and we all know how much Wenger loves giving youth a chance.

The improvement this season, whether it's down to the new formation, improvement of individuals, better work rate or Vermaelen, one thing is for definite it sure is nice to see Arsenal being talked about in the same breath as titles, hopefully all the talk will be realised come May next year.

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