Are you waiting for Arsenal to implode?

If you are not an Arsenal fan, I can understand why you would expect it given the past few seasons. If you ARE an Arsenal fan, there is something much better you could be waiting for.

What many people see as an unpredictable league that is wide open is actually something that has been developing for a few years and Arsenal has been the top four team on which most of the development has been successfully tested on. We have been beaten by Fulham, Aston Villa, Hull City, Burnley and Stoke City in previous seasons. The tactics used to beat us failed against teams like Chelsea and Man United because their players were older and the teams that mounted the challenges were still perfecting it. Today, Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool are older to their disadvantage while Villa, Fulham, Burnley, Birmingham City are older to their advantage. Crucially, Arsenal are older to their advantage.

If there is any Premiership team that is more prepared for this crazy season, it should be Arsenal. If there is any team that understands what Villa and Man City can do to you if you fall asleep or how difficult it is to come back from a goal down against Fulham or Stoke, it is Arsenal. In the past 4 seasons, Arsenal have been chasing to leading the pack most of the second part of the season after falling apart in the first part. They know how to chase and they have had to fight till the last day to guarantee a place in the Champions League or to finish as high as possible. Arsenal should know how to chase till the last day. Arsenal's bad experience and learnings from the past 4 seasons should be a huge advantage to them now.

So what can we do instead of waiting for an implosion? We have to do exactly what a great many of the fans at the Emirates are starting to do. After taking maximum points in all games apart from Burnley since the loss to Chelsea, many fans are beginning to see this as the kind of run we put on last season. The noise level at the Emirates has gone up and one can almost see how much that is in turn keeping the team going. We have to do our part. Support the team as much as possible to get them through January. December was critical but it didn't kill anybody off. What Arsenal achieved in December was to stay in touch.

So that means January is going to be the new December. With the African Cup of Nations and players returning from injury in other teams, January may do the separation that December failed to do. We must help the team through that because it will be tough. Portsmouth, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Man United.

Cesc is doubtful and then Eboue and Song are in Africa. Eboue helps give Sagna a breather. Eboue is useful in balancing a team that is overweight with central midfielders. Eboue is 26, experienced and versatile. A good dribbler and far more penetrative than Rosicky and Nasri though without the finishing capability. Song has developed the discipline of a defensive midfielder. He knows where to be to break up attacks and he can balance that against covering whenever Gallas and Vermaelen move up. Song will be a very hard act to follow for anyone covering him in January. I have no idea whom that will be. We shall find out against Everton.

Gallas and Vermaelen are critical. If that gets broken while Song is away it would be even more devastating.

Portsmouth are rejuvenated under Grant. They have an extremely mobile forward line with good finishers. Everton are on their way back. We won't beat them 6-0 without Song, Eboue and possibly Fabregas. Bolton will be tough and Aston Villa will be waiting for us at Villa Park. Man United is a 6 pointer. January will be hard but Arsenal should be extremely confident given their recent experiences.

What should Wenger do with the FA Cup? It comes between Portsmouth and Everton and another in the middle of January. The FA Cup third round is against West Ham so it's no easy game. Will Wenger risk playing a younger team given the injuries we have and the vulnerability the team has should Arshavin or Gallas or Vermaelen get injured?

When Cesc came in against Villa, one of his first acts was to take a 40-yard free kick and go for goal instead of crossing, barely missing target. It was a clear message to the team: no more ping-ponging the ball, take responsibility and shoot. Good captain's work. Everything changed after that.

Diaby is good, very good indeed so far but Diaby has one crucial problem. He sees things very late. He has to start and finish a move, he cannot see a move that could finish without him. Diaby does not have the discipline to play as a DM either so my hope is that he can grow his vision quickly and add value somewhere else.

What Arsenal are getting now is what they deserve. It is not because some other manager bottled it or because a referee gave them a cheap free-kick. You can see against Villa and Hull that they are working damn hard, they are smarter in defence and midfield, they are a lot more disciplined, players like Song have grown, Gallas, Vermaelen and Song are a great backbone, Arshavin is dangerous and even rookies like Traore and doing well enough. You can see they are really driven. Let's cheer them on and keep positive and see how far they go.

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