Resilient Arsenal rip Swansea apart with fluid five minute spell

It’s a rarity these days that an Arsenal game compels me to write a blog post on it in the aftermath. We have so many writers in the Arsenal fanbase, which means that every man and his blog has an opinion and most of the time someone else is saying what you’re saying, but after the Swansea victory I’m not really fussed – there are a lot of things I want to talk about, and Twitter doesn’t quite cut it.

I think more or less every player deserves a paragraph after the match that we had, so I’ll start with Wojciech Szczesny. The Pole has been doubted by just about everyone for a while, but Arsene Wenger’s faith hasn’t wavered enough for Le Boss to sign a new first-choice goalkeeper. He may have dropped Szczesny in favour of Fabianski, but it seemed the kick up the butt that Wojciech needed, and he duly responded with some fantastic form. He wasn’t actually called on much against Swansea, but I thought he was reliable each time – a Nathan Dyer snapshot that he was alert to springs to mind, while every single aerial ball was his. I thought that @gunnerthoughts made a good point about Arsene’s faith in him.

I said the other day that I thought Bacary Sagna deserves more credit this year, and most agreed, but with the compromise that, despite the fact that he’s playing at full capacity right now, his 100% now compared to a few years ago isn’t quite as good. Fair enough – the Frenchman was quite sluggish in his tracking of Ben Davies for Swansea’s goal, but other than that Sagna was solid and reliable, which is exactly what I hope to see in a full-back. It’s worth remembering how badly he played at points last season and comparing it with now. A full pre-season has him looking quite a lot like his old self. Give that man a new contract.

Speaking of new contracts, Per Mertesacker has been linked with one, and based on his form this season alone, he absolutely deserves one. An impeccable reader of the game, which is how he makes up for a lack of pace – although I’d genuinely posit that he’s become quicker/more agile since signing for Arsenal – Per was more or less flawless yesterday, other than getting caught underneath a wonderful Wilfried Bony ball for the goal. 29 today and showing no signs of slowing down in the mind, let’s hope we continue to see Per proving me and others wrong for having doubts over him. Happy birthday big man.

Alongside him, Laurent Koscielny did his usual thing. There weren’t many individual moments from our defence to talk about, since we defended so well as a team – more on that later – that the defenders didn’t really have to perform any miracles to rescue us. Other than that, Koscielny was solid as usual, without making his occasional error. As you can see from Culann’s video compilation of his performance, his distribution was near-impeccable and pretty much everything he did was positive. I particularly liked how well he kept stepping in front of Bony/Michu as Swansea tried to break us down near the end. Great stuff from Koscielny.

Then we have Kieran Gibbs at left back, and, like Sagna, I think his performances this season have been typical of what a full-back should be: solid and reliable at the back, as well as offering a useful presence going forward. The latter part of his game didn’t quite feature so much against Swansea, other than a penalty appeal after linking with Özil and some nice interplay with Jack and Aaron. Still, the attacking players hardly seemed to need much help, so that’s okay. Another no-frills solid performance from a member of the much-vaunted British core.

Since I’m doing this in formation order, I’ve got a decision to make – was it a 4-2-3-1, or was it more of a 4-4-1-1? I’d say in defence it was definitely the latter, while going forward there was so much freedom of movement that there wasn’t really a structure. Given that we spent a lot of time defending, I’m going to call it a 4-4-1-1 and talk about the guy who started on the right of midfield for the third game in a row.

I was really impressed by Serge Gnabry against Stoke last weekend. I thought he slotted in with minimal fuss to the first team, and didn’t look one bit out of place, which is just so encouraging for a young player. If people were dissatisfied with his performance against Stoke because of a perceived lack of confidence, I don’t think that was an issue for anyone yesterday. He was the player to break through the monotony of the first half, making a great chance for Giroud with a superb dribble and pass, and should have been rewarded with an assist. No matter – he consoled himself by capping off a superb team move with a goal. That’s what I mean when I say he didn’t look out of place – he was on the same wave-length as the rest of the players during the move, and finished it off with the quality you’d expect from a seasoned first-teamer. He got into a great position, checked back so he’d be onside, took a composed touch and fired low past Vorm. I couldn’t have asked for any more from Serge.

Moving across the midfield to the centre, let’s talk about Aaron Ramsey a bit more. Other than a great drilled effort from range, he was pretty much on par with the rest of the team in the first half, in that he wasn’t quite at full capacity. That changed in the second half as he was instrumental in both goals – he set up Serge with an extremely intelligent pass, before capping a thrilling counter-attack with the coolness we’ve come to expect from him. He could’ve had another assist when he laid it onto Özil after the first. He is absolutely on fire right now.

Then we have Mathieu Flamini, the free transfer from Milan that was widely derided by many. The sensible Arsenal fans I know were fine with the move, although it was concerning for lots that he was the only central midfielder brought in (Mesut definitely isn’t a central midfielder). I wasn’t sure he still had it after a few years in Italy, but he seems almost as good as he was when he left. His displays aren’t as all-action – he’s more side-to-side than box-to-box, which is fine as Aaron has the latter role nailed down – but he’s just as useful. A cynical foul and booking after the first goal just summed him up – willing to do anything for the cause, and he demonstrated that with a committed, solid performance in front of the defence. His partnership with Ramsey is such that I’d struggle to break them up if I was the manager. A good headache to have with Arteta returning.

Jack Wilshere lined up on the left again, and I think he deserves a lot of credit. It’s important to recognise that he’s just getting to grips with that position, so he should be given time to overcome the initial shaky form that comes with that territory. Despite that, he played a huge role in both goals. For the first, he was part of the flowing passing that sliced Swansea apart, whereas he was integral throughout the second. Running onto Ramsey’s delightful flick, his desire and skill saw him emerge with the ball and as soon as he leapt to his feet, it was on. A brilliant give-and-go with Giroud before slipping in the Frenchman for the assist, and Arsenal were 2-0 up thanks to the finish from Ramsey. He may not have been brilliant from start to finish, but during that five minute period he had a huge influence on the game.

In front of the midfield was, of course, Mesut Özil, who showed off his skills with a cheeky gum trick in the warm-up. LOOK AT THAT CHEEKY GRIN. All in all, Mesut was a little quiet, although he was involved in both goals early on. Though he was at times peripheral, what’s important is that we didn’t need him to step up, so it was more a case of him stepping aside to let others do the business, and when he did get on the ball, he was excellent. He’ll need time to hit his stride as he gels with the team, and once he does we can expect him to dominate games. Until then, we can enjoy the flashes of brilliance which are definitely a sign of things to come.

Up front, Olivier Giroud toiled in the first half, not getting much joy in any area of his game before wasting a great chance. The key difference in Arsenal in the first and second halves was that we countered as a unit more effectively, and we got players close to Giroud. We were able to create triangles in the second period and that’s how we opened Swansea up, and Giroud deserves a lot of credit for being the attacking pivot, having a hand in both goals. He doesn’t look out of place in a fluid Arsenal side so far this season. Let’s hope he, like the team, continues to play at this higher level.

Focusing on each individual player has, I hope, highlighted that everybody is playing at a high level, but that’s not the point I was hoping to make when I began writing this post. As you can infer from the title, I thought we were solid for just about the full 90 minutes – I’m not sure if we can call Davies’ goal a lapse, given how well-worked it was – but hit our stride in the five minutes between 58 and 63. That’s when our goals came, and also when Mesut spurned a chance to get off the mark for us, and I think it really highlighted our quality.

Excitingly, though I shall try not to get carried away, it reminded me of the Invincibles. Solid and resilient throughout the game, but flicked the switch going forward for a brief period and blew away the opposition. The way we dissected Swansea was magnificent to watch in that time-slot, with the football quite breath-taking. That’s the fluidity that comes with continuity and having a core of quality players remain together for a good period of time. It’s what we lacked in the previous couple of seasons, which explains why our football was often so dull (not that the onlookers seemed to notice).

I think everyone deserves credit for their performances but Arsene also deserves credit for building this team – a team he always maintained faith in, especially a few choice individuals. It’s ridiculous how many important players Arsene has seen taken from other teams in stronger positions than us, and he responded the only way he knew how: by building a new team, and this time he’s not only been able to keep the team together but to add to it with Germany’s best player.

Now we’re in the position of power. Top of the table, on a fantastic winning streak, playing great football, with arguably the league’s most talented player yet to fully gel with his team-mates. Not to mention the absentees – Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would all add massive strength in depth to this side, which is a ridiculous thing to say for players of their quality. People talked about our bench yesterday but given our injuries, a bench of Fabianski, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Monreal, Arteta, Ryo and Bendtner is still quite strong.

It’s amazing how things change in football. Sitting slumped in my seat as thousands around me jeered the team and the manager off against Aston Villa was one of the lowest points of my time supporting Arsenal, and now, just over a month later, I’m more satisfied with the team than I have been in years, genuinely. The key now is to kick on and try to keep our lead at the top. Extending it would be even better. We’ll need some luck with injuries in certain positions. That was always clear. But with that luck, we can go places. Up the Arsenal.

Here’s to the supporting cast

Although Robin van Persie won Arsenal.com’s player of the season award today by more than a landslide, there are several who deserve mentions alongside the Dutchman – the three men above for instance. No, not you Mike Dean. I blurred you out for a reason. (if you genuinely are reading this Mike, more penalties please. Not for the other team as pictured above, you give too many of those)

As well as Laurent Koscielny, Alex Song and Bacary Sagna, Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Wojciech Szczesny have all made sizeable contributions this season, and those contributions should not be written off simply due to the magnitude of van Persie’s. Not only did several of them lay on a great deal of van Persie’s goals, but they were superb in their own rights. Suggestions that Arsenal are a one-man team are way off the mark, even if their captain did score a large amount of the Gunners’ goals last season.

In his first full season, Wojciech Szczesny made some excellent saves and was a commanding presence between the posts. A lack of protection from the defence and midfield at times exposed him – especially to an apparent weakness from long shots – but he still made some vital stops and his distribution seemed to improve. A large character, he’ll be sure to be Arsenal’s number one for years to come.

Despite two leg breaks, when he played, Bacary Sagna was a beacon of consistency and was always his no-nonsense self at right back, further strengthening his claim to being the best in the league in his position. As well as the never-wavering defensive contributions, he did his bit when he went forward too, setting up van Persie’s header at Anfield for example.

Many had Thomas Vermaelen & Per Mertesacker down as our first choice at the beginning of the season, and by the end, Laurent Koscielny is the only indisputable choice at centre back for many, myself included. The Frenchman (older than Vermaelen, to my surprise) had a superb second season, showing everyone that he had settled completely with many flawless displays in defence. Deserving of far more than just 4.29% in the player of the season poll.

In midfield we were ravaged with injuries, which meant we didn’t see Jack Wilshere once, and we were often without Alex Song’s back-ups in Coquelin & Frimpong. Luckily Song was pretty much always available, and while his performances weren’t as consistent as his appearances, he still came up with important assists when we needed him to; mostly to van Persie, although an exquisite ball to Theo Walcott for our second vs Aston Villa springs to mind.

Alongside Song in a midfield pivot was Mikel Arteta, summer deadline day signing from Everton. I’ve written way too much about him recently as it is, but one more paragraph can’t hurt: he added some much needed stability and balance to Arsenal, as well as chipping in with some vital contributions going forwards. Arsenal’s record without him said it all.

The third member of the regular midfield – in the second half of the season anyway – was Tomas Rosicky, and the Czech excelled in the role between Robin van Persie, linking up well with the Dutchman as well as dropping in and creating a midfield three with Arteta & Song, which helped Arsenal’s fluidity a great deal. 2 goals and 5 assists weren’t brilliant, but something to build on next season – and the goal to put the Gunners ahead against Tottenham was pretty huge.

It may seem strange to some that Theo Walcott is the final member praised in this post, as his contribution remains erratic, but there were still some important goals and assists scattered here, there and everywhere. In 46 appearances (including 5 as a substitute) he netted eleven times and set up nine goals – that’s 20 goals he was directly involved in. Not a bad return for someone still only 23 and still developing.

All in all, despite a huge contribution from van Persie, there were still vital parts played by his team-mates, and he certainly couldn’t have done it without them. I suppose this is kind of a lazy season review – and it’s not anything to do with the recent Unsung Heroes series, despite some relatable content.

Valiant Gunners fall short

It’s difficult to think of a fitting first line for an article on a night like that (and some might call this one a cop-out), a night on which Arsenal came so close to completing the seemingly impossible. There were a few prevailing emotions at the final whistle: pride, restored after the humiliation at the San Siro, was certainly one, as the Gunners put in a superb performance to put three goals past Milan, who had no response. But as well as that, a tinge of regret – despite the heroics, there were one or two “What if?”s that Arsenal fans couldn’t help but to ask.

The main one was regarding the man pictured above. 32 goal Robin van Persie. A man whose goals have carried Arsenal this season – although this is not to say that the Gunners are a one-man team; simply that van Persie is more often than not the man who puts the ball in the back of the net – and whose left foot has been compared by many to a wand.

What luck, then, just the luck that Arsenal needed in fact, that the ball would drop to that same foot mid-way through the second half, after Christian Abbiati had only parried Gervinho’s blocked attempt. With the goalkeeper on the floor, surely the most clinical Arsenal player since Thierry Henry would finish off an incredible – in the full meaning of the word, not the all-too-common modern day hyperbole – four-goal comeback.

However, it wasn’t to be. Disbelief, all around, as van Persie stood in agony as Abbiati leapt to his feet, ball in hand. In hindsight, the dinked finish was probably the wrong kind, although credit must go to Abbiati. Still, watching the replay of the vital miss again, one can’t help but beg for van Persie to smash the ball past the goalkeeper and spark wild celebrations at an already-buzzing Emirates Stadium. If only football, and indeed life, worked like that.

Sadly it doesn’t, and van Persie must live with his miss. But if Arsene Wenger’s players showed anything on the night it was that infamous mental strength, which the Frenchman so often reiterated in his press conferences. Many would laugh at him as he insisted that his players were strong, but it seems he was vindicated, and even his fiercest critics may have to admit that he was right after all.

Some might argue that it was the fans’ infectious belief that transferred to the players, though that is but a trivial aspect of the game. What matters most is that the players summoned the belief, one way or another, to battle their way back to 4-3 on aggregate. They refused to sit down and admit defeat, even late in the second half when they were visibly exhausted from the super-human effort to claw the tie back to such a small overall deficit. It was clear, though, that not even their belief could carry an injury-ravaged, burnt-out side over the line. Arsenal had certainly made the impossible seem infinitely possible, but fell just short of ascending the Everest-like mountain they had created for themselves.

In the first half, Max Allegri’s side had little response to the intensity and spirit of Arsenal’s game. They pressed and pressed, harrying Milan, not giving the opposition any time to rest or to even think on the ball. Arsenal were hungry for the ball, hungry to atone for the errors at the San Siro. With the speed of the players at Arsene Wenger’s disposal, it was always going to be promising winning the ball back high up the pitch, and the likes of Tomas Rosicky set out to do just that.

The only problem with that was the all-too-real possibility that the Gunners would run out of steam. Wenger’s options suddenly decimated by injuries after the Liverpool match, he had just two specialist midfielders in the first team available, in Rosicky (who passed a late fitness test having been a doubt) & Alex Song. Oxlade-Chamberlain was the natural choice to be the third man in midfield, given that he played in the centre of the park for Southampton several times. Indeed, he displayed the talents which saw him picked there by Nigel Adkins at St Mary’s, despite the likes of Graeme Souness admitting he “didn’t realise [Chamberlain] could play there”.

As mentioned on Chronicles of Almunia before the game, it does seem as if the England youngster will end up in the centre of the park. He certainly has the attributes – upper body strength, an eye for a pass, a wonderful drive on the ball and a talent for long-range strikes. What hadn’t been apparent until last night, however, was how far he’s come defensively since his last Champions League appearance at the Emirates. Against Olympiakos, despite scoring, he was criticised for his lack of defensive nous, but showed significant improvement in that area against the European giants of Milan.

It was not only his stamina but his defensive contribution that Arsene Wenger had worried about before letting ‘The Ox’ loose, but now he is willing to throw his summer signing into the deep end. This faith in his discipline in tracking back was undoubtably repaid – in a deeper midfield role than he might be used to, Chamberlain curbed his attacking instincts well at times to cover for Song, when the Cameroon anchorman went on a pressing foray. The ex-Southampton man even covered at centre back at one point.

Chamberlain did make a few telling contributions going forward, of course – none more so than his bursting run from deep into the opposition penalty area, when he was brought tumbling down as the filling in a sandwich of Djamel Mesbah and Antonio Nocerino, the former bundling him over to concede a penalty. As Michael Cox said over at Zonal Marking, Arsenal decided to target Milan’s left hand-side in particular, which meant Gervinho was fairly quiet. The African Cup of Nations also took a lot out of him, which may have contributed further to his muted performance.

Laurent Koscielny also profited from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s good play, bundling home his corner with either his head or the top of his shoulder. The French centre-back was magnificent once again, marshaling Ibrahimovic many a time to keep the big Swede relatively quiet. His runs having dropped deep usually pose a problem for sides, but Arsenal played the offside trap to perfection, catching him offside probably around 10 times.

Another Arsenal player who can be particularly proud of his individual performance is Tomas Rosicky. The Czech midfielder was marvellous in midfield, imperious even, as he played a huge part in dragging Arsenal to the brink of glory. He was buzzing around in midfield like an angered wasp, ready to sting at any point, and indeed his near-post strike which beat Abbiati would have stung the Italian goalkeeper considerably. It was though an excellent finish, measured to perfection, just out of reach for the man between the sticks.

Rosicky has so long been tortured by injuries but has this season finally shown consistency in his performances, and it seems as if the 31-year-old is back to his former brilliant self. Arsenal have seldom seen this side of Rosicky – perhaps due to the likes of Cesc Fabregas playing in the favoured position of “the Little Mozart”, but in the absence of a playmaker, Rosicky has well and truly stepped up to fill the gap.

However, the midfield schemer visibily tired in the second half, clearly unable to influence the game as he had in the first 45 minutes. The same could be said for a lot of the Arsenal side out there though – it was never going to be easy sustaining the level of intensity and pressure they had managed to perform to in the opening period of the game. It was then that the lack of options really became apparent – Wenger threw on Park Ju-Young and Marouane Chamakh, but neither of the strikers could push the Gunners over the line.

It was no surprise that Arsenal tired – their squad has been stretched so tightly as a consequence of injuries, in midfield especially as Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby have failed to complete a full 90 minutes between them. Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Francis Coquelin and Emmanuel Frimpong all joined their fellow midfielders on the sidelines, which left Oguzhan Ozyakup, a 17-year-old reserve midfielder, as Arsenal’s only option to bring on in the middle of the park.

Once the Gunners’ injuries ease, which should be soon given the hopefully short-term nature of many of their midfielders’ knocks, it will be considerably easier to manage the strains of pressing at such a high level game-by-game. There will be the option of bringing tired players off, as well as rotation between games to allow players like Rosicky the rest which they surely would need after such an effort.

If this turns out to be the case, and Arsenal are able to produce similar performances, they stand in good stead for the future. The clouds seem to be lifting once more, and given the high-profile nature of Arsenal’s successive scalps, you could forgive Arsene Wenger for hoping that this string of results is not just another false dawn before his side plummets back into the abyss. Perhaps the future is bright after all.

Taking the positives

There would be little point in going over the same negative critiques as everybody else – it would add little to the debate and be very repetitive, not to mention rather detrimental. So instead, this post will discuss some of the positives that can be taken from the Arsenal – Manchester United game.

Let’s start with Laurent Koscielny, a player I (among several others) have long been championing. All season long (and before that too) he has been absolutely superb, barely putting a foot wrong. He kept that up on Sunday, with his immaculate defensive play one of the highlights for Arsenal. As always his tackles were precise and clean, and he was dominant in the air.

Indeed, he was the one who started the attack for Robin van Persie’s goal. He robbed Rafael of the ball expertly, and having carried it out of defence, fired a pass into Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky played a lovely ball to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who set up van Persie to fire home. Koscielny loves to come out of defence with the ball and it is one of the many things that endears him to Arsene Wenger. He loves a ball-playing centre back, and appears to have found a superb one in Koscielny. I’d say he’s quite easily the best defender at the club. There aren’t many better in England right now either.

The manner of Arsenal’s goal was unsurprising and perhaps telling, as it was made by the three stand-out players of the game for the Gunners. After the contribution of Laurent Koscielny came Tomas Rosicky‘s. He found himself in acres of space when found by Koscielny, and lobbed an excellent pass into the path of Oxlade-Chamberlain. Rosicky was easily the best out of Arsenal’s midfield trio, constantly looking for space and helping keep the ball. His dynamic runs on the ball were a great help in starting attacks for the home side, and filled in well for Mikel Arteta.

There have been many times when Rosicky has been written off by most but once again he’s come back and shown his true colours. If he could gain some more consistency in his performances (which are in fairness not very consistent themselves numbers-wise; he often gets thrown in due to injury, instead of being played in a rotation system, something which would probably decrease Arsenal’s injuries as they wouldn’t be relying on players so heavily) he would be seen as a very valuable member of Arsene Wenger’s squad. For now he should be seen as a great fill-in for Mikel Arteta – it is just a shame that Aaron Ramsey is also filling in for Jack Wilshere and is suffering from that reliance on him. It’s never easy when a team is forced to play two second choice midfielders, especially for Arsenal as it’s where the majority of their play comes from.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the third player involved in the goal before the finishing touch from Robin van Persie and had been having an eye-catching game. His buzzing runs and powerful play created a few openings for Arsenal; a chance spurned by Theo Walcott and one narrowly missed by Aaron Ramsey were both set up by Oxlade-Chamberlain. He finally got the assist he had been working for when captain van Persie drilled home after great work from the youngster.

He repeatedly turned United’s full backs and covering players inside out, and did so again for the goal. Any worries about him not being mentally ready for the big-time seem to have been soothed. Physically he may not be ready 100% as was shown by Wenger bringing him off (although his critics will argue against that point) but that will be easy to improve on.

Talking about the game as a whole, 2-1 is a completely respectable score-line. Arsenal were poor in the first half, but the second half saw them take control. It was a very promising display; they seized upon mistakes (see Rosicky robbing Smalling) and despite missing chances it would have pleased Arsene Wenger, despite the direction the game took in the end. His side have lost by the same score to Manchester United many a time before, and there certainly wasn’t as much hysteria then.

Clearly Arsenal are suffering from injuries to key players; Bacary Sagna, Andre Santos, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta would all have started, and Gervinho is also missing. Not only that but the replacements for those players aren’t all fit – Carl Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs are both on the sidelines too. 2-1 against the champions is hardly a terrible result. It could have gone either way too – if Arsenal had made more of their period of dominance they could have easily gone ahead.

The point is not that the negatives are irrelevant or even not there. Just that they aren’t all that there is.

Arsenal’s defence instils confidence once more

This post first appeared on Life’s a Pitch.

In the six years it has been since Arsenal lifted a trophy, there has been one common factor throughout: a problem with our defence. Whether it’s been a dodgy goalkeeper, the defensive personnel or trouble with set pieces, it’s nearly always been our downfall.

There have been several high-profile defensive mistakes at Arsenal over the past six years. Manuel Almunia has made a large number of them – for one, his fumble against Birmingham in March 2010 signified the beginning of the end of Arsenal’s title challenge. That season had seen us still in with a chance of lifting the trophy late in the season, but defensive mistakes, among other things, saw us fall away. Losses to Tottenham, Wigan and Blackburn – all littered with goals that should have been easy to prevent – were the final nails in our coffin for that season.

While other things have contributed to us not winning trophies (refereeing mistakes and injuries come to mind – these can also be traced back to St Andrews) it has long been the case that defensive troubles have been one of the main reasons that we’ve struggled for consistency. The fragility has always been clear to everyone, and you could sense that a mistake could come out of nowhere at any time.

Now, things seem to be different. Arsenal’s first choice defence finally seems to be one to be proud of; the reliable Wojciech Szczesny, one of the best right backs around in Bacary Sagna, our solid vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen, the ever-improving Laurent Koscielny and the enthusiastic (yet temporarily injured) Andre Santos. Left back is arguably the only first choice position which can be questioned – Santos has only been at Arsenal for a few months, and although he’s shown good signs he’s still yet to be tested to the best of his ability.

However, Arsenal have been a lot more solid in defence of late. Szczesny has proven himself as a top goalkeeper worthy of his position, Sagna has always been top quality, Vermaelen has few remaining critics after a storming first season, and Koscielny has set about proving all of his nay-sayers wrong with some outstanding form. Santos has also provided calm and experience, despite his liking to maraud forward – which has in fairness improved our attack too.

In fact, a case could well be made for Koscielny and Vermaelen potentially being the best central defensive partnership in the league. They haven’t played together at the heart of the defence as much as Arsene Wenger would have liked due to various injuries, but when they have they’ve impressed.

The perennial high line seems to have been ditched in favour of a more efficient, versatile style, and the Gunners have had far less problems in the air – be that from set pieces or from long balls. While not the tallest pairing around, Vermaelen and Koscielny are both deceptively strong in the air, and the statistics back that up.

While it may be too late for Arsenal to mount a proper title challenge this season due to a late awakening because of Wenger’s apparent wish to press the snooze button until the end of August, we seem to have sorted out the problems that have haunted us season upon season. The spine of the team is now strong, and we have a tough, efficient base to build upon. Without the shakiness at the back the rest of the team can feel more at ease and more able to do their own jobs, instead of worrying when the next defensive cock-up will come.

Not only have we improved our first choice back-line, it seems obvious that our back-up options are better now too. Instead of the often-erratic Eboué (see the penalty he conceded against Liverpool at the Emirates last season) we have the young, hard-working Jenkinson – while he is still learning, he has incredible stamina and a wicked cross. At centre half Squillaci is making fewer appearances thanks to the shrewd purchase of Per Mertesacker; although he has made a couple of errors, he’s still getting to know the Premier League and has given us a vital boost of experience, according to Robin van Persie. Johan Djourou now seems ready to fill in whenever needed effectively across the defence too, instead of destabilising our defence like he once did. And Kieran Gibbs now offers a more reliable alternative at left back than he did a few seasons ago (when he’s actually fit!).

So you can keep your Gary Cahills (overrated and not at all versatile) and your Christopher Sambas (definitely not what we need, thanks) because we’ve solved our defensive problems on our own. As the old saying goes; Arsène knows.