Most people will have seen the excellent pieces written by Martin Samuel and Matthew Syed in yesterday’s papers, and indeed the full transcripts are available (in two parts from the Mail - here’s the first, and here’s the second - or all in one go from the Times).

No-one can doubt Arsène Wenger’s dedication to Arsenal and his job. And on this of all days I am not going to dwell on the drawbacks of his approach. The season kicks off for real today and the hope has to be that he can buck the odds and have Arsenal challenging for the title once again, which has happened on only one occasion in the previous four campaigns.

We are Arsenal fans. We can all see areas where things could be better, but that isn’t going to stop us willing the team on, and hoping that the team can do the things they are good at well enough to make up for the stuff I’m not going into today.

It’s a huge season. Certainly, in the stadiums, the team need our support as much as ever, and this will not be a problem on the road. The travelling Gooners are invariably fantastic. In fact, the team may get some momentum in the first six matches of the campaign (including the Celtic tie) by playing four of their fixtures away from the – at times – slightly low key atmosphere generated at home games.

The players have the ability to put together some sweet football that can win matches if the chances converted are taken. Simple as that. The approach is to score goals and the results will follow, that is the Wenger way. How the team perform when they have the ball is what the man prioritises, and that’s what will beat Everton if Arsenal are to get their season started in the way that, in truth, they probably need to, given that momentum is key with the encounters to follow before the season’s a month old.

I’m not a fan of 4-3-3 with Arsenal’s current squad roster, but it seems, having played it throughout pre-season, that is the way Wenger wants to go. He admires Barcelona and wants to fashion a side in their image. Well, let us hope that he can match their success. The bookies will gladly take your money should you believe the manager can pull it off.

The admission from Wenger that the club have had to do it the hard way since the stadium move will surprise no-one, but at least he has finally admitted it. The telling line from this piece is “I agreed on a structure to the club four or five years ago, I believed it could work and we are at the period now when we will see whether I was right or not.” Let’s just hope he is.

It is going to be a difficult opening fixture, but Goodison is a place where past successful Gunners teams have done the business. Equally, there have been seasons where the result there has been indicative of the reality that it isn’t going to be our year. I know it is only the first match, but I believe its significance is huge, especially for the confidence of the players. If Arsenal are to buck the odds, then the team needs to grow and develop from some of what we have witnessed over the previous 12 months – and fast. Winning against a resolute Everton side would be a big step towards that.

In the words of Dame Maria Petri, ‘Come on you Gunners!’