I intended to write this piece after the Man City game but never got the chance. By the time I did the theme seemed a little redundant, and so I never submitted it. Following seven straight victories in all competitions I was hoping it would stay that way, however the two October draws against Alkmaar and West Ham have made the theme re-appear in my thoughts, and that thought is that this Arsenal side simply aren’t good enough to be lazy.

The start of the season brought a new formation and with it new hopes. The back line looked more solid with the good form of Gallas and the addition of Vermaelen. Song in the holding role breaking up play and offering protection and cover for the centre halves. Cesc seemed to have a new lease of life occupying more threatening areas of the field and the three pronged attack allows us to fit in the abundance of “attacking midfielders” we seem to have at the club such as Arshavin, Rosicky and the returning Nasri – not to mention the other options of Walcott, Eboue, Vela and Wilshire.

And I guess all of the above were, and still are, reasons behind our good start and seven straight wins, however for me the most important factor is work rate. Some of the early season games (such as the wins at Goodison and Celtic Park) saw some of the highest levels of energy and work rate in a long time. Not just from the odd individual like Flamini a couple of seasons ago but the whole team working hard together from back to front – closing opponents down quickly, winning the ball high up the pitch, winning headers and making tackles.

However, against Man City and more recently against AZ and West Ham this work rate and energy level seems to have dropped… not much but to a level that this team (unlike the Invincibles) cannot get away with. As a result the formation is still there, as appear to be the solid centre halves, but the edges appear a little frayed. Both full backs haven’t found their top form as yet, the goalkeeping situation is up in the air (to put it mildly) and too much strolling about has become apparent. Put simply we are not good enough to be this lazy and get away with it – especially with our record of clean sheets!

Work hard from 1 to 11 (or from 24 to 52 as it is these days) and we can win 6-1 or 6-2. But drop that level, stroll about like the game is already won and you find poor teams like AZ and West Ham getting draws and better teams taking wins. Not only is this costly from a trophy perspective but also financially… as Martin Tyler informed the viewing public on Sky recently the 93rd minute equaliser against AZ cost us our win bonus and thus we missed out on an extra £350,000.

The work rate needs to rise again and preferably before we hit the 85 minute mark and everyone starts to panic (why do teams do that?!). Diaby looks like a walking definition of lazy and as great as I think Arshavin is he is completely anonymous should that moment of magic not arrive. In addition, to be super critical, I’d also like to question the fans and I guess what you could call the fans attitude and work rate. Can we really be judgmental of the players switching off and strolling about at 1-0 or 2-0 when we are in the stands doing the same thing… chanting “ole ole” with every pass made? Does this perhaps have an impact on the team? I may be wrong but the loud and expectant chanting of “Come on Arsenal, Come on Arsenal” when efforts drop seems to drive the team on more than “ole ole” or “it’s so quiet Upton Park”. So “Come on Arsenal” both players and fans… don’t let the levels drop until we are winning 3-0, 4-0 or more because it’s a must if three points are to be won!