Ronnie Simmons
I’ll make an announcement before I start – my name is GoonerRon and I am an optimist.
This is an affliction I’ve had to live with since a young age, when I thought girls would want to go out with me even if I didn’t look in their direction, when I thought Tony would get community service, when I thought Wrighty would never get old, and to the current day when I still think kissing the badge when I put my Arsenal shirt on will somehow help the team at kick-off. As I’ve got older, I like to think my optimism has become doused with a fair bit of reality and objectivity, however.
It is on this basis that I am feeling encouraged by our start to the season (for reasons that I’ll explain).
We have closure. RvP has gone, as has all of the talk about the will-he-won’t-he saga. The media are also having to think of another cliché to replace their default setting of us being a one-man team.
We are a settled group. We’ve had no last-minute incomings (ironically, the club getting stick for no last-minute signings, despite getting stick for exactly that a year ago) and have had a full preseason together with the new coaching set-up.
This leads nicely onto my next point. Our defensive shape and discipline has improved markedly. Three clean sheets in a row is testament to that and, hopefully, more training-ground drilling, the odd throat-grab from Steve Bould etc will see us continuing our defensive evolution. This new-found discipline has been embedded across all areas of the pitch – when Tommy V intercepted Gerrard’s pass for our first goal on Sunday, we would usually see him bombing forward into attack, but he stayed put, as did Arteta, as did Jenkinson. Half an hour into an away game, we are letting the attackers attack and are defending sensibly. We are seeing small shift-changes in mentality which could make a considerable difference. Look at Giroud’s work-rate, at Podolski’s hunger to close down high up the pitch, the fact we’ve attempted more tackles than any team so far in the league. It’s the makings of a real team we have here.
The blend of the squad is the best it’s been for years. We’ve got a great mix of really experienced players like Arteta, Podolski, Mertesacker, Sagna, Cazorla, combined with players coming into their peak at 25-27 years old, like Diaby, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Giroud and mixed in with some genuinely exceptional young talent that will continue to get better and better like Ox, Ches, Wilshere, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Coquelin. I keep saying it, but we shouldn’t underestimate how the natural development (through experience, ongoing coaching) of our younger players can deliver serious strength, organically, to our squad. Ox has moved from a League 1 prospect to fully-fledged tournament international. Gibbs, Coquelin, Ches, Jenkinson have completed their first proper full seasons in the first-team squad and can be trusted.
The support – I know we are a divided bunch on here, and that is to be expected. We are all different, and interpret the performance of the team on the pitch and the board/manager off the pitch differently. However, I can safely say that every single person in the away-end gave their all to support the team at Anfield on Sunday, so it’s good to see any indifference we may feel towards the club isn’t translating to lack of support in the stands (the Emirates is a different story, as we know).
The togetherness – from the high-fives for blocking a shot to the low-fives for making a tackle, from the pats on the back from stopping a cross to the fist-pumps from Podolski and Mertesacker at the final whistle. This is a group of players that seem to be enjoying their game and thriving on winning.
So there it is, my optimism of the day in 550 words.
My objectivity is kicking in slightly, and whilst still in full agreement with everything I’ve written above, I am tinged with a slight concern about some other things. Do we have enough cover up front? Will our injured players come back in good form? Will we get luck regarding any new injuries? Will Wenger spend in January if we need strengthening? Can we maintain our energy and desire from Liverpool for the next round of fixtures?
I can’t answer those questions right now, but for the time being I’ll remain optimistic all the same.
Up the Gunners.
