Ed’s note – This piece was submitted earlier in the week before there was any word of Mikael Silvestre signing for Arsenal. So the opinion in the third para below the image obviously has no bias attached! Sam emailed after the Silvestre signing stating, “Little did I realise that Silvestre was going to be released… being the poor back up player that he is. Little did I realise that less than 24 hours after sending you the article Wenger could be on the brink of signing him. Irony can play very cruel tricks at times!”). Here’s the piece…

We are only two games into the season and already there is doom from the press and certain Arsenal fans. Admittedly I was a little unsure about this season compared to last, however two wins in a week have made me realise things might not be so bad after all.

The ongoing debate about the strength and depth of our squad continues – covered in recent articles by Raffi Varoujian and Mark Halfpenny. Now I think everybody agrees that we could do with a top central midfielder to play along side the little genius that is Cesc Fabregas. And most would like a tall centre half that can head a ball and make a strong tackle. But if we buy those, fans will still want more. Next summer they will want a new David Seaman, then a new Thierry Henry and then it will be full circle and we will need a new midfielder again. Fans always want new signings… it’s the one buzz of a non-football summer. But let’s work on the assumption that Wenger makes no more signings this season, how are we going to cope?!

One look at the opposition and you might realise that things aren’t actually all that great for them either. If we lose Gallas and Toure we have Djourou and Senderos. Is this any worse than Man Utd losing Vidic and Ferdinand and bringing in Silvestre and O’Shea? Not really. Is it any worse than Chavski losing Terry and Carvalho and bringing in Alex and Ferrera? Again not really.

Look across most positions and things aren’t much better for the others either…everyone is in pretty similar boats except up front where I actually think we have much more choice than both Man Utd and Chavski. Man Utd have started the season with fewer injuries than us yet they have only managed a 0-0 and a 1-1. Who did they have on the bench and bring on against Newcastle in that 1-1 draw? O’Shea, Rafael and Possebon. Three world class players are they? I don’t think so. And that was having started the game with Fletcher on the wing and Campbell up front.

At the end of the day we have two players for each position and a hatful of youngsters with great potential on top. That is more than most teams… again including Man Utd who tried our Carling Cup policy last year and lost 2-0 at home to Coventry. You’ll notice I haven’t even bothered to mention Liverpool as yet because I’m sure most people agree that beyond Gerrard and Torres there isn’t really much else there, a handful of good players in the starting 11 but again not much else in reserve… fancy losing 2-1 at home to Barnsley anyone? No I thought not.

The only difference between our squad and others is that ours is made up of a number of injury prone players. That is what made the difference last year along with a lot of bad luck… Sir Fergusmoan has even said so himself during the summer when asked who he fears most this season. In which case we don’t need to buy lots more players for “a deeper squad”, we maybe just need to start thinking about replacing those always absent with players who stay fit! Eduardo was the exception, but was anyone surprised that Rosicky, Van Persie and Diaby spent most of last season injured?

And one final point. Adebayor. Firstly let me point out very clearly that in no way do I agree or am I happy about his behaviour this summer. Misled by greed (and an even greedier agent) he has wormed his way to a new deal of £80k a week. However, the fact remains that he is here to stay, even if it is only for another 12 months. So let’s get behind the bloke seeing as I keep hearing how small our squad is we might just need him! I am yet to meet a single fan who can tell me one positive that comes from booing your own player or team. People booed in pre-season, they let him know they were upset and that he has a point to prove… that was bad enough, but understandable to some degree. But why did this have to carry this over to the opening game of the season? He had an easy pass, got selfish and tried to beat a player and score… like many centre forwards do. Is that really a reason to boo? Is that going to make him try harder? Is that going to make him score the 30 goals plus that we need from him? No, I don’t think it will.

I suggest some fans take a look inside the collar of their new kits this season and remember Victoria Concordia Crescit… Victory Through Harmony.