ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB: THEIR SEASON SO FAR

Following the departures of star midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively in the summer transfer window, it was no surprise that confidence amongst the Arsenal troupes was relatively low come the start of the season.

The fixture list reading Newcastle United (away), Liverpool (home) and Manchester United (away) as their first three league encounters did nothing to help their cause.

Following a goalless draw at St. James’ Park on opening day in a game where debutant Gervinho was sent off, the Gunners hosted Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool in their first home game of the season. They put in a solid performance, with Emmanuel Thomas impressing greatly. The youngster though, was sent off for two bookable offences and Arsenal conceded twice late on to end up on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline.

If that was a disaster, next week’s game at Old Trafford was nothing short of a catastrophe. A combination of suspensions, injuries and poor performances saw United run riot and run out a massive 8-2 winners against their once fierce rivals.

The morale in the Arsenal dressing room was predictably down and so was their league position, as they found themselves in 17^th place, with just 1 point from 3 games.

A narrow and somewhat fortuitous win against Swansea was followed by another defeat at Blackburn, a game in which Arsenal scored 2 own goals in a 4-3 loss.

This led many experts to say that it’s time for Arsene Wenger to move on and for a new face at the helm.

This though, hardly seemed to deter the Frenchman, and since then, the Gunners have shown some laudable character, climbing to 7^th in the table at the end of gameweek 11.

In this period, they have won 8 out of their 10 games in all competitions, with striker Robin Van Persie hitting top form, scoring 11 league goals.

Their only loss came at White Hart Lane against North London rivals Tottenham, where they were subjected to a 2-1 defeat.

But a 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea showed just how much they have improved in the last few weeks.

There has been a lot of talk about Arsenal being a one-man team of late, with Van Persie being the primary goal-getter, but recent games have shown that players like Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey are getting to the fore as well. Defensive frailty still remains a problem for Arsene Wenger, but clean sheets in their last 3 homes games is certainly a step in the right direction.

The title race is surely of their reach, with leaders Manchester City being 12 points clear at the top, but if they continue playing like this, a top 4 finish will only be a mere formality.