Premier League Nonsense

One of Arsene Wenger’s comments following Arsenal’s 7-1 thumping of Blackburn Rovers was telling perhaps of how expectations have changed at the North London club. Asked whether there was any significance in the scoreline he said no, that it meant nothing unless the team could get a result at Sunderland next weekend and he would be just as happy with a 1-0 win.

1-0 to the Arsenal! That chant followed the club around especially during the early 1990s under George Graham, famous for his parsimonious defence. Under Graham you just knew that if they went one up that defence made of the good old English oak, Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Adams and Bould, would do the rest.

Wenger inherited that back line and they enjoyed several years of success but he has struggled of late to find players of similar stature and you just know these days 1-0 to the Arsenal is never going to be enough. Witness recent defeats away to Fulham and Swansea City.

There is always reason to gloat after such a comprehensive performance but there is still dissent among the Arsenal ranks though thankfully the threatened protest that had been circulating the internet, involving the placing of black bin bags on empty seats did not materialize, and that dissent won’t ease at least until a trophy is delivered.

There are though reasons for some optimism among the Arsenal support, not least the arrival on the scene of Alex Oxlade Chamberlain; he brings a directness and swagger to an Arsenal team that has been sadly lacking this last half decade and now he has made the step up to the Premier League fans will be expecting great things from the young man.

Wenger however will be keen to ease him gradually into the team and with Gervinho to return from the African Cup of Nations and the enigmatic Russian Andrei Arsharvin always ready to come on from the bench you can be sure the management team will be doing all they can to manage expectionsof their precocious talent.

Many fans will be hoping Oxlade Chamberlain will be able to have a positive impact on another one time teenage prodigy; Theo Walcott. Since signing for the club in 2006 he has shown glimpses of what he can do but never consistently and many will be hoping the emergence of the Ox may provide Walcott with the proverbial kick up the backside.

There are more reasons for optimism. Bereft of full backs for a large chunk of the season and forced to play centre backs out of position, fans have already seen the return of Bacary Sagna and can expect to see the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Andre Santos over the next few weeks which means that Thomas Vermaelen for example can return to his rightful position at the heart of the defence.

7-1 always makes you feel good but Wenger is right. It means nothing unless it is followed by another win and next weekend’s trip to Sunderland, resurgent under Martin O’Neill, will be a tough task.

(A little late, this was written after the Blackburn game)

# posted by Me @ 7:24 AM