Déjà Vu? Not Really.

“We are in a much stronger position now because last summer we lost Nasri and Fabregas, and on top of that we lost Diaby and Wilshere [to injury]. So we lost four players at the start of last season and that is not the case this time. “ August 12, 2012

Given Wilshere’s continued absence and the departures from the first team just days after that comment, a challenge could certainly be made about Arsene Wenger's appraisal going into this season.  Even without thinking of the potential loss of Walcott, considering Sagna’s recovery, we are currently down four players that would normally fill a spot in the starting eleven.

To boot, we have merely one point more than this stage last season, and the same number of goals scored. None. Cesc was already gone, Nasri left right after our second match, and we had not yet made the last gasp trolley dash to fill out the squad. We lost our top player and another who the season prior had his best period in an Arsenal shirt before upping sticks for more dosh. So being winless after 2 matches and shorn of this summer's version of the players in those roles above, does Wenger really have a leg to stand on with that statement?

If he does, his critics out there would Wilkinson that leg right out from under our boss, but for me there is quite a bit of truth to that view. Yes we are scoreless, giving lazy hacks as well as those mongoloid Potters the simple task of pointing to our departed captain (to be fair I thought that chant was a decent bit of banter) but it’s worth noting he was in the team last season and didn't score in either of the first 2 matches.

Let's look at the corresponding fixture last year. Stoke opened the scoring with a bit of Route Crouch football capitalizing on our poorly organized defense early on, and then tried to hold onto that. That van Persie clawed us back might further underline his absence, but given we didn't go down in those early moments this time out has to be a credit to the improvements we are making in defense. If a preseason goal from a corner routine near post flick evoked those good Bould days, the sight of our rearguard spinning as one, arms overhead, as the official raised his flag to rule out Walters’ early effort surely brought a wry smile out of other Gooners than just myself. And it meant we didn’t have to chase it for 75 minutes.

Many will fairly admit that it's not a bad result to come away from the Brittania with a point. It is a notoriously difficult ground to visit. However correct that may be, we do feel it is two points dropped. But spare a thought for the poor Stoke support. After their little performance this week it is so clear that playing us at home is the end all be all of their existence. And even though they cherished denying us a second win from 5 visits, now that we’ve come and gone their season is already over after just two games. Someone call their mommies to pick them up.

Meanwhile we’ve dealt with two types of games that tend to cause us problems without conceding a goal. This before three new players have had any time to really gel, with two major players gone, another two key players out injured for the next month at least, our best center-back sidelined, and using arguably our third choice keeper against a team of giant bruisers away from home. Honestly, these are exactly the kinds of games we’d have lost last year.

I can’t really bemoan Song‘s departure when I see how Arteta can sacrifice a more advanced role to shield the defense and then be so pissed about not winning. Especially since the former would just shrug off the 3-3 draw against Norwich, when rather than restrain his Hollywood passing he had to try and split the entire midfield when up 3-2 at home with five minutes left, in a game that would lock up a Champions League spot.

It’s hard to miss players like van Persie, Nasri, Clichy, and Song, or going back Flamini, Hleb, and Adebayor [who although a twat was pretty good for us for a spell], and to be quite frank even Cesc, in light of what I feel happening at Arsenal now. Why? For me it’s that with most if not all of those players, at one time or another, I got the sense they felt they deserved something from the club more than they were trying to prove something for the club. The top players of that bunch will point to our lack of spending in the transfer market while the others will point to our lack of spending on their wages. The common denominator with the exception of the 2005 FA Cup winners in that list [and they relied heavily on the remaining Invincibles], is that they won nothing for the club that made them famous. And as soon as they hit the heights of that fame, they bounced.

I know it’s very early doors, but I like to think the reason why we didn’t lose these two matches is because we have dispensed with those type of players, by design or not. Perhaps the refreshed coaching set-up depended on the inevitable departure of a long time servant rather than some paradigm shift in the boss. Maybe the spending was enabled because our finances are correcting themselves as the stadium debt comes down. But it feels very clear that something is different about this side. I see it as a quickening of factors, as when lightning strikes, that are already present in some latent way but need to be gathered at the right time.

I look at the posture and attitude in a player like Gibbs, the strength he is showing as well as the willingness to engage his opponent, and I feel way better with him as the last defender on our attacking corners than I ever did with Clichy in the side. I see Cazorla frustrated not just at players for not spotting his passes, but at himself for not picking out their movement. I’m not hating on Giroud for missing Ramsey’s run, because with the game on the line late, he took it on himself to try something a little special, rather than look for an out.  I recognize that the last time Mannone played for us he flailed ridiculously at a ball with his feet that he could have simply picked up, yet he looked assured among Stoke’s giant trolls.  I realize that despite not clicking on attack, this team has demonstrated the discipline, concentration, and maturity not to concede. And I look at the man in charge of all of this, and can’t help but be proud of how he continues to conduct himself in the face of losing his best player every season since we were Invincible.  I cannot fucking wait for Anfield. 


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