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Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as Arsenal.
In recent seasons sitting through a game has been a torturous hobby. With little faith in the merits of our ‘attack is the best form of defence’ philosophy, watching a match became an almost masochistic pursuit. The only pleasure I could derive from Eboue conceding a late penalty was that ‘I’d said all along that he was a liability’.
I’d become quite the pessimistic twat.
Hadn’t we all?
There were plenty of reasons not to be cheerful. People told us we paid the most to get the least. The club would regularly break-even during transfer windows, with top players departing and Amauri Bischoff arriving. On the pitch we had to despair at a 4-4 comeback, as a feisty little man called Cheikh Tiote volleyed our hopes into orbit. Our entire squad had at least one limb in a cast.
The race to reach fourth had become a genuine thing of importance, if only to irk Spurs. It made football a bit less fun and a bit more financial. You weren’t a real fan unless you knew exactly how much revenue Arsenal had brought in from commercial deals in Vietnam.
You don’t know, you weren’t at the AGM man.
Then, on the 1st of September 2013, Arsene Wenger signalled with a grin that we could all start enjoying the sport again. Not only had we beaten our closest rivals but he had a surprise ready for us. After years of indifferent transfer dealings he‘d signed a world class player.
The arrival of Mesut Ozil informed us that we could believe once more. With our transfer record smashed the whole structure of the club was altered. Wenger’s capacity to attract a big player was proven and hard evidence of our financial capability was presented. His long-term admiration for Ozil suggests he has faith in his ability, which supports his previous claims that he would spend big if he felt the quality was there.
My shift to optimism is not, of course, entirely down to Mesut Ozil.
The German international may well become the symbol of a victorious new era, but he can’t do it alone. In terms of ambition the transfer has been quite rightly compared to that of Bergkamp, with £7.5m being a record fee at the time. However, it’s important to remember that even God finished 5th in his first season with the club.
Where fortune favours Ozil is the current setup. The team finished the last term very strongly and have continued in fantastic form this season, only temporarily halted by Anthony Taylor. The emergence of Aaron Ramsey and the improved understanding within the team as a whole have been vital in the climb to top spot. A noticeable change has occurred in the way the team respond to not having the ball. They seem comfortable defending leads and no longer need to chase the game to be effective.
What we witnessed at Swansea on the weekend was a group of talented individuals flourishing in a system they understand. When key players have left in recent seasons it has not simply been a blow to lose a quality player, but it has created gaps in the flow of general team interplay. On the weekend the team benefited from their familiarity, both offensively and defensively, as they have done during an outstanding run of form.
I’ve no doubt that with all the managerial and personnel departures taking place at other clubs during the summer, Wenger sought advantage through increased understanding.
He still allowed himself one big change, but when you think of adding someone to the mix in a well-structured team you can afford to tinker with the number 10 position. This is traditionally an undisciplined role, particularly within Wenger’s 4-5-1/4-3-3 system. If you’re going to add somebody then you might as well make it arguably the best number 10 in the world.
So here we are, top of the league, and Ozil hasn’t really got going yet.
It was a big signing that caught everyone’s imagination but only further highlighted the existing strengths within the squad, not least the mentality. What excites me more than big numbers are big performances. Collectively and individually we have seen great victories without some of our regular starters from the season just gone.
We’ve won nothing yet, but the team and the club have indicated their ambitions for the season.
I’ve certainly got my confidence back.
