Arsenal's Start: Men On a Mission

Well, the "most crucial week of the season" has come to an end, and it is fair to say we have come out of it with flying colours. Two performances (and results) which I admit have shocked me into submission, and I'm sure you feel the same.

Where did that confidence come from? How can a squad of players pretty much unchanged from last season turn into such men on a mission? How can our players withstand Everton and Celtic's physical bullying, only to give some back?

God only knows exactly what Arsène Wenger might have given those supposed shrinking violets during pre-season, but if it is anything like the creatine supplements that Le Boss himself had introduced to English football in the 1990s, then each and every member of the squad should keep his bloody trap shut (at least there's no David Seaman to play Chinese whispers in the England camp this time round)!

On a serious note though (and I am being serious), apart from the physicality and the manner in which we disposed of fifth-placed Everton so ruthlessly, and silenced a raucous Celtic so efficiently (although the means were lucky as the manager himself put it), what impressed me most was how many suspect individuals from the previous campaign are actually beginning to look like footballers. Not just any old footballers, but top-class, winning footballers. Arsenal footballers. Players who looked to have reached the age where, they simply did not belong here, and who Wenger had kept on simply due to his obstinate aura.

Well, it seems that Wenger did know what the likes of Denilson, Song and Bendtner had up their sleeves after all, and that their coming of age this season, would give us some much needed strength-in-depth. But then again, this is why Wenger is the manager and I am just a humble, although fanatic, blogger I suppose!

The way in which Alex Song covered his back four so brilliantly over the last two away matches, allowing Cesc and Denilson the licence to join in the attacks has been a real breath of fresh air, particularly at Celtic Park, where the Scots' prized asset, Shaun Maloney, hardly got a sniff, stifled by Song's imperious presence and fearless tackling. Despite Song showing signs of improvement throughout last season, we might have just seen the transition of him at Goodison and Parkhead. His transition into a truly world-class defensive midfielder, even surpassing his famed uncle.

Denilson's contribution to proceedings has publicly come into question frequently over the last year, not least by yours truly. It is also public knowledge that Denilson stepped out onto the pitch for Arsenal the most number of times, covering the most grass during the last campaign, and yet, his performances had left a lot to be desired.

Not so far this season, mind, so much so that my friend Paul had confused him for Cesc several times over the last two games, a compliment if our Brazilian maestro ever needed one, finally doing himself justice and actually playing like a Brazilian indeed!

Now the Captain's quality has never been doubted. However, there were times last season, where we all have to admit, in which Cesc just looked tired and indifferent, for example, standing still with play taking place a few feet away, and looking slightly alienated in an attack. True, he had a nasty injury, the first in his still amazingly fledgling career, as well as the heavy weight on his shoulders of being appointed skipper, not to mention Wenger's retrospectively bizarre second striker assignment.

And true, it is intensely difficult for your star players to shine when everyone else is just not upto it. But, with all that in the past, the Captain has come back a new man this season, running the midfield stupendously in our first two matches. Running, passing, creativity, and scoring, Cesc has already reached half of his total from last season in terms of goals scored and assists provided respectively, reminding us why he is arguably the best creative outlet in the Premier League, as well as why some elsewhere remain to have this obsessively futile crush on him.

But the less we talk about that the better, especially that the Spanish media, fuelled by Barca's arrogance will have been truly silenced following his appearance in Europe on Tuesday night, not forgetting the fact that we are pretty much in the group stages. We think!

A special mention must go to the defence, particularly the two centre backs. Again, as with Cesc, Gallas' strength and quality are known worldwide, however, it is fair to admit that he had been more of a disruptive, destructive influence, than he was ever an influence for his football.

However, with new signing Vermaelen alongside him, we might have just witnessed the birth of a new pairing to rival that of a Terry and Carvalho or a Ferdinand and Vidic, precisely the sort of pairing we have so desperately lacked since Campbell broke off from Touré. It is now clear that our Ivorian legend was never really best mates with Gallas, and so Vermaelen's debut performances in the league and Europe have been a real pleasure to watch. Strong, fearless, confident and passionate, the Belgian already looks good value for the £10 million transfer fee, our only money spent to date.

We can carry on all day about how each and every man has returned offering more than his maximum over the past few years combining to give us the perfect start to a most challenging campaign.

Interestingly, we are now joint favourites for the title, alongside them lot from the Kings' Road. It is very reassuring to see the country's leading "experts" tip Arsenal for a struggle to finish in the top seven merely a day before it all started, with so many guilty newspapers and radio stations to mention here, only for such opinions to be turned right on their heads on Sunday morning, isn't it? Fantastic fickleness!

However, the way we should see it, and ultimately the way the manager should see it, is that we should be neither considered favourites for the top, nor candidates for slipping out of the top four.

Fortunately, Wenger and his players acknowledge that, however encouraging the start may have been, it is a long hard slog of a season, with awards dished out in May and not after the first week.

What worries me is the second part, where those two magnificent results may indeed have blinded Wenger, or, more realistically, given him the perfect smokescreen not to pursue any of our reported targets, in which case, we run the risk of shooting ourselves in the foot. Again.

We are one or two bodies away from realistically challenging for the Premier League and Europe, players that would give us extra strength and substance, particularly when it comes to the business end of the season. This, along with keeping everyone's feet firmly on the ground, including the fans', must be Wenger's mission!