Arsenal: Gunners Get Swagger Back in Time for UEFA Champions League Group Play

For an Arsenal side that has struggled so mightily with injuries, suspensions and transfers in the early going of the 2011-12 Barclays Premier League season, a win is a win and points are points.

Even if they came at the expense of Swansea City, newcomers to the top level of English football who had but two points coming into Saturday's match at the Emirates Stadium.

It was one more point than the Gunners had to their credit before adding three more with a 1-0 victory.

Nonetheless, Arsenal acquitted themselves well against the Swans, playing with the sort of energy, creativity and confidence, particularly on the attack, that had been all but entirely absent in North London through the first three league matches.

Not against Newcastle, not against Liverpool and certainly not against Manchester United.

Albeit against an overmatched opponent and with new boys Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker and Yossi Benayoun all contributing to the winning cause.

Regardless of how Arsenal made like Stella and got their groove back, what's most important is that they have found it. Even a beleaguered Arsene Wenger admitted as much, "The confidence is back now. [We] had not won yet in the league and that had played a big part in our head. In our job, momentum is vital. We just want to play to win."

Indeed, winning is the panacea to the woes of any squad in just about any sport. Arsenal had not done much of that this season, their waning confidence buoyed only by victories over Udinese in a UEFA Champions League Play-off.

Added Wenger, "When you look back when we travelled to Udinese [for the Champions League play-off] everyone expected us to win the game and we did, we want the same against Dortmund."

That opportunity will come Tuesday, when the Gunners travel to Signal Iduna Park to take on Borussia Dortmund, the reigning champions of Germany's Bundesliga This is their first match of Champions League group play. The Gunners will get a close look at Mario Gotze, the young phenom for the Borussians whom Arsene attempted to acquire before the summer transfer window slammed shut at the end of August.

A win against Dortmund will be anything but easy for Arsenal to come by, but they finally (and thankfully) have recovered enough of their once-lost confidence to put themselves in position for success in European play.

It came just in the nick of time, as well.

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