Arsenal: Recapping a Wild, Wild September for the Gunners

Buoyed into the ninth month of the year by an August transfer window's close which saw Arsene Wenger snap up five experienced players in the span of a week (Park Chu-Young, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Yossi Benayoun (season-long loan) and Mikel Arteta), through an unprecedented flurry of spending activity, Arsene (er, I mean Arsenal—I always get those two mixed up) had a pentagonal reason for optimism after an incredibly taxing August.

That month had seen two stars (Cesc Fabregas and "Stupid Sam"-ir Nasri) leave the club. Coupled with an ignominious display away to Newcastle, and crushing defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United, things couldn't have gotten much worse for the Gunners.

September began with a much-needed respite provided by the international break, which saw various Gunners (it's easy to forget just how many Arsenal players play key roles in their national sides) participate in a bevy of European qualifiers, friendlies and the like. Robin van Persie scored four goals in two games for the Netherlands, Welshman Aaron Ramsey won Man of the Match honors against England and Andrei Arshavin fired back into life for Russia against Ireland.

With the focus shifted away from the Gunners' less-than-adequate play on the field during those first September days, Arsene Wenger thus faced a raft of questions concerning, but not limited to, his future with the club, the club's prospects this season and the reason behind his stubborn refusal to delve into the transfer market until the very end, when events conspired to force his oft-obstinate hand.

Defiant to the last, Wenger bandied about notions that Arsenal had their confidence back, that his side were ready to commence a "new era"—the latter of which often seemed a bizarre euphemism specifically designed to draw attention away from the poor start to the season.

Arsene has long excelled at doing just that in seasons past: He has staunchly defended his side amid the firestorm of media attention that have questioned the youth and relative inefficiency often on display domestically and abroad.

When questions are posed, he either deflects them like a skilled spokesman or he defends as if his back was up against the cliffs at Dunkirk.

Yet in this past month, which has seen Gunners' fans emotions oscillate between angst and euphoria (as always with this club), le boss was far more critical in his assessment of his side's failures.

The fallout from the Ewood Park meltdown (Blackburn 4, Arsenal 3) brought out the vitriol from the Alsacien, who was thoroughly nonplussed about the continual degradation of his team defense, which still looks as rocky as a boat caught in a terrible storm.

Part of that is due to Thomas Vermaelen's continued absence. The Belgian international went under the knife to repair a dodgy ankle. He was joined in the infirmary by Jack Wilshere, who is suffering from his own nasty ankle knock, which now looks likely to keep the young Englishman out of action until January.

Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby, Theo Walcott, Gervinho, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Yossi Benayoun, Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou have all missed time due to injury, as well.

One wonders whether any of these players drank milk as a kid, so brittle do their muscles seem (I know, I know, many have tendon problems, but still). Judging by my time in Europe, where dairy products were about as popular as my articles on Ligue 1 for this site (ha ha), I'd say it's rather doubtful.

Still, there were causes for comfort, even if they were delicate at times.

The narrow 1-0 win at home to Swansea (Sept. 10)—the first match after the international break, saw embattled striker Andrei Arshavin channel a moment of erstwhile brilliance (albeit with a heaping portion of luck) when he curled home a 20-yard shot on his weaker left foot from an extremely acute angle.

Just as with Arshavin's goal, there were glimpses of former brilliance within the Arsenal side.

Robin van Persie bagged his 100th goal for the club against Bolton a weekend ago, providing two goals that marked his evolution as a complete striker. The Dutchman, another of Wenger's transformative projects—"RvP" came to the club as a talented but impetuous winger, and has become a world class striker, able to score in a multitude of fashions.

The magic contained within that left foot is now joined by a solid right, as evidenced by van Persie's first goal on Saturday, where he scored near post on his weaker foot.

The Champions League once again provided matches fraught with nerve-fraying drama, as Arsenal saw a slim lead disappear in the blink of a sublime left-footed volley's eye away to Borussia Dortmund.

While the second group stage tie, at home to Olympiakos, went somewhat more to plan, there were still reasons for discomfort during the 2-1 win over the Greeks.

We hailed the arrival of talented youngsters on the first-team level, as is always a possibility with this side.

Seventeen-year-old winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, signed from Southampton over the summer, staked his claim for regular first-team action, riding the coattails of brilliant performances against Shrewsbury Town and Olympiakos, which saw him bag a goal in both games.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is brimming with confidence, in that singular way of youth. With Sunday's pivotal north London derby coming hot and fast, that is never a bad thing.

The transfer deadline-day transplant of talent, like any operation, will take time to assimilate to the Arsenal "body."

That wonderful standard of play, once so fluid and sweeping, has been far more disjointed so far in 2011-12.

Still, there have been glimpses of the sublime. It will take time for the side to create those moments on a more consistent basis. Patience was always going to be a major theme this year, with such a turbulent summer unsettling so much in and around the club.

In what is one of our most bizarre mental faculties, reflection upon the past always leaves a thinker in a peculiar state. I find myself in that state a lot when exposed to Arsenal.

It's an open invite to nostalgia to exact its wonderful-yet-saddening, inexorable pull on our minds when we take a step back to reflect on the past.

The month of September has seemed at times as if it had been a year. Time flies, huh.

But then, that's Arsenal for you. You grow gray hairs during the 90 minutes they grace the pitch. Then you tune back in, without fail, the next time around.

And that's why we love them. Once you begin supporting Arsenal, there's no way you can ever leave them. The bad girlfriend jokes aside, we are drawn to things that continually surprise us, no matter how low they might sink at times. We follow to see them back to their former best.

The yin and yang of Arsenal has been front and center these past 30 days.

And to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.