So what has changed this season?

It’s fair to say that this Arsenal team is a different ‘beast’ this year, last season was probably one of the poorest I have seen under Wenger and I did fear for the club over the summer. These fears were unfounded as we are now within touching distance of the top of the Premiership and interestingly we have virtually the same squad of players as last season. I have been asking myself in the last few days, what has changed? Why are we so much stronger this time around? I think there are a number of factors:

Replacing Kolo Toure with Thomas Vermaelen

The simple truth is that Kolo Toure was never the same player once Sol Campbell left Arsenal, Kolo was a great defender in his day and always gave 100%. I believe that Sol made Toure look a much better player than he actually was, both part of the invincibles it is easy to forget that they both had the buffer of Gilberto and Vieira to protect them. Whilst no one can doubt the defensive qualities of Campbell who performed at the very highest international level, Toure really struggled in the past few season and often caused panic in the Arsenal defence. One also has to consider that Toure did not get on with Gallas, this was evident and did affect their on-field relationship. Wenger was right to sell Kolo and his replacement has been nothing short of magnificent in his first season with the club. Vermaelen is a powerhouse, a fighter and more importantly he is an excellent defender with superb technique. Both him and Gallas have been ever present this season and they have forged an excellent partnership which has improved the backbone of the team.

The emergence of Alex Song

We have been craving a good defensive midfielder since Flamini up and left for Milan and now we finally have one. As some of my friends will testify, I have always believed that Song was the long-term solution in midfield. For most of last season I was crying out for Wenger to play him over Denilson and eventually he managed to get in the team and has been one of the stars of the season so far. Song works tirelessly, has good technique and more importantly gives Fabregas the freedom he needs to attack. Even in the games we have lost this season, most notably Sunderland away Song was the man driving the team forward in search of an equaliser – he is our midfield engine and has been crucial to our play this season. With Song away at the ACN, we have already seen how important he is to the team and once again Wenger has found a gem and it’s nice to see the fans and media have begun to take notice.

Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas was injured for a large part of last season after damaging his leg in a tackle with Xabi Alonso and in the time he was out we went 5 games on the trot without scoring a single goal. Had Fabregas been on the field we may have turned some of those draws into victory and finished much closer to the top of the table than we actually did. This time round Fabregas has become a man, always an influential player, this season has seen him go to the next level. Every great team has a talisman – Bergkamp in 98, Henry in 2002 & 2004 and we can now add Fabregas to that list. We are very fortunate to have one of the top 3 midfield players in World football as captain of our football club (Iniesta and Xabi the other 2 incidentally). Fabregas has contributed 13 goals and 15 assists – a quite astonishing figure and there is still half a season left. The little genius has relished the captaincy and it’s frightening to consider that he’s still only 22 years of age! Easily the best midfielder in the league and one of the main reasons for our improvement this year.

Changing the formation

Part of the reason that Fabregas has been so effective this season is because of the change to a 5-4-1 formation as opposed to the 4-4-2 Wenger had deployed since he joined the club in 1996. As I said a few days earlier Wenger made the bold decision to build his team around the Spaniard and it has worked, admittedly we are a bit lightweight upfront because of the injuries to RVP and Bendtner but it hasn’t hampered our ability to score goals. Few thought RVP could play the lone front man but he proved everyone wrong up until his injury, I may sound like a broken record but I genuinely believe that had he stayed fit we would almost certainly be champions come May.

Experience

This current crop of young players have been around a long time and it is quite right that this season they need to deliver. The fact is that these players are hungry for success, they are some of the best young players in the game and they want to win trophies. Whilst last season’s defeat against Manchester United was tough to take at the time, I am sure that it has helped the players, from adversity to triumph so to speak. Having tasted a defeat like that, why would anybody want to have that feeling again? I believe it has spurred on the squad. The players are one year older, they are experienced in the Champions League and most now play for their international teams – they know there are no longer any excuses.

Team Spirit

The atmosphere in the dressing room has been much better this season, there is a solidarity that has not existed in the last few years. You can see the players fighting for the cause which is nice to see. Getting rid of negative forces within the dressing room has been key to this spirit, selling Adebayor has had a big impact within the team. It is clear that he was not very popular and his behaviour at Manchester City has proved what a nasty stupid person he is and I for one am glad that he is no longer representing our great club.

So there you have it, things are on the up, we have plenty to look forward to in the coming months as the season reaches its climax. Let’s just go top of the League on Wednesday and worry about the rest later!