Our Boy in the Clock End

By Nick MacWilliam

It's harder to write about your team when things are going so swimmingly.

Disillusionment breeds opinion far more varied than satisfaction, hence the number of newspaper articles and blogs which focus on underachieving teams (hello Spurs and England). I'm sure that grumbling is part of the genetic make-up of the common football fan. Oh well, here goes.

Things couldn't look much more beautiful for Arsenal at the moment (I'm writing this after the Wigan game: no doubt we'll lose our next few games between article submission and publication). Our first serious challenges were passed even though we should have beaten Liverpool. Only six points have been dropped after fourteen games. Top of the league. I could get used to this. When you consider all the bollocks spouted pre-season about Arsenal's decline, the current situation is nothing short of miraculous. And, as always, the man responsible for it all is our great leader, Napoleon Wenger.

But to my mind Wenger has always been great, even in the past couple of years when the team's struggled at times. Unusually for a manager, it seems easier to blame the players than the boss when things go badly. After all he's done for the club, it would be disrespectful to ever get on his back. I remember once in the White Hart, as Arsenal again frittered away points in some grubby northern place, a frustrated soul shouting 'wanker' when Arsene appeared on screen. The resultant hush and death-stares spoke for themselves.

But Arsene is not solely at hand for our marvellous season so far. Not far behind are several players: Hleb, Sagna, of course Fabregas and our very own BA Baracus, William Gallas (other roles in the Arsenal re-make of The A-Team: Theo Walcott as Face and Eboue as Murdoch), to name a few. Without that moody Frenchman, whose name escapes me, calling the shots, the young boys have blossomed and bloomed and are playing football every bit as good as their invincible predecessors. There is also a new-found resilience, missing in recent years, that prevents us getting kicked about and makes us stronger the longer a game goes on as our opponents weaken.

Special mention as well to Flamini and Clichy, two guys who have had to wait a long time for their chance but took it when it came. These two should act as an example to young players who feel they need to leave to get a game. Patience will be rewarded.

I predicted Gilberto would struggle to get into the team this year in a previous issue, although I figured it would be to accommodate Diaby, a fantastic player who can't get near the starting eleven at the moment. It wouldn't be a proper football column without a gripe of some sort. I still think we're a little bit light up front, where Van Persie's injury could have been more costly, and Eduardo yet to establish himself. Likewise in the wide positions, and I worry that a few injuries to key players could throw some spanners. However, I'm being churlish and the outlook is rosy, particularly as we've negotiated the traditionally horrid month of November.

The season will inevitably get tougher after Christmas, but Arsenal are the best team in the country this year and surely destined for big things. I am now suffering from another ailment, one that afflicts all fans when their team's doing well: blind optimism, and I'm convinced Arsenal are going to win the lot (until next weekend when we lose).