'Blame Wenger' and Other Animals

It has been a fascinating day to be an Arsenal fan. Walking into work on a Monday morning with a spring in the step has not been a regular occurence of late! There is something predictable but comforting about the first half hour in the office. Everybody skirts around a game that didn't affect the allegiances of the assembled throng before the local team gets a mention. 'Did you go to the Town game then Ian?' This morning I am going to be the one who breaks with the niceties first and everybody knows it. 'Good point for your boys at home to Fulham' I mention as an aside to the office Spud. He is floored and knows it.

More fascinating though is the interaction between Arsenal fans on this wonderful world wide web. This is the morning that the 'they can do no wrong' faithful have been waiting for. No matter which site or forum you choose to talk all things Arsenal, there has been an undercurrent during the opening weeks of the season. Human nature decrees that a large number of people will react to every single dropped point in true 'knee-jerk' fashion. We have all seen them in the last few weeks, through large chunks of last season even.

Depending on who you choose to believe the blame for this seasons slow start can be firmly laid at the door of Wenger because he hasn't replaced (insert name here), he won't pick (insert name here), and he must be the only man on the planet who rates (insert name here). Alternatively, the problem has been purely down to Henry and how ironic that when he has not been available we have looked invincible. Don't forget the affect that Cole and Reyes have had on dressing room morale.

I have really tried not to get on the 'I told you so' bandwagon today. If I give vent to that feeling of superiority then I am just as guilty of the 'knee-jerk' as any of the occasional critics. As an Arsenal fan I just pray that the performance at Old Trafford will give the team the confidence I feel has been lacking. I hope the spirit that they must have generated as a team will survive a long string of matches, starting with Sheffield United on Saturday. Please let the interplay and fluency of a developing midfield be allied to a return to form of the deadliest number fourteen on the planet.

I have a feeling I am not alone in those wishes, and if they come to fruition the people who think differently to me but share my love of Arsenal will be apportioning the praise to Wenger, to Henry, and of course thanking their God that we parted company with Cole and Reyes!