Gary Moss
It’s not quite ready – but I can tell you it’s red, it’s slick, it’s perfectly oiled and it’ll be the most beautiful car sitting on the grid before very long.
It has taken a little bit of time to be unveiled, but it is showing all the signs of the coming to fruition now.
Questions may still be unanswered about its ability to pass the resilience test but this is still a fine piece of machinery. It still has the potential to blow away any of its rivals.
I could be talking about a brand new sports car of course, but the same can be said about Arsene Wenger’s new-look Arsenal side. Because it is shaping up to be an absolute cracker. It is a special piece of kit offering something for everyone.
It’s fair to say, it’s a little bit special.
They’ve always had an irresistible brand of football but just lately they’re backing it up with the kind of results that will soon see the silverware stacking up.
The Gunners are unbeaten in the league for 17 games and in midweek staked a massive claim on why they could be crowned kings of Europe too.
While Manchester United and Liverpool – the two main contenders for the Premier League title – both stumbled, Arsenal can take a valuable draw and all important away goal back to the Emirates against Villarreal.
Togo hitman Emmanuel Adebayor saved the day with a stunning bicycle kick and it is his career at Arsenal that forms a freaky resemblance with the recent years of his club.
On his day he’s unplayable. Yet he is still plagued by critics. There are a whole heap of strikers with a better all round game than him. Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba are easily a cut above. But it is as if it doesn’t matter. Such is the quality of Arsenal’s creative midfield players – his finishing is all that matters.
And who would bet against Adebayor smashing home 30 goals as the Gunners march to the title next year? Then where will his critics be? He’s effective, and that’s why he gets picked week-in-week-out by a tactical genius.
It is somewhat fitting that Arsenal’s flourishing form comes just weeks after people wrote off Wenger.
Should anyone even be that surprised either that Arsene has turned it drastically around. Haven’t people learned you only write off Wenger at your peril? It isn’t the first time we’ve heard moans and groans about the Frenchman’s policy of transfer dealings and his side’s lack of resilience.
But this is just typical of football on England’s shores. It is only in the country that invented the game where someone could be so heavily criticised for trying to bring success playing the game the right way.
But fair play to Wenger, he’s taken the flak and now we are beginning to see evidence he will prove us all wrong again. Recent weeks have provided a glimpse of a truly special side in the making.
They are not quite at the level of the former Arsenal invincible side, but they have one hell of a similar swagger.
And the addition of Russian schemer Andrei Arshavin looks like it could be another vital piece in a scintillating attacking line-up. His pace and touch make him a perfect fit for the Gunners’ fluid football.
The modern game is about more than just attractive football, of course. This is why Wenger has been questioned during his time in North London. If entertainment was the be all and end all, he would have been heralded as the greatest manager in the English game long ago.
We know football is all about trophies. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side proved that.
And, trophies are desperately lacking at the Emirates. This is why Wenger has been under such close scrutiny over the past four seasons.
But, one can be smelt on the horizon. If not this season – then next year they will be the side to beat. They are that good.
It is bold statement. But not only have Arsenal shown their regular class of late, but they’ve also answered many of the questions that have loomed over them.
It was only ever their defence in question. They haven’t conceded a goal on home soil since playing Liverpool in December. Arsenal were accused of being a soft touch, yet they’re unbeaten in the last 17 Premier League games, against almost every side in the division.
And while Manchester United and Liverpool hog the headlines as they battle it out for the title, Arsenal have been sensationally yet quietly going about their business. And until last weekend this was without their main talisman Cesc Fabregas too.
Once the Spaniard switches back onto his A-game, the results could be devastating.
They may still need a defensive midfielder to win the battles that loom on all fronts next season. But you wouldn’t put it past Wenger cherry-picking the next best thing out of the doldrums of world football this summer.
Arsenal now drive into a very important era. An era where Wenger must get it right. But all the pieces are in place, and they look ready to leap back to the top of the English tree.
Can anyone help but look and laugh at predictions Arsenal would fail to make the top four? The Gunners are just too good right now.
