Sizzling Arsenal do it again

Another match, another win: this is a total joy. The biggest problem right now is finding some lead weights to tie to my feet in order to keep them on the ground, and tending to the bruising from having pinched myself so much since the start of the season.

Some people might have foreseen a start as blinding as this, but I wasn’t one of them. All of which makes the buzz around the current side (or strictly speaking, squad) all the more enjoyable. It’s buzzing, crackling and letting off sparks simultaneously.

It’s perhaps not surprising that our second string gave Newcastle such a good game; it was a youthful (no players over 24), but in many cases an already experienced line-up and, lest we forget, our second string made it to within about 20 minutes of winning this competition last year.

But 14 shots to 4 and 10 corners to 1 tells its own story. Listening on the wireless (again – I’m quite enjoying it actually), by all accounts there were some fine performances: Fabianski, Bendtner, Traore, Denilson, Eduardo, Diarra and the oft-maligned Eboue in particular.

When things go right as they are doing just now, it must be such a pleasure for Wenger too. He stuck to guns in the summer, spent relatively sparingly and promised this team would come good. Well it’s certainly done that so far. The players are clicking, they are hungry, they are skilful and they are committed.

How long can this run last? Who knows – but it’s bloody fun watching this side at the moment, it really is.

And listening to them for that matter.

Elsewhere this morning, some wise words from the chairman on our now second largest shareholder, Usmanov. There’s a definite sense that the board’s attitude to Kroenke has softened since the Uzbek’s arrival. It’s easy, in the light the way Usmanov’s lawyers barged across the web in an attempt to defend their client, to see how Kroenke is no longer simply batted away as a bad “sort”. Even though the board still does not know his intentions.

The Guardian’s David Conn on why he believes takeover is now unlikely. Great headline too.

Jim

Arsenal since about 1979. Thick, thin and all that.