Top of the league after 9 games. Best goal diff. Clean sheet yesterday with 10 men; and still>>

[Alfred C. Jolibois, PhD]

...all a surprisingly high number of people can do is moan.

Some of our supporters are a truly unbelievable bunch...

[Nicosia Gooner]

[-]

It was always going to be a tougher game than everyone predicted and given their tactics of sitting seep and losing the Flamster so early compounded it but there is a higher level of understanding and maturity now in that we are far more patient and organised and have faith that at some point in 90 minutes our quality will show, much like Swansea game and if it looks a little scrappy then so be it.

The only time we lost this new found maturity this season was in last 10 minutes vs Dortmund where we were quite controlled in looking to create chances but without exposing self until that point. A bad result because of, but for the season a hard hitting piece of pain that will benefit as we stick to plan for 90 minutes.

Think Saturday was a little reflection of that though they do need to have a last man with pace when we have corners that is for sure, even if it was never a red.

This is still an incomplete squad, we miss Walcott more than most think as he keeps the defence honest for the ball slid behind them, without him the game is all in front for a defence to defend.

But with Podolski, Walcott and Chamberlain to comeback there will be some freshness and good rotation for us to sustain our attacking game throughout season.

So we having a little disrupted patch with some players coming in and out but we still winning! and that is a great habit to have as we will still get better.

As for fans who have a moan, then whatever really, I am personally enjoying watching a team that looks like it cares and wants to do things and know there is far more who think like that than not and the minority always carry the loudest voice it is just the way. Cannot be assed to even argue it with them

We not finished article there are some additions needed but when look at squad now to some over last few seasons then there is no real deadwood at all, with likes of Gnabry and Monreal coming in and bringing no real drop off at all - As much as like Groud and think Bentdner is a decent squad forward we do need another top drawer striker who can play in place of or with Giroud as a deeper striker, a Lebanowski for example who can play all positions.

Big run of games to year end coming we will soon know how good we really are but for now just enjoying us being truly in there and challenging :)

[Nicosia Gooner]

[LadyG -keeping the spirit of the unbeatables alive]

And the negativity and scepticism still fuelling our various media outlets is feeding that.

There was an expectation that we'd thrash Palace, it didnt happen.
They expected us to lose to Dortmund and we did
If we lose to Chelsea this week in the CC that means we have no realistic chance of winning anything

I mean we have to play Liverpool!

[Bergkamp's Brain]

and left ourselves a little too open at the back.

[Nicosia Gooner]

[Peter]

I dont think it was remotely to do with maturity. We shipped plenty of chances, got caught from our own corner amd had to rely on two superb saves.

I repeat, palace are well ****. Virtually any of the sides in the bottom half of the table would have made us pay yesterday. We were poor.

But its ok if we pick up again now. Our last three performances in the league havent been good and if we play like that against lierpool and united we will lose both games. We need toick up our levels a bit, sharpish.

He does mak a good point about walcott and that his absence allows defences toush higher against us. Dortmund's pressig game wouldnt have been anywhere near as effective if we had had theo running behind them, pushing their line back.

But he isnt fit. Tough!

On a positive (and i like to finish on a positive :-) ) i think we might have a cracking player in gnabry. Won both 'penalties' yesterday and put a beauty of a through ball for ozil. He looks a bit more confident now and his technique and tricks are coming out.

[Nicosia Gooner]

[redgunamo]

We can worry about the small stuff like goal difference in May :-)

[Peter]

[Peter]

Experience says it is likely to last longer than that. If it does, we start losing.

[Bergkamp's Brain]

We played at a very pedestrian pace and didn't seem to put the effort in that we should. Expecting us to batter Palace, no matter how poor a team they are, was simply not a blind expectation.

Iceman makes the point that every game is tough. We have to put in the effort that each game demands. I didn't think we did that yesterday. Palace were always going to be up for it, given what happened on Monday and given Holloway resigning.

What we have done so much better this season is closing out games, not recklessly pushing for another goal when it is not needed. Tuesday was a first example of us failing to do that. We got punished by a very good team, but it was a game we shouldn't have lost. I doubt the absence of Theo would have made as much of a difference to how Dortmund approached the game. Whether we would have been in a position to exploit that is another matter.

I fully expect us to put in a much better performance against Liverpool, next week. The problem maybe the lack of Flamini. As for Gnarby, yes he does look so much more confident than he did last season. Still early days for him.

[Nicosia Gooner]

while playing badly? And they said it was a sign of champions

[Peter]

Or would you prefer the endless positivity of modd? :-)

[Peter]

And he can make the odd change. Rosicky could do with a game.

[Bergkamp's Brain]

[Alexism - Atheoist]

:justice:

[Deleted Account]

Given Arsenal's tendencies I expected us to struggle against Palace.

As for a clean sheet? Palace are hopeless in attack they haven't scored in five games this season.

David Wall ‏@1DavidWall 26 Oct
Chamakh's last shot before his 28th min attempt today was 2 months ago (v Stoke).

Points prior to yesterday because we didn't play palace last season.

Orbinho ‏@Orbinho 26 Oct
Arsenal have five points fewer from the eight games they have played this season compared to the equivalent fixtures last season.

Defending

Orbinho ‏@Orbinho 26 Oct
Only two goalkeepers have made more saves than Szczesny (30) so far this season. Just one clean sheet in eight. Defence still an issue.

Two clean sheets so yes that is an improvement.

[Nicosia Gooner]

[Nicosia Gooner]