Opening day

Well opening day of the football season is upon us. Its the most hopeful and optimistic day of the year as anything can happen. Our opening result was an unspectacular 0-0 draw. Frankly though, I'll take it. We opened against Sunderland and I remember many many bad decisions going against us in these matches recently (particularly of the offside and time keeping type) and also I remember our opening game against Newcastle last year in which Gervinho got sent off for the stupidest incident ever. These are the sorts of things that we can really do without at the beginning of the season, so frankly I'll take nil nil. I know we all want a spectacular 6-0 win (props to Fulham and Swansea  for going close) to kick off our campaign but its not always that simple as all the players are coming off a long break and we have new arrivals who need to get up to speed. In terms of our transfer comings and goings obviously I was pretty annoyed about the whole Robin van Persie situation. But at the end of the day, there's not a lot else that the club could have done. What it all boils down to is this; either we force him to stay, he's unhappy and he plays badly and we get no money for him at the end, or we cut our losses and get a decent fee and reinvest it in the squad. Its that simple for me. And I'm pleased with our new acquisitions. I think Podolski and Giroud look exciting prospects. Lukas in particular looks like he fits right in and as if he's always been here. Santi Cazorla I think was a master stroke and fits right in with the Arsenal way. Maybe we may bring one more in, possible in defence or defensive midfield, I'd be very happy with that. Otherwise I think we've strengthened well. So while results are important, in an opening fixture its popssible that the performane of the players is more important than the actual score. Its important to get the nerves out of the way and get the team playing together and gelling. Its a long long season and there's plenty of time for spectacular 6-0 wins. Here's hoping that the Arsenal boys are listening. Happy Football season everyone!