I had always assumed Hell to be fires and caves, lots of screams, etc. So much for that for I now know that it is rather like the present, an Olivia Newton-John video from the 1980’s with loads of people running round telling us that Arsenal are going to get ‘Physical’ next season.  

Forget Posh and Becks, Big Brother, Kate Moss and all those other tabloid tittle-tattlers, the new National Obsession is Arsenal’s strength or perceived lack of it. The Press and now players are running round shoving each other, showing off with the phrase, ‘You’re Hard‘ permanently on the tips of their tongues. A pity that they have not yet remembered that the ones who are the strongest tend to keep quiet about it all, letting the insecure belt out their mantras.

And in amongst it all, we have the possibility that one of the senior members of the squad is going to fail a drugs test, too many Happy Pills could land William Gallas up before the Beaks. He is fairly brimming with anticipation and a new-found confidence in his colleagues, something not previously evident,

What I saw during the tournaments…it was different. The spirit was different. Everybody fought for his teammate and, when you see that, you realise. I don’t know why it’s changed. You’ll have to ask them, but something’s changed

I’m sure William could work it out if he tried. Oh. He did,

They are professionals and they’ve had one more year’s experience. As far as I’m concerned, they will be ready this season. During preseason I realised that

An epiphany has occurred; on his personal Road To Damascus, possibly with Manfred Mann somewhere in the background, he has bought into the unity that the others in the squad have been showing in recent weeks. Whether that is genuine remains to be seen, the test being the first time the Going Gets Tough on the pitch. Maybe he has suddenly realised, or it has been pointed out to him, just what being a senior member of the squad entails. It might be considered somewhat fortuitous for him that all of this has happened just as a vacancy has arisen for the Captains Armband but that would just be downright cynical.

Why this sudden rush of bravado for it cannot just be as a result of the weekend’s spat with Ajax. Is this testerone charge trying to send out a warning to opponents or motivational for the squad themselves, crude psychology to reinforce the mental toughness that they have been building into their games? Most likely a mix of both but football matches are won on the field of play. The mental aspects in the lead up to a fixture are not forgotten during the game but certainly once the adrenaline starts to flow, the true mentality of a player comes through. As Henry Winter puts it in today’s Daily Telegraph, ‘Strong words. Now Arsenal just need strong deeds’.

With Fulham’s visit just a matter of days away, Alex Song is seeking to impress Le Boss and get some of the Action. Song is still only Nineteen and having done reasonably well at Charlton by all accounts, his ambition to get some more first team games at Arsenal is not unreasonable. I thought he was OK in the pre-season. Like Bendtner, he is not ready for a permanent berth in the starting XI but as he says,

We have a lot of games coming – Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carling Cup – so I know there will be opportunities to play. Now I just need to train hard and show the boss I am ready. He always needs to choose two midfielders and two centre backs so when he asks ‘Alex are you ready?” I have to be ready to play the game

I know that there will be a slew of comments that he is not ready, never will be this season and never will be, ever. Remember the age thing. Nineteen. How many of our squads, past and present, have been ready to hold down a defensive midfield role at that age? How many had enough experience to provide protection for defences in their teen years? In order to win some of the support over though, Song will have win every club title going, be European and World Footballer of the Year in consecutive seasons to get a grudging, ‘He’s OK’.

’til Tomorrow.