A real sense of bouyancy about the place at the moment and, why not? Unbeaten at the start of the season with only one draw. For Robin van Persie, it is nothing unexpected,who told The Times

What I saw [in preseason] was a play-togetherness and a great belief, and big, big quality…If we can stay together we can do amazing stuff in the future. I think we are doing it now already. We are not at the end. We are progressing every week we play

I think the key to it has been the relative stability of the line-up, changing for the most part just through injury, something van Persie commented on when talking about rotation,

I like the fact that we play together week in, week out and some teams – for example, Liverpool – switch. That’s OK if they choose to do that, but we like to be settled. I know, for example, when Cesc has the ball I know what he’s thinking about; I know what I can do. Everyone knows what they have to do. It is very, very important.Sometimes it is hard because you play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday again

There was some talk that Adebayor should be rested in one of the next two games but it really does not seem necessary to me if you look at the fixtures. The match against Sunderland is followed by an International break with two games in a fortnight, less than he has been playing recently. The beneficiaries of any enforced break this weekend would be Togo not Arsenal, in the short term at least. Let us not forget, he has played just seven games since returning from injury as well, having missed most of the pre-season. His demeanour is someone who constantly looks knackered from the first minute to the last yet he appears to have more energy than most, able to summon up the reserves to chase the ball equally hard in the latter stages and the opening minutes.

van Persie is correct is noting the team is progressing each week. The big test though for any winning side is how they react to defeat; The Invincibles reacted badly to the end of their run. Not surprising in that forty nine games is a long time to go but surprising because they took a while to regain consistency. The strength of this squad’s character will be known in the game following their first defeat.

Goalkeeping is going to be a conundrum for Arsene to solve in the coming weeks, unless of course, Manuel Almunia drops a complete ricket in the near future. His performances have been decent on the whole, the odd moment of ‘eccentricity’ but there is no way that Lehmann can walk straight into the side. The Spaniard was criticised in the comment board yesterday for the clearance that led to Toure clearing from the line. It misses the point though as Almunia dealt with the situation leading up to Dica’s effort well; he took charge when Toure and Senderos were challenging together with a forward and cleared the ball a good twenty yards with his head. Ordinarily, that would have been sufficient but Dica had anticipated that eventuality. Almunia was decisive which is what you want a ‘keeper to be; Toure was decisive in covering him which is what you want your defence to be. The teamwork was not that evident last season but to class the passage of play as ‘Goalkeeping Error’ is wide of the mark.

Almunia told the Daily Mail

I’ve played a few games in a row, I’m doing well and so are the team. We have put in some big performances and I don’t think the boss should change anything. I believe I’m the best keeper and I think I can keep my place for a long time. I would like to play the whole season.

He does sound totally convinced about keeping his place but I do not think that changing ‘keepers is necessarily on Wenger’s mind. He wants people to be fighting for their place which is what he has. Lehmann may not agree but this competition is what the club needs, to ensure the best level of performance from both. That Lehmann is reportedly unhappy may be true; my own view is that he may well be sold in January. Should the team get six points from the Slavia games, I would let Fabianksi in for the Sevilla and Steaua matches. They will be a step up from the Carling Cup. If Sheffield United are beaten there is another match in that competition before Christmas by which time Arsene will know if he is ready to cope with being the Number Two, or even first choice, Goalkeeper at the Club.

The attitude that Lehmann needs to display is that of Gilberto,

I’m not the kind of player who accepts the bench. This kind of situation is quite hard to manage. It’s important I keep calm and keep my mind very strong. It’s down to me

He is a World Cup Winner; he expects to play but he will work to win his place back. He is somewhat unlucky that Flamini has rediscovered the form that prompted Arsene to buy him and it is another situation where the expected return has not happened but with Gilberto, I do not believe the player is actively seeking another club but is going to make it hard for the manager not to pick him. That is the collective attitude that is needed to win trophies.

Lots of speculation around Usmanov following his press briefing in Moscow recently; how he wants to buy the club, he doesn’t think Kroenke will; how Kroenke is about to confirm the rest of the broadband deal he signed up to when he bought Granada’s stake. At the end of the day, it is purely speculation even if Usmanov buys more shares. I don’t for one minute think Dein will be dropped by the Uzbek. He is the ‘palatable’ face of the deal for him, more likely Dein will be pushed aside from meetings with the Board. The calls for Dividends, etc., are from a man who has invested £120m in buying shares, he wants some Return on that. He probably won’t get it because there are enough supporters of the Board’s policy in that respect to make any initiatives on Usmanov’s part fail. The key thing at the moment though is that the keys to the door of the club are nowhere near his hands provided nerves are held. The sums of money being talked about per share have become mind-boggling; the key to any bid from him is the ‘lockdown’ agreement. If it is extended as Fiszman has indicated it will, then expect a bid sooner rather than later. If April comes and the deal is not extended, I would guess on a bid during next summer. Personally, I find Usmanov to be an unwelcome suitor but I would say that about most, if not all, potential buyers in the current climate. Things are going well on the pitch and appear to be managed well off of the pitch so why the desire for change on a supporters part? There should be none but the Arsenal Group is an attractive proposition for someone to make money from so we had better get used to this scenario as far as shareholdings go.

Finally Ashley Cole apparently was not comfortable at Highbury during his final season at the Club because, according to his wife, no-one spoke English so he could not have a conversation with anyone. That must have been a hell of a shock to Bergkamp, Henry and the rest; it may not be their mother tongue but I always thought they were fluent in the language. Maybe nobody spoke to him because (a) they thought he was a greedy little muppet and (b) perhaps they just did not like him. And I cannot be the only one who sees the unintentional irony from the comment that he was unhappy because the club blocked a move to Real Madrid? If he could not find a conversation at Arsenal, he would have been well and truly screwed at the Bernabeu. If she wants proof of that she should ask their heroes the Beckhams. Truly, the Coles are the Chav version of that couple but without the intelligence.

’til Tomorrow.