I have a bit of a funny feeling with Arsenal at the moment. We have yet to hit our stride so far and it is after the Christmas period that we will need to start getting our game together. We have been doing just enough to win our games and playing well in patches until we do not give

It’s been a little while hasn’t it? Or so it seems.

It has only been a couple of days since I put up a void match preview on Saturday morning. What exactly am I supposed to do with that? Cut and paste when the game is rescheduled, well I suppose I will be adding that we are in top form and cruising top of the league. Well that is what I would like to be saying when the game is replayed, in that case, they can stick the game at the end of the season, so it will mean nothing. Getting carried away with myself again aren’t I?

It looks like many of the managers have been granted a little winter break from mother nature and that will please many, although I always feel a little nervy when our players haven’t played together for a little while as we have often taken a while to warm up and get some sort of rhythm together.

What this will do though is rest some achy bones and hopefully get some injured players up to speed. Yes, Abou I am looking at you. Someone like Diaby would be perfect for our next game against Chelsea on the 27th of this month.

Diaby has often been a big game player for us, and has often put in a performance when we really need it, his strength is also a bonus and it took an ‘accidental’ Essien assault at the Bridge to knock him out of his stride that afternoon.

I have a bit of a funny feeling with Arsenal at the moment. We have yet to hit our stride so far and it is after the Christmas period that we will need to start getting our game together. We have been doing just enough to win our games and playing well in patches until we do not give enough and lose.

We haven’t put a 90 minutes together of real quality since the beginning of the season and I put that down to the continued rotation of the players. We need to get a settled side together and play them into form. It has been difficult for Wenger this year because A) he has a big squad so many players have needed games and B) we have had injuries to key players.

It is quite crazy that we have yet to really see Robin Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas has played at his best for about 10% of his games so far and that is because of the start stop hamstring problems that he has had to endure. Thomas Vermaelen has hardly featured this season and that feels strange as he was the player that we had more often than anyone else last season.

In second place in the league without those key players yet to get out of walking pace let alone hitting their stride is pretty decent so far BUT we cannot continue at the current level if we are to take that big next very important step in our challenge for trophies.

We have to raise our game and get everyone fit, well at least Wenger’s core squad members for a run of 10-15 games. I feel that once the team can find the needed momentum and hit their stride then we will start to believe that we are the best but at the moment the players seem unsure of themselves.

Cesc hit the nail on the head when he said that the players fear defeat, that was pretty bloody evident when Gareth Bale knocked the ball wide of Fabianski a few minutes into the second half. This squad need to develop that mental quality that Wenger’s previous team had, they knew they could score at any moment and would never give that up, this side are younger, less experienced and have not had a history of doing what is needed at high pressure times, in high pressure situations.

I watched Barcelona once again tear through the opposition on Saturday night when they brushed aside a hard working Espanyol and once again I found myself hating, yet admiring their quality.

Espanyol played quite a high line against Barcelona and tried to take the game to them, and they were sliced apart by the quality passing of Messi and Xavi.

I think it is amazing that Messi can play as a striker and creative midfielder with equal measure. How many players have that ability?

It is a game that I am very much looking forward to and I have to say I am now pleased about the draw. Even though we had a tough time of it last season, it was still very entertaining over two legs and it will be interesting to see how far we have come and which players will be available to play.

We will certainly need to be sharper than we are at present, there is no doubt about that. The Arsenal of the last few weeks would lose to this Barcelona. But an Arsenal with Cesc, Nasri, Van Persie, Rosicky, Arshavin and the defence all having games together, playing with confidence is certainly possible. Difficult but possible.

If we can play through their ridiculous pressing then we can hurt them at the other end but it is a case of getting to their goal than actually breaching their defence, which is actually quite slow.

I have dreams of Koscielny stepping in and nicking the ball off the feet of Messi, playing it to Cesc who makes a triangle with Rosicky and Nasri. Pedro, Villa and Messi are racing after the ball but the crisp Arsenal passing is making them chase shadows. Arshavin slips it to Cesc and Theo sets off on his bike running from the right in between Abidal and Cesc slides a through pass into Walcott who rounds the diving Valdes and tucks it into an empty net Barcelona 2 Arsenal 3 in the Camp Nou in injury time after playing out a 3-3 draw from the first leg.

Well one can dream, right?

I did write a few things on the Barca game after the draw was made if you wish to read it.

It is a little annoying really because it has dominated my thoughts since the ‘random generated draw’ took place. There is far too much football before that to be thinking that far ahead but unfortunately I cannot hide my excitement.

So what do you make of Ryo Miyaichi? His arrival is like a new signing. Of course he is a new signing but an old new signing as we already had him on trial earlier in the year.

He looks like a very talented individual indeed. I am a sucker for a dribbler, which actually sounds disgusting but you catch my drift.

He is only 18 and there is plenty of development and growing to do before we can think about him as a first team possibility. Talent is not enough to make it, if that was the case then Quincy Owusu-Abeyie would be our current number 10.

And with that, I bid you goodbye.

Back Tomorrow.