What's that smell in the air at the Arsenal? No it's not the smell of extortionately over-priced, Emirates hot dogs that could quite conceivably be hot 'dogs.' No it's not the smell of the smoke from the cash that's burning a hole in Monsieur Wenger's increasingly deep pockets - It's got a slightly less pungent BBQ essence than that.

It's actually the smell of optimism. Sweet soaring positivity as we put to bed the slow, painfully draining start to our season.

Failure to lay down a marker

The big games last year were where it all went wrong. So wrong that I don't even want to delve into the disgustingly depressing details. The aftermath of those games was like being hung-over trying to remember the events of a night out where you're unnervingly certain that you did something horribly ridiculous but refuse to believe it. And yet, inevitably, the vivid image of yourself dancing in a club, top off, singing an all too literal version of Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger' pops into your head. Shit, it did happen.

We needed a lightening start out of the blocks to put those memories to bed and assert our position as genuine contenders. We failed to do that and so consequently, found ourselves signing up to the 'catch up club.'

Back to winning ways

We have however suddenly picked up a bit of form thanks to our Chilean maestro. Oh Alexis you're too good to us - What would we be without you and your thunderous thighs and pronounced pectorals?

Pretty average. That's what we would be.

Alexis is playing us into some form, and now slowly slowly we're starting to get our players back. You could see (albeit against Burnley) on Saturday in the second half, that the confidence is gradually creeping back into our game. The urgency and energy levels were good, and we need to keep those up to secure a really positive run of results in the next few games.

Champions league qualification

A win tonight against Anderlecht would all but ensure qualification. That would be a huge bonus, because we could start to rotate players on a Tuesday and Wednesday night to keep things a bit fresher, whilst still going all out to win our group. And just look at Man Utd, not having strenuous Champions League commitments can do wonders for your league form.....

Lolz

Let's hope for three points (and no more injuries)

@mikeegeo

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