Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We've won the charity shield, yes. We've beaten man city 3-0, yes. We looked pretty great going forward, yes. But it's only 'pre-season.'

Ahhh who am I kidding, WE'RE GONNA WIN THE FRIKIN LEAGUE

First half we played some excellent stuff. What impressed me most was the speed and crispness of our passing. We were direct and sharp in the final third, which was a distinct contrast to the Monaco game only a week before where we were sluggish and unadventurous.

What I also liked was our pressing in the first half. Every season we always seem to start off with a high pressing game and then what proceeds half way through the year is that pressing beginning to fade.

It may be a fitness issue as the strains of the season take their toll, but it might plausibly also be because we just don't underline the emphasis of pressing as the season runs on.

Like a student at the start of a new academic year that says to himself 'right I'm gonna knuckle down, NEW YEAR NEW ME.' He starts off doing his homework, but then a month in, he's watching the best of Deal or No Deal highlights on YouTube instead of going over his algebra - yeah...something along those lines.

In the first half we pressed really well, and it was too much for city to deal with. 2 lovely goals followed, and Wembley success was again in our sights.

In the second half we dropped a bit. Understandable given the fact that physically we are not quite at the peak of our powers at the moment. Giroud's goal killed the game and all in all it was a great result and start to the new season.

So what did we learn?

Debuchy is no Sagna

This is not a bad thing - He really impressed me yesterday. He was aggressive, strong and good in the one-on-one situations. And what I liked most is that he aids the transition from defence to attack.

He wasn't awkward on the ball and the attacks didn't stutter when the ball got to his feet as they did with Sagna. Okay sure, he's not as solid defensively, but a full-back needs to be balanced.

Debuchy feels like he could be better-rounded than Sagna and our game as a result could benefit hugely. Arsenal's style heavily relies on the fullbacks overlapping, and a Debuchy overlap is a much more welcoming sight than a Sagna overlap.

Wilshere and Ramsey partnership looks promising

These two will be our midfield for years. They complimented and worked for each other yesterday. Ramsey played more advanced much closer to Sanogo and probed while jack brought the ball forward from slightly deeper.

What Jack does best is keep things simple. He has a lovely quick burst of pace and loves a give and go, continuing his run forwards. Ramsey's turn of good form came from when he kept things a bit more simple. He stripped his game down and in turn he did the basic, most crucial things right. Jack did that yesterday, and needs to keep doing that in order to push on.

Ramsey has become a god of a player, and him and Wilshere together could be more beautiful than the texture of Giroud's hair.

Sanchez pushes us on to another level

He makes us a different animal going forward. He's direct, he chases, he presses, he's quick, he has an eye for a pass. I could go on, but in short, he has the lot.

On the break he looked devastating. Last season on the break we looked slow, namely because we had nobody to carry the ball forward 40 yards at pace. We have Sanchez now and boy can he do that.

What is also frightening is that it seems that he's still not fully fit, so he's only going to get quicker and more effective. Wenger has worked some magic landing this Chilean and he has the attributes to fuel our progress this year

We should challenge

Overall, it looks like we can challenge for the league this year. That was, in my opinion, clear before yesterday's game.

A few signings are still requisite and a CM/CB and a CF would transform us from contenders to favourites. There's still time for us to make those signings, but it does seem to be going quiet on that front.

Regardless, let's focus on what we have at the moment- Because what we do have is a multi-talented team that will play some beautiful stuff this season. I haven't been confident of that in previous seasons, but whatever happens between now and the end of the transfer window, it's clear we have the potential to challenge.

Get behind the boys whether we make those signings or not because we have the makings of a really impressive team this year. If we fulfil that potential, I'm confident we'll be parading another trophy across north London by May.

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