Three Weeks In

 Arsenal is top of the table after three games.  Last season, we were bottom.  We finished fifth.  Three games is a very small slice of a season.  Arteta is telling his men about what they can do better, not praising them for what they've done.  The Palace game was a much closer affair than the score indicated; the late own-goal put a gloss on the scoreline that was not entirely earned.  Leicester was poor and we ran all over them at home; they were fortunate to get any goals.  Bournemouth simply did not compete.  There will be many games that will be more hotly contested.  

Nevertheless, I see reasons to be hopeful.  With a dreadfully thin squad last season, we nearly sneaked into the top four.  This year, we not only brought in excellent talent in the form of Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko, and William Saliba, but our first choice outside backs have recovered from injury, and new signing Fabio Vieira is close to full fitness.  Almost all our impact players from last year are still young and have another year of EPL experience.  The new guys have slotted into Arteta's system very well.  We are not two injuries away from trouble, and if a couple guys are out of form, there are willing replacements who can do the job.

Contrast this with Liverpool, whose coach wondered if there was a witch in the building causing all the injuries, or Man U, which is still (today's game notwithstanding) a dysfunctional mess, or Chelsea, which runs like an expensive car with sugar in the gas tank.  On the other hand, Newcastle looks scary good, Man City is still the team to beat, and Tottenham is even better than last season.  I think this is going to be a crazy season.  My hope is that Arsenal keeps getting stronger and can go toe to toe with the big boys while beating up on the lesser squads, as we used to do under Wenger.  But it won't be easy.