Christmas Finds Us Struggling...

First of all, on behalf of Fab 4 Arsenal, I want to wish all of our readers a very merry Christmas, wherever you're reading from. It's a special time of year, and often it is used as a time for reflection. That's exactly what we're going to today, as we look at where we are at Christmas this year as compared to last year.

Maybe it's a bit of an unfair comparison, but one that I think is merited. How is it that in one year the squad and their performances have changed so much? This time last year we were top of the Premier League by just a point or two over Manchester United who were nipping at our heels all through December.

The squad was suffering a little fatigue and we had just come off a disappointing loss at the Riverside to Middlesbrough. The 2-1 disappointment was our first loss in the league that season, and only our second in all competitions (the other being to Sevilla in the Champions League). But nevertheless we were still top and we headed into Christmas really believing this was our season, the one where we were to finally reclaim the title.

Whilst our attack and defense were basically the same as this season's, it was the midfield that was making the difference. Fabregas was in the form of his life, Flamini was playing excellently, Hleb and Rosicky were doing the work on the wings, and they were supporting the front men of Adebayor and Eduardo with deadly efficiency. We went on to draw at Portsmouth on Boxing Day, giving up the lead in the league, before reclaiming it with an emphatic 4-1 triumph over Everton to close out the year.

This season, Christmas finds us struggling. We have already lost five times in the league, and seven times in all competitions. We sit fifth in the table and the Premier League title is only a dream now. Our midfield had consisted of Fabregas, Denilson, Song, and Nasri, but now Fabregas has been injured and will be missing for months. So now we are left with Denilson, Song, Diaby, and Nasri, with possibly Eboue, as our first choice midfield. Up front Adebayor and Van Persie may be playing well, with the latter in outstanding form, but without the creativity in midfield we are lacking.

So in one year we have gone from sitting atop the league with the best midfield in the Premiership to sitting fifth in the table with a midfield that a mid-table team would be proud to have. My how times have changed, and for all of us gooners it has been a sad thing to witness the downfall of this side from what it was.

But there is hope in the future, although it may have to wait until April or May to occur. With all of our long-term injured players back by then we will quite possibly be looking at a midfield containing Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri, and Rosicky, with perhaps a newly-signed centre midfielder. In attack, Eduardo will be pushing Ade and RVP for a spot and at the back, the players such as Djourou will have continued to grow into superb players, conceding only a few goals.

This rosy future is a very real possibility, and although it may come to late to win us the league, we may just be able to make a strong push for the Champions League or the F.A. Cup, and if not we will have next season to look forward to, a season which will quite possibly have a very different landscape due to the worldwide economic troubles which seem to be threatening the existence of every major club except for us. Maybe Arsene Wenger had it right all along, and maybe once the dust clears we will be the only club with either money or good players.

We shall see, but until then we gooners will just have to do the same thing we should always do: throw our full support behind the club, through thick and think, good times and bad. This may be a rough spot we're going through, but I'm confident that it will only be but a small moment, a moment to forget in our very bright and promising future.

Merry Christmas to all!

Fab 4