In recent seasons it has been the same old story of starting a season talking about whether a long trophy drought will end. Not anymore!
After nine gruelling years without silverware my beloved Gunners finally won another trophy with a 3-2 extra time victory over Hull at Wembley. At 2-0 down, it looked like another frustrating season but Aaron Ramsey completed a fine comeback and the rest is history.
Going into a new season with the trophy-drought monkey off our backs allows me to look ahead with renewed optimism. I think the FA Cup win will have a big effect on the mentality of the players and could see us finally push up to the next level.
In the 2013/14 season we held top spot for long spells only for Manchester City, who were only top for a few weeks in total, to claim the top prize. While Arsenal can take heart from how they led for so long, as well as winning the FA Cup, ultimately the league season was another frustrating one.
Before the season started, some Arsenal fans would have bitten someone's hand off to have ended the trophy drought while also qualifying for the Champions League yet again. But is this really good enough? For all the positives of last season, I think we can do better and we need to improve the consistency of our game and be able to maintain a title challenge for a lot longer.
On the one hand I believe there is no reason why we can't do just that. But at the same time the Premier League is getting more and more competitive by the season and, with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea also competing for the title, chances of winning it become increasingly difficult.
The Gunners have given themselves a better chance than normal as not only is the trophy drought over to change the mentality of the squad, but some shrewd additions could allow them to push their opponents all the way.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, not often known for his big spending, raised several eyebrows by signing Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona for a fee in the region of £35 million. This adds huge firepower to the Gunners' attack and hopefully several more goals. The attack is also boosted by Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski returning to the squad having won the World Cup earlier this summer, while Theo Walcott should return in around a month. There is huge potential in the Arsenal front-line but whether it reaches its potential remains to be seen.
Midfield is an area that hasn't often caused much concern so providing everyone stays injury free we should be okay, although the addition of another defensive midfielder wouldn't hurt. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny developed a formidable partnership in the centre of defence last season and for most parts were among the best in the top flight. However, blips in a few heavy defeats cost Arsenal dear so consistency will be key if we are to improve this season. Bacary Sagna at right-back is a huge loss and an even bigger blow to see him join rivals Manchester City. But Mathieu Debuchy is more than capable of doing a sterling job and it will be interesting to see just what impact the former Newcastle man has at the Emirates. Wenger has also bolstered the defence with the signing of 19-year-old Calum Chambers from Southampton and, if he can follow in the footsteps of fellow former Saints Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, he could be a star in the making.
Wojciech Szczesny will again be Arsenal's number one between the sticks but this time will have a more top class back-up to keep him on his toes. No disrespect to Lukasz Fabianski, who joined Swansea over the summer, but having Colombia's David Ospina as our new number two fills me with a lot more confidence about the depth of our squad.
So just how far can we go?
I genuinely believe this question is impossible to answer. I'd put the chances of us winning more silverware or seeing a league campaign drift away in the final months as 50-50, it really is that hard to call. I'd love to say we can produce a better title challenge this year. The foundations are there and we certainly have potential to do so, but whether we do is another matter. I won't be drawn on predictions, partly as I have bad luck in that field, but also I have no idea how things will pan out, so let's just wait and see. There is plenty potential for good cup runs and it is feasible for us to win either or both of the domestic cups, including retaining the FA Cup.
As for European competition, I think we will reach the knock-out stages again but beyond that who knows. When the draw for the qualifiers were done, I was delighted when we drew Besiktas. By no means will they be easy but out of some of the other potential opponents in the draw, I would rather see us against them at this stage. We have an excellent record at the group stage and, should we beat Besiktas, I think we can progress beyond the next stage.
The knock-out stage is always tough to take as we tend to muck up the first leg and then produce a superb second leg away at the likes of Bayern Munich. Consistency is again the word to epitomise us. We need to make sure we hit top form in every game of the Champions League and not just in portions of games. Do that and we could go a long way. Lose our focus and we may well concede quick-fire goals to give us an uphill task before the tie is even at the half-way stage.
But before all of that we have the Community Shield and ahead of the game my thoughts on the competition are mixed.
Community Shield
For many years I have felt that the Community Shield is such a pointless game to start the season with. The match between the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup winners is often the curtain raiser for a new campaign but I just can't always take it seriously. This season is totally different because the Gunners are involved.
It may not be the most important of silverware, in fact it often matters little. But for a club like Arsenal, who ended a nine-year trophy drought as recently as May, it could be crucial.
If we win the match and pick up our second piece of silverware in three months it will be a huge boost to confidence and could potentially have a big impact on how the rest of the season unfolds. It won't define how our season ends but it could effect the mentality we start the Premier League campaign with, so whatever the result is we need a very strong performance and one to make the fans proud.
Although the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace is a totally different match in a totally different competition, I can't help but think going into it with another trophy in the cabinet will be a huge boost and make the players truly believe this can be a special year.
But we will have to be on top form to ensure former players Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri have a day to forget when they come up against us.
Final thoughts
I believe we will be in the top four again at the end of the season, but will avoid any concrete predictions of where exactly we will finish.
The new signings have given fans and players a real feel good factor about the season ahead, so who knows what we might achieve.
We need to be consistently hitting top form to stand a chance of toppling our rivals and can't afford any silly defeats again this time around.
Hopefully we learnt some harsh lessons from the 2013/14 and are ready to start the new season firing on all cylinders. Our destiny is in our own hands and it is up to Wenger and the players to prove they have what it takes to provide a real challenge to the title chasers.
QUE SERA SERA
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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