Groundhog day or a new beginning?

For 80 minutes at Arsenal Fulham on Sunday you could have been forgiven for thinking that last season had never ended.

Arsenal only had one new player, albeit a very noticeable one, on the pitch; Fulham scored with literally their first attack on goal; we played some lovely football, assiduously put on pressure, but couldn't bloody score.

Jens's mistake was one of those things that had to be seen to be believed. I almost laughed when it happened it was so farcical - it was a genuine moment of tragi-comedy. The laughter soon stopped when I realised that goals aren't disallowed for being ridiculous and we were one-nil down after only 50-odd seconds of the new season.

Fulham were not the pushovers they had been purported to be. They battled hard, perhaps a little too hard, and, unlike other occasions where teams have gone one-up against us at the Grove, they had chances that could have put them two or even three goals up.

While Tony Warner was excellent in the Fulham goal, we should have scored long before we did, and poor finishing was again the culprit for our travails. Rosicky should have scored twice, Hleb was denied by the tip of Warner's foot and Zat Knight's leg, Fabregas wasn't quite quick enough to get onto Hleb's lovely through-ball, and van Persie couldn't seem to get into the game.

The formation was rather curious and didn't entirely work. RvP doesn't seem like a player who likes to be up-top on his own and even with Hleb marauding behind him, he struggled to make an impact at times, often reduced to quick-fire attempts on goal.

Fabregas and Eboue were both disappointing, despite Fab's last minute assist. Whether he suffered from being stuck between Flamini behind him and Hleb in front is a matter of debate, which will only become clearer if we stick with the formation. Flamini himself did not break up the play well enough and his passing was poor. However, his attitude can't be questioned: we need his spirit to become infectious if the old Arsenal never-say-die belief is to be reborn.

Hleb revelled in his new more central role, and was easily my man of the match.
If he continues to play more centrally he'll get more goals and at the moment, he should be starting ahead of Rosicky if it were to come down to a choice between the two. Rosicky still isn't sharp enough in front of his goal, and for all his running, still flatters to deceive somewhat.

At the back, Sagna was excellent, Toure was inspiring, Gallas captained the team excellently, and Clichy was full of energy.Yet as a unit, the defence is still all over the place. Fulham opened us up with worrying ease on a number of occasions and this needs to be remedied.

As for Jens, a mistake is a mistake. He's never looked that comfortable with the ball at his feet, but still pulled off a great save from Davies to keep us in the game. Don't even think of calling for Almunia.

Theo came on and did more than Eboue without really impressing. Bendtner was excellent, actually winning balls in the air and changing the shape of the game. We may, at last, have a plan B, and I have very high hopes for Nicklas.

Overall, I've never seen the grove so excited since the games against United and the Spuds. Few people left in the last ten minutes and there was a real buzz around the place. It's not surprising: a last-minute goal, a melee, the most farcical goal of the year: there was a lot to be excited about.

There seems to be a new spirit crystallising in the team and this season could turn out to be better than first thought. However, the squad remains too thin: signings are needed to ensure that injuries don't put pay to our efforts yet again.