I'm back, but what to make of Arsenal's season thusfar?

Hello again. If you're wondering why I haven't been blogging, try moving from Scotland to London to Paris, with a trip to the US throw in, in the space of about a month. busy, busy, busy.

And a lot has happened since Bolton away.

I was there at both the Hull and Everton games, saw the Sunderland game, but only caught the highlights of the Fenerbache and West Ham matches. And here is what I make of it all.

This season's blip was meant to be at Fulham, but it's clear that with our squad we're going to struggle in quite a few matches this season. Matches in which Denilson, Song and Diaby can't impose themselves will see the rest of the team struggle. I thought this would happen only against the bigger teams but as Hull, Fulham, and even Sunderland have shown, our midfield can be overrun and we can be shut down by almost anyone, especially if Arsene insists on playing a 4-5-1 which congests the midfield and reduces our attacking threat in any case. Against Hull, we looked hopeless and a bit overconfident, against a hungry side who wanted to win far more than we did.

Moreover our defence still hasn't found its balance, but Silvestre might turn out to be a half-decent signing. Against Everton, seeing one of defenders do the no-nonsense stuff well - winning headers, hacking the ball clear - was a joy at times. No letting the ball soar over our heads, or seeing Gallas or Toure try to dribble from defence was very nice. But it's still hard to see how it all fits together. Will either Song or Silvestre actually displace Toure or Gallas? I'm not so sure, especially, as the hopelessly imbalanced starting line-up against Everton showed, Arsene can be his own worst enemy when it comes to picking the team .

But, we've done well to get three wins in the last week or so. A dire first half gave way to a very exciting second against Everton where we seized the initiative with some panache. The game against Fenerbache saw our attacking players star, but our defenders again made to look a bit out of sorts.

So keeping a clean sheet, and winning against West Ham was important, a game in which the importance of Adebayor to the team was hammered home.

But what to make of our season so far? Where is it going? It's too early to really say anything, but we can only afford to lose one, possibly two more games over the course of the whole of the rest of the season if we're serious about winning the league.

I don't think this will happen. We should have won it last year, and I don't think the team is as strong as last season, even if our squad could be with a few more central midfielders.

I actually think that our best hope comes in one of the cup competitions, where we can motivate ourselves for one big game at a time. If anything, the season has reminded me of the 2005/6 season a bit - inconsistent in the league, mixed with impressive CL performances.

The other matter to be resolved is why the club still hasn't appointed a new CEO or CFO. The club can't afford to lose executives and not replace them. Not having a seasoned negotiator in the transfer market may have cost us a few transfers this past summer.

So, I'm still not completely out of hopes, but I think this season may be a bit tough. If the team can find consistency after its early season bump, the league still might be an option, but as it is, cups might be the real source of hope this year.