What a couple of weeks

Wow, so much has gone on since my last post over two weeks ago (slack I know, but blogging doesn't pay the bills in the same way work does), with yesterday seeing the arrival of many members of the first team squad at Buckingham Palace for tea and biccies with Lizzie. I must say, Julio looks awfully comfortable in this photo, and Denilson obviously hasn't taken to suppping dried up leaf water just yet. Give him time though, he's only been here six months.

So, 3-1 against the Spuds (which I went to, knocked out a fantastic write up afterwards, only to have my browser crash, deleting the post and leaving me too pissed off to rewrite it), 1-1 at Middlesbrough, 2-1 at home to Blackburn and a long-time coming 3-1 destruction of Fat Sam's piglets.

I'm not going to go into any of the games in much detail, mostly because of the amount of time that's passed since they actually took place, but in general I've been very happy with what I've been seeing, particularly from the younger players who are on the fringes of the first team and have really seemed to have found their feet at the top level over the past fortnight.

I'm talking in particular of Diaby (who impressed last season as well, but who none were sure would be the same player after that horrific injury), Clichy (who is playing regular first XI but is now really emerging from under the shroud of being known as Ashley Cole's stand in for the past however many seasons), and Denilson (who is quite clearly a Brazilian clone of Fabregas). These three have played a lot of first team football in the last two weeks and have each looked every inch an Arsenal player.

Each of these players coming through is important to the first XI, because of the positions they play in.

Clichy is repaying the boss' faith for not going out and buying a new left back apres Cashley. He's come on so much since marking down the left back berth as his own and if he keeps working on his concentration and defensive discipline he really could be an outstanding player. He has gas by the tankload and he just runs all day long. In the second half of extra time on Wednesday night I couldn't believe how he was still motoring up and down the far touchline. Fantastic.

Diaby is showing that we do have strength in depth in the Gilberto postion, and I don't think it will be that long before he displaces the Brazilian in that more defensive centre mid role. He gets stuck in, is an absolute shed, and has the grace and foresight Vieira used to show. There's no doubt that he's a better "footballer" than Gilberto, he just has to nail his positional awareness and defensive responsibilities.

And Denilson. Wow. The kid has so much tactical nous, allied with his obvious ability on the ball and super range of passing. Maybe it is an exaggeration to label him Fabregas Mk II so early in his Arsenal career, but he seems like a samba Cesc in every way. He's got the same fight in him that Fab has as well, which I always like to see. With Fabregas having played so much football this season already, Denilson is an obvious alternative in the more creative midfield role, and I think Wenger has the confidence to start him. There's an article from the Daily Mail which goes over his role at Bolton and also has some quotes about his lack of apprehension regarding his move to England. He's obviously a fan of English football and I think his style is best suited to the English league, and the fact that he didn't really stand out at Sao Paolo, according to Tostao, speaks volumes for that.

Other bits and bobs flying about include Robinho giving Tottenham a good kick in the ego, Gallas returning from a lifetime out injured (let's hope it's not too soon, again), Arsene giving Aliadiere yet more proof of his faith in him (right or wrong he's certainly shown what he's about recently), and Kolo still claiming his little brother is better than him (he's not).

So, Blackburn in the Cup tomorrow lunchtime, and I imagine we'll see another mix of youth and experience with an away day at PSV just round the corner. It'll be interesting to see exactly what side Arsene puts out. If he hadn't played 120 minutes on Wednesday, I'd be wanting to see Denilson.

Come on you Reds.