It's actually looking promising!

Afternoon all,

Having watched the game against Newcastle today I am now starting to feel a mixture of optimism and genuinely confident! The defence still had it's moments but Paddy put in a good shift alongside AOB. Some great last ditch challenges from Paddy, which is his style for me. Nice to see Tom Lees do some tidy defending and he gets his head in there without fear...top guy for me. Bodor looked relatively assured when he came on however most of Newcastle's threat came down from their left side. Connolly looked OK, nothing special as did Parker who in fact tried to be a little too adventurous with his defending. Surely SG will talk with him about that.

Howson was impressive and had that extra speed over the likes of Barton, Gosling and co. Brown looked relatively solid with a couple of small errors as the game approached the final stages. Nothing to worry about.

Snoddy and Gradel were lively. Snoddy being the pick of the two for me. Then Sam came on and looked like he did at the starting stages of last season. Chuffed to have him back with his pace and trickery. Mendy looked good again. He seems to be a similar player to Sanchez Watt so surely a decision on his future will be made very soon. Maybe he is a good alternative to Watt if Wenger is wanting to keep him on board? Nunez did well and he is looking sharp with his footwork. He tends to like coming inside and spreading the ball. That will work nicely with the wingers we have.

I enjoyed watching McCormack up top on his own. For me you can really make an impact as an off the shoulder type striker and he had some good moments where he was a threat to their defence. Billy got in there with his goal so hopefully that gives him the bit of confidence to come on and take some of those chances finally.

I hope the rumours are true about Spector and Andrews. Spector has been a solid performer in the Premiership for years now and he offers versatility across the back four and even midfield when required. Andrews would also be a good addition to beef up the centre of the park. Get Mendy and Lichaj too and we will be challenging for the Play Offs surely.

All in all I am enthusiastic for the new season ahead! Bring in on now. MOT!!!