Things Looking Up?

But hold on. It's important not to get the wrong end of the stick. I can think of nothing worse right now than sacking the manager, and hopefully Mr Ranson feels the same way. I'm a firm believer in the Arsenal philosophy; 'continuity will eventually lead to success'.

Things really need 'shaking up' on the field, and I believe Chris Coleman is the right man to make the necessary changes.

Having travelled to Derby last week, I saw a hugely positive debut for the dominant centre-back Leon Barnett. He is exactly the kind of player we need. Strong, uncompromising and fearless in the tackle, it's clear that he is capable of doing well at this level.

He was constantly alert, and quick to remove any danger. It's just unfortunate that an error on behalf of his defensive partner meant that we ended up taking nothing from the game.

If we're able to draft in Richard Wood (pictured below) this week, we may be presented with a new-look central defensive partnership come the match against Crystal Palace on the 21st. Add to that the potential return of Keiren Westwood, and the whole situation begins to appear a little less gloomy.

This is hugely positive news, considering the fact that we have only kept 3 clean sheets so far this season.

One can only assume that Coleman has taken a step back and attempted to ascertain where the majority of our frailties lie, and then gone on to bring in players capable of fixing the problem.

With these new additions joining the likes of Westwood, Wright and Bell, all of whom are making steady progress on their way back from injury/illness, I can't help but feel slightly optimistic about the Crystal Palace game.

That said, City have a nasty habit of making me regret any misplaced optimism. Only time will tell if that will be the case this week.