Coincidence is a funny thing, and a coincidence is all it is, but it does seem strange that the new Arsenal fixture list for the coming season has put us up against Liverpool and Leicester City in the first three games, just as it did last season.
Arsenal fans will obviously hoping that this is where the coincidence ends as well, because the Gunners got off to the worst possible start last year by losing at home to Liverpool (and when you consider they pipped us to the final Champions League spot by a single point that loss looks even worse).
We then drew the next game with Leicester but that did not seem quite as bad as they were the reigning Premier League champions, but anything less than a win at home to the Foxes on Friday will feel like a bad result because they are not the same dangerous team as they were and at the same time we are in a much better state.
Last season Arsene Wenger was missing a whole host of key players but this time we should be much stronger, even if the likes of Ozil, Ramsey and Cazorla are not available. The main reason we should be very confident of an Arsenal win, though, is the opposition. We know that Riyad Mahrez is pushing for a transfer away and their pre-season has been shaky to say the least, with defeats against Wolves and Burton Albion and a draw against MK Dons.
They did manage to beat Borussia Monchengladbach in the final friendly but they are surely in no sort of form to trouble Arsenal, so can we finally get off to a good start this season? We certainly need to.
Bob.