I firmly believe that the main reason for all the anger and calls for Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal or spend some effing money after the first day loss to West Ham, was because it came as such a surprise. Even though we all knew that the Hammers were a good few weeks further along in their preparations for the season, none of us really thought we would lose.
Even worse was the manner of the defeat, with almost every Arsenal player looking like a rabbit in the headlights. That was not the real Arsenal in my opinion and the players did quickly put it behind them with a much improved performance at Selhurst Park on Monday.
After the end of last season, including the brilliant 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa in the FA cup final, and then our pre-season which saw us record a first win over a Jose Mourinho team, we have come to expect a lot, and rightly so.
So as long as the right Gunners team turns up at the Emirates stadium on Monday, I am confident that we can get a good result. So I am hoping that the first day loss was merely a blip caused by complacency or the pressure of expectation. Hopefully the players have now got that out of their system, but will the real Arsenal please stand up against Liverpool, do you think?