Glorious Gunners

So now we know. Arsenal, 3-0 winners against Blackburn on Wednesday night, really are the best team in Britain, if not the universe, judging by this week’s headlines.

Yes, Nottingham Forest’s 42-game unbeaten record lies shattered, the goals are flowing and Thierry Henry appears to have forged a partnership with young Spaniard Jose Reyes that will scare the pants off the rest of the Premiership, especially with the apparently ageless Dennis Bergkamp in sparkling form.

They’ve scored 12 goals from three games and the hype just keeps on coming. Now we are almost expecting a second unbeaten season from the title-holding Gunners, who are among the lowest spending Premiership clubs as they concentrate on funding that lovely new stadium in Ashburton Grove.

How the hell does Arsène Wenger do it? While Chelsea, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester United (and even local rivals Spurs) spend millions, Wenger turns to his youngest-ever Premiership player, 17-year-old Spaniard Cesc Fabregas, and an unknown called Mathieu Flamini to fill roles in midfield while captain Patrick Vieira is injured; he gets rid of Nwankwo Kanu, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour, Sylvain Wiltord and, erm … Oleg Luzhny and still produces sides capable of winning, and winning in style.

Incredible.

After victory over Graeme Souness and Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, Wenger grinned: ‘I was only worried we would do something stupid and lose. Now we must show we’re intelligent and hungry, vigilant and rigorous. If we start thinking it’s easy, it will change very quickly.

‘You mustn’t wait until it starts to go wrong or you stop working.”

To me, the key to Wenger is his ability to recognise talent others miss. He has moved Henry from the wing to a loose cannon role, appropriate really for the top Gunner.

But as Wenger himself warns, Arsenal must now guard against complacency. The truth is, their rivals are investing and the Champions League remains a distant target.

Winning the Premiership again this season against the incredible depth of talent at Chelsea will be miraculous. But Wenger knows that without European success, he will never get the credit he deserves. Have they got the depth to challenge on both fronts? They’ve certainly got the talent.

Even Brian Clough, manager of that Forest team of record-breakers who won two European Cups in the 1970s, confesses: ‘For me to say they are excellent after 50 years in the game is quite something.”