Half-Term Report: Arsenal

So Arsene Wenger does not "necessarily" regard Manchester United as his main Championship rivals? A bit like saying his team is capable of going through the season unbeaten. Defence is the worry, with Pascal Cygan failing to convince the doubters. There is also concern over the form of Sylvain Wiltord, Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljundberg, with Tony Adams observing that it is difficult to accommodate the latter two in the same side away from home. And then there is David Seaman, although he appears to be regaining confidence. To counterbalance this is the remarkable Thierry Henry, the formidable Patrick Vieira (and his midfield partner Gilberto Silva) and the increasingly commanding Sol Campbell. Not bad to think you have all those problems and are sitting on top of the league and set to go into the quarter-finals of the Champions' League.