“*#$@%**!” The man in the pub beside me hurled off a series of obscenities at the TV screen after witnessing Emmanuel Adebayor scoring to put Arsenal 3-1 up against Everton. "This ISN'T supposed to happen!" he barked as he thumped his fist against the bar counter.

The man was a Manchester United supporter and he had just witnessed his team lose 2-1 to West Ham . He was sure Arsenal wouldn’t fare much better against Everton. After all, the Gunners were playing away in traditionally one of the most hostile environments to them. The Everton midfield had the measure of the Arsenal ballerinas Cesc Fabregas and Aleksandr Hleb, and the picture of Andy Johnson celebrating in the driving rain after scoring the winner in last year’s fixture epitomised everything that Everton liked, and Arsenal detested, about playing in the sludge of a dreary winter's evening.

Midway through the second half, Arsenal went a man down after Nicklas Bendtner was sent off. Surely this United fan expected his team to remain on top, despite Arsenal leading 2-1 at that stage.

'In truth, this "new" Arsenal had been threatening to introduce itself after the first game against Portsmouth where Arsenal won 3-1 with 10 men'


Why was he so bitterly disappointed? Why was this man, who only a few hours earlier just prior to the kick-off of the United game was expounding the virtues of Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, so motivated to leave that he missed a typically constructed Arsenal goal scored by Tomas Rosicky?

The answer is simple. Just like David Moyes had done, this man had underestimated the resilience of the "new" Arsenal. In truth, this "new" Arsenal had been threatening to introduce itself after the first game against Portsmouth where Arsene Wenger's men won 3-1 with 10 men. That game signalled the birth of a belief among the young Gunners that they were not afraid to take on opponents despite the odds. Where once upon a time they were expected to capitulate, from that result, such expectations appear to be the exception rather than the norm.

So to the match against Everton. Despite being outplayed in the first half in the awful conditions, the final score was 4-1 in favour of the Gunners. This was achieved on the back of one of the most gritty defensive performances which saw only 39% possession in the second half and three goals courtesy of three very "un-Arsenal-like" long balls.

Arsenal of vintage 2007/2008 are proving that they will take the three points any way they can get them and that they don’t give a damn what people think. A win is a win.

Everton witnessed a transformed Arsenal team - preaching their pretty patterns but disguising an iron fist that they will unleash when they have to. An iron fist that smashed anyone who would underestimate an inexperienced Arsenal strike force of Bendtner and Eduardo. An iron fist that could rest Rosicky and Adebayor and not have available Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott and still compete against Everton's bully boys.

Not that they didn’t have practice. Everton's midfield was chicken-feed considering these youngsters lasted 120 minutes against Robbie Savage's Blackburn and won. Moyes should have learned from that. He didn’t, and this Arsenal fist thumped four past him.

Of course they didn’t deserve to lose. No wonder the Scot was raging mad when they did. No bully expects his victim to bully him back. No bully expects a ballerina like Fabregas to react in a manner that would get Mikel Arteta sent off.

This wasn't supposed to happen, but Arsenal's young French artist is a different player this season, reacting to situations in no lesser manner than Ronaldo would have done. And as opposing fans hate the Portuguese for his attitude, a tactician will not fail to notice that every feint, every knowing wink, winds up opponents and deals such psychological blows that it unbalances opponents. Fabregas' copying of Ronaldo's antics wasn't supposed to be practised by the puritan  Wenger and his charges.

But Ronaldo won last season's Player of the Year award as Manchester United stormed the Premier League. And everyone knows neither Sir Alex nor Ronaldo or the fans give a damn about what others think of them as they continue their collection of silverware.

Arsene and his boys are on the way to doing the same. As Moyes has discovered, so too will every other Premier League manager: The kids at Hogwarts have grown up. They play as if from Gryffindor House, but really have the Slytherin guile and grit.

The magic men have come of age. At last, this is an Arsenal team to be feared.