Arsenal Well Set To Win The League This Season by Patrick
Before the start of last season, no one tipped Arsenal to even be anywhere close to competing for the title. Actually very few thought they would finish in the top 4. As the season wore on, though, Arsenal had everyone change their mind about them. They came out of the blocks, swept almost everyone aside and stormed to the top of the league, a position they kept for a jaw-dropping 248 days before relinquishing the leadership to eventual winners Man City.
That title charge, despite ending in nothing last year, served Mikel Arteta and his men a world of good. First, hardly any of Arteta’s players had had the feel of fighting for the title, an experience they now have first hand, and the same can be said of their manager as well. Secondly, the way they imploded in the end clearly showed Arteta and Edu what exactly was needed to make the squad better. An injury to William Saliba greatly weakened Arsenal’s grip. The drop in form by Thomas Partey was another injuring blow as the Ghanaian struggled badly and was another major reason Arsenal dropped precious points at Anfield, but especially against West Ham and Southampton. Then came the summer. Arteta, like he had said in one of the interviews he did with Sky Sports, ‘nailed it’ in the market! In came Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya. The signing of Rice and Havertz have added serious physicality and more height to Arsenal that many continually claimed had a soft centre. Today, Arsenal have answers to almost all physical questions asked of them. There are still question marks about Raya who has looked fragile at times since his move to Arsenal from Brentford last summer. There’s no doubt that David Raya is a very good goalkeeper. Whether the fragility is a result of the pressure from Aaron Ramsdale he replaced an No.1 or from the pressure that comes from playing for team competing at the top, we don’t know yet. But it remains a fact that if Raya is to remain Arsenal’s No.1, he and his coaches have to do all there is to cut out those mistakes as teams have looked to target him as a point of weakness. The loss of Jurrien Timber on his debut to such a big injury was a piece of very bad luck. His and Tomiyasu’s absence makes Arsenal vulnerable to ferocious attacks from dangerous wide men as we all saw in the games against Liverpool and Aston Villa Overall though, Arsenal have become a better, steelier, defensively stronger unit than last season. They allow fewer shots at their goal than any other team in the top flight this season. Yes, they score fewer goals than last season averaging 2.00 goals per game to last season’s 2:32. Factor in the prospect of the return of long term injury absentees Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber in the new year, as well as the January transfer window, where it’s rumoured Arsenal are looking to strengthen upfront and in midfield, and we could in for a treat. There’s a thought that Man City could come back stronger and make a run of 14/15 wins on the spin especially with the return of Kevin de Bruyne. It’s not easy to go against that as they’ve done it a number of times before, but at the same time, it’s not something I can see happening this time around. City have been way below their usual standards, going into the festive season outside of the top 4 for the first time in many years and its difficult to think they’ll flip it to make such a run. Besides, there’s a reason that no club has managed to win it four times on the spin. This Man City team looks blasé following their treble last season and Pep has not done enough to enliven his men for the new challenge. I don’t see them being crowned champions come May. As for Liverpool, the prospect of losing Mo Salah to the AFCON for potentially a full month is one that those at Anfield gravely dread. The Egyptian has scored 12 goals, contributing 32.4% of Liverpool’s goals this season. By the time he returns, Arsenal could be out of sight! So, everything points at Arsenal going all the way to the title this season. /strong>
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