The punters drinking inside the Football Transfer Tavern this evening are questioning whether there is any other team capable of going from despair against Olympiakos last Tuesday to absolute jubilation against Manchester United in just a couple of days like Arsenal can?
So often over recent years, we’ve seen the sublime to the ridiculous and vice versa for Arsene Wenger’s men who everybody knows are capable of producing the kind of scintillating football we saw in the first twenty minuets against Manchester United yesterday afternoon where they blew Louis van Gaal’s side away.
Naturally, many of our resident Gooners are daring to dream yet again that this could be their year in the Premier League with the title race well and truly wide open right now.
The most pleasing aspect of yesterday’s handsome win over the Red Devils was that Arsenal locked the game down after going 3-0 up and this is incredibly pleasing for Gunners fans who have of course seen their club throw away 3-0 and 4-0 leads away to the likes of Anderlecht and Newcastle United in the past.
Doing all of their attacking in the first half and then allowing themselves to press United on the counter in the second, you couldn’t help but be impressed with the way Arsene Wenger’s men responded, especially given the fact the club and manager received a tough time of it from their own fans, the media and the press post Olympiakos.
With the umpteenth wave of enthusiasm sweeping around the bar where our Gooners are concerned (they’ll probably be deflated again sometime soon!), we’ve devised five reasons why Arsenal can go on to win the Premier League come May time.
[ffc-gallery]
Click on the image below to reveal the five reasons Arsenal can win the league after yesterday’s victory over Manchester United.
[/ffc-gallery]
Because nobody else looks invincible this season
With Manchester City currently leading the pack at the top of the Premier League table by two points on a tally of 18 compared to Arsenal and Manchester United’s haul of 16, it is quite clear that there is no runaway leader like Chelsea last term.
Cast your mind back to the earlier weeks of the season and many claimed City were going to walk it in the style Chellsea did last term but fast forward to eight games gone and the top of the table is far, far tighter and more competitive.
With every side having lost a game now, while this of course keeps Arsenal’s Invincibles record in tact, it also gives Gooners incredible hope that they can stick in there while hoping for extra reinforcements in the January transfer window to get them over the line.
Arsenal suffered costly early defeats last term which despite their second half of the season renaissance, cost them in the end so with Wenger’s men producing a good points tally so far and City having threw away points to the likes of West Ham United at home, no single team has looked incredibly convincing for the duration so far and this gives Arsenal fans reason to believe.
In Walcott & Sanchez, they have two regular goalscorers
Did anybody really doubt the ability of Alexis Sanchez when he endured his small goalscoring drought at the start of the season?
Prior to his first goal of a hat-trick away at Leicester City recently, Arsenal’s Chilean superstar was going through a mini goal drought but that day the King Power Stadium really seems to have sparked the former Barcelona player into action with a goal against Olympiakos to follow and of course a brace against United yesterday.
Given the flair and sheer work ethic of Alexis, as long as Arsenal keep him fit, he’s already proved he can be a regular source of goals and what’s more, his attacking partner Theo Walcott also boasts a handsome record of 13 strikes in his last 15 starts, stretching back to last season of course.
In these two players, continued goalscoring efforts from the pair can make up for Arsenal’s lack of a Sergio Aguero or 30-goal striker and all Arsenal fans will hope they remain fit. If they do, the Gunners shouldn’t be far away from the top come the middle of the season in January and maybe beyond.
Because they’ll be out of the Champions League?
No matter which way you paint the picture, Arsenal’s Champions League campaign has been a complete and utter disaster so far.
Finishing third in the Premier League last term meant Arsene Wenger’s men didn’t actually have to qualify for the competition for the first time in a long time but the early optimism around the competition has been traded for a self-confessed feeling of ‘why are Arsenal even in it?’
Drawn in a group that contained arguably the world’s best domestic club in Bayern Munich at the moment, Gooners would’ve felt their club could finish second behind the Bavarian giants but losing to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos so far has made progression incredibly difficult.
With many Arsenal fans writing off the club’s chances of qualifying with severe and perhaps irreparable damage already done with the manager strangely dropping Petr Cech and what have you, those same fans will also hope the club don’t finish third in thr group so that they have to make up the numbers in the Europa League.
Having mocked Tottenham for being in it for numerous seasons now, no Arsenal supporter wants to see their club playing on Thursday-Sunday rotations and although it might sound defeatist, finishing bottom while solely concentrating on the Premier League and domestic cup competitions may benefit the squad in terms of focus and keeping players fit.
Because Wenger has a big January signing up his sleeve?
A lot was made of Arsenal’s lack of signing a single outfield player in the summer transfer window but when you take the Premier League in isolation, Arsene Wenger’s men are placed rather nicely and within touching distance of the current league leaders Manchester City right now.
While Wenger himself may see this as an achievement and closing the gap without heavy squad investment as it were, no Arsenal fan will look on it that way with some supporters by the bar claiming that if only they strengthened significantly, their club could even be clear of the Citizens at the summit right now.
Wenger isn’t foolish despite some fans often claiming he is – just look at the David Ospina / Petr Cech decision last week – and if the Gunners are still in touching distance or even top of the table in January, the addition of extra reinforcements come the mid-point of the season could really give Arsenal a second wind.
There’s no doubting there’s a real lack of top quality striking options available on the transfer market right now but one forward who has proved his worth not only this season but in recent campaigns too is Celta Vigo’s Spanish international attacker Nolito (pictured).
Linked with a £14 million Gunners switch by The Mirror recently, Arsenal have even more funds in their armoury having not spent so much in the summer and we think it’d be foolish not to capitalise upon being in sight of the big prize come January.
Because the returning Welbeck, Wilshere & Rosicky will add further depth
Despite not boasting so many first team attacking options in their ranks this season, Arsenal’s first eleven and substitutes bench looked strong against Manchester United yesterday and lets not forget, key squad members are still missing through injury.
Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky will all return to Wenger’s fold at some point this season and all three international players will have their own designs on forcing their way back into the starting eleven.
Arsenal have always struggled with injuries for as long as many punters in the bar can remember but if they have better luck with players being missing, not to mention getting this aforementioned trio back in the squad, Arsenal will boast greater strength in depth in the second half of the season.
What’s true is that success is usually twinned with most of the players being fit and we saw this with the Gunners themselves in the lead up to the FA Cup Final last term where Wenger could call upon an increased number of his first team in the latter reaches of the 2014/15 campaign.
