Our resident Arsenal fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern are often caught referencing ‘Chelsea’ by the bar but this is simply born out of the fact that Gooners can’t stand the Blues and are looking to steal the title off their London rivals next season.
Following the return of Jose Mourinho to England and their subsequent capture of former Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas, the rivalry has been stepped up a notch once more and although the Blues had all of the bragging rights last term, the feeling is that Arsenal could be a major threat to them retaining the title next term.
With Petr Cech having all but completed his eye-catching move across London to Emirates Stadium, that signing alone will make Arsene Wenger’s men that much more resilient at the back with Arsenal fans having had to put up with errors from the likes of Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny in recent seasons.
To add to that, Arsenal always seem to suffer long-term injuries to some of their key players but every time we get to this stage of the year, Gunners fans note that if they managed to keep everybody fit while adding two or three more bodies, they could be the real deal.
The evidence so far suggests that with Cech in the bag and more reinforcements set to follow, Arsenal could finish much closer to the Blues and potentially ahead of them by the time the 2015/16 campaign finishes.
That’s why we’ve noted five ways Arsenal can beat Chelsea to the biggest prize of them all – the Premier League title – next season.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 ways Arsenal can beat Chelsea to the title next term.
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Sloppy goalkeeping errors now a thing of the past
As alluded to at the outset, the capture of Petr Cech is being seen as something of a game changing signing.
Arsene Wenger has never really done goalkeepers except for David Seaman and Jens Lehmann but those two pros aside, the Frenchman’s goalkeeping selections have often left a lot to be desired.
John Terry admitted in a recent talkSPORT interview that Petr Cech has the ability to save the Gunners up to 15 points a season and it’s hard to disagree with this assessment of the Blues captain.
With his match saving abilities, Gunners fans will hope sloppy losses away at the likes of Swansea City and Stoke City will be a thing of the past while the Czech Republic international can of course also prove the difference in those crunch top four battles to boot.
If the Gunners saved 15 points last season, this would’ve been enough to scoop the title so you can see why Arsenal fans are absolutely itching for their club’s official website to confirm the deal for good.
Wenger now appreciates the worth of squad balance
While it would be extreme to claim that Arsene Wenger has never truly appreciated squad balance before in his Arsenal tenure, you feel a greater importance has been placed upon it of late and that is all down to the form as shown by Francis Coquelin.
While nobody could’ve predicted the performances he has shown in an Arsenal shirt following his loan return from Charlton Athletic, someone who should’ve had a better idea was Arsene Wenger who pretty much stumbled upon a central midfield duo of Coquelin and Santi Cazorla due to injuries to both Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere.
Arsenal have been looking at numerous defensive midfielders such as Morgan Schneiderlin and Sven Bender so far this summer but even if the Gunners secure a big name like that, you couldn’t really take Coquelin out of the team, such has been the calibre of his performances following the mid-part of 2014/15.
Something that was levelled at Arsenal all too often in the recent past was that they’re far too easy to play against but with Coquelin locking down the space, not to mention the rock solid performances of Laurent Koscielny at the back, Arsenal’s squad looks far more balanced that it has done previously.
Because their injury troubles can’t get any worse
With Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny, Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere – oh and Abou Diaby of course – succumbing to noteworthy spells on the sidelines last term, Arsenal fans were subjected to that all too familiar feeling of having to put up with injury troubles.
For whatever reason, Arsenal suffer these kind of injuries on a seasonal basis and whether it’s something to do with the training regime instilled at London Colney, the situation has turned beyond a joke for Gooners now.
Every summer, Arsenal look like they boast one of the strongest teams in the division only for mass injury crises to strike, hampering a blow to their title ambitions in the process.
Koscielny proved a big loss in the early part of the 2014/15 campaign whereby Nacho Monreal had to fill an unfamiliar role at centre back and these kind of deficiencies and bad planning ultimately cost the Gunners early on.
But the unfortunate trend has to end – or indeed get better – soon, no?
With Arsenal strengthening their ranks this summer, not to mention boasting the likes of Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott who are not necessarily automatic picks for Wenger’s strongest starting eleven, it’s always been an excuse but surely if everybody is fit, Arsenal stand a far, far better chance of winning the title.
Winning mentality now instilled
It’s quite remarkable to think that Arsenal went an incredible 3,283 days and 512 games before winning a trophy again.
Securing the FA Cup in 2013/14 and defending it by winning the competition again last season, Arsene Wenger seems to have bought himself some time in the Gunners hotseat but it hasn’t been easy for the Frenchman.
Enduring a forgettable away day at Stoke City last term where the Gunners boss was subjected to verbal abuse by a section of his own supporters, that day has long been forgotten with Arsenal winning another trophy and seemingly looking like they’re on the up once again.
Wenger has always claimed that after paying the Emirates Stadium debt off, Arsenal could look to be self sufficient while going for better players and refusing to sell their prized assets.
The evidence is that Wenger is staying true to his word with Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and now Petr Cech representing marquee year-on-year additions that have followed on from the days of Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh.
All in all, Arsenal have rediscovered a winning mentality with the likes of Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey finally having found out what it’s like to be a winner for the first time.
This new found winning mentality will put the Gunners in good stead to scale higher heights and the Premier League title is what every Gooner wants next season.
They’re finally starting to learn their lesson
It is said that for the few neutral supporters out there (do they even exist!), Arsenal are often a favourable team for them to follow as they play the game in the right spirits while always trying to adhere to the rules under the guidance of one of the games’ greats in Arsene Wenger.
However, given the nine years of hurt in which the Gunners won nothing and saw the likes of the free spending Chelsea and Manchester City scoop title and cup after cup, there have been many occasions where the Gunners have shot themselves in the foot despite the riches of their title rivals.
For one, Wenger has never really understood the worth of a top class goalkeeper until now, he’s often dragged his heels in transfer windows waiting until the last minute to sign players while refusing to adopt a plan B approach in his team’s style when playing the likes of Chelsea or Stoke City.
However, over the past year or so, we’re starting to find out that Wenger and his team are learning from these numerous setbacks.
At Manchester City last season, the Gunners showed everybody that a plan B style of game is indeed in their locker while this time around, Arsenal seem to be moving far quicker for tried and tested players such as Petr Cech that will undoubtedly make a difference to their fortunes.
The evidence is that Arsenal are learning their lesson and as a result, the title race may be far more exciting for neutrals everywhere next season.
