More than a decade have gone past since Arsenal last won the Premier League. Eleven long years, to be precise, in which the Gunners have failed season after season to lift the biggest title in British football. After this long and tedious period, the North London side are serious contenders to winning the title in a season in which most of the biggest clubs in the competition are struggling to keep up with leaders Leicester City. One of the only teams that are being able to challenge Claudio Ranieri’s side is Arsenal, now second in the league table and one of the teams that are playing better football.
Back in the 2003/2004, Arsène Wenger was in charge of one of the best teams English football has ever seen. The Gunners were named as the invincible team as they ended up the season unbeaten with 26 wins, 12 draws and not a single defeat. Thierry Henry was passing through the best time of his career and was the top scorer of the season with 30 goals under his belt.
However, the golden days soon came to an end for the Gunners and since that historical 2003/2004 season, the team has failed to lift the title again. Only three FA cup’s and three Community Shields in eleven years have not fulfilled the expectations of the fans. Despite this negative spell, the club has maintained their faith in Wenger and the French coach could finally respond guiding the team to their 14th league title. They still have a long way to go, but the football Arsenal are playing, together with the irregular season of other big teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool, could make it easier for the Gunners.
One of the keys to winning any title is having a player that finds the back of the net with certain regularity. Until this year, striker Oliver Giroud had failed to shine at Emirates Stadium. There were a lot of expectations with the French player, but Giroud had only managed to score 41 league goals.
However, lady luck seems to have smiled on Oliver this season as he has already scored 9 goals. More importantly, he has turned out to be one of the key players for the Gunners and currently is fifth amongst top goal scorers this season.
Another player that has made a big improvement this season is Mesut Ozil. The German midfielder has already assisted in 13 goals and has scored twice himself. Two players in excellent form can make a huge difference to Arsenal’s aspirations of winning the league.
Together with the long period without winning the Premier League, Arsenal has also failed in Europe year after year. The last time when they came close to winning their first ever Champions League title was in 2006. Since then they really haven’t been a team to take into account in the competition. Now the Gunners will have the chance to redeem themselves when they face Spanish giants FC Barcelona in the last-16 round of the Champions League.
