After years of frustration that underwhelmed their fans, Arsenal’s form in the Premier League has finally taken a turn after their win over Everton on the weekend. In the past it was matches like these where the Gunners crumbled under pressure, however, credits to the winning mentality of the Arsenal players, they have finally found out a winning formula in crucial matches.
Here are 5 Reasons why Arsenal could win the Premier League title this Season.
1. Epitomized by their win against Bayern Munich – the Gunners have finally shunned away big match hysteria
Taking a look at the 2013/14 Season where Arsenal were top of the table after Christmas, it took only one defeat by Liverpool to derail the title challenge of the Gunners. Liverpool thumped Gunners 5-1 at home and after that it was all doom and gloom for the Gunners with them clinging barely on to the 4th spot in the Premier League.
However, like a bolt from the blue with no effort from Arsene Wenger whatsoever, it took another big game to make Arsenal player realize their potential. They traveled to Manchester City in February 2015 with a win as unlikely as their title challenge by then.
What followed in the next 90-minutes was a shocker to the whole Premier League as Arsenal – for the first time in 5 years, recorded a victory at the Etihad Stadium. In addition to silencing the critics that were pointing their fingers at Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal squad realized that they have what it takes to outplay big teams away from home.
liberal match hysteria now away from them, the Gunners are becoming genuine title contenders this Season.
After that defeat since now, the Gunners have failed to lose a single game in over 5 matches against their top 4 rivals away from home. Thus, with the big match hysteria now away from them, the Gunners are becoming genuine title contenders this Season.
2. It was the final throw of the dice by Wenger – but Theo Walcott might prove to be invaluable for Arsenal
While many things are universal in the World of football – like Liverpool not winning a Premier League title, Arsenal’s inability to buy a World class striker since the departure of Thierry Henry is one of them. However, thankfully for the Arsenal fans, Theo Walcott has stepped up his game to provide a brilliant cover for Olivier Giroud.
With 46 goals in 107 appearances for Arsenal, Olivier Giroud might never get the credit what he deserves from the Arsenal faithful. While it is his form against the big teams that has been questioned time and again – with the big French disappearing in big games, his knack of scoring against mid-table teams have won Arsenal many points over the years.
Thus, while Walcott has scored just 2 goals this Season, it is his ability to stretch defenses that will win the Gunners many matches this Season. In addition to that, he has shifted the limelight away from Giroud, who is now performing much better as pressure is relieved off his shoulders.
3. Mourinho will never admit it – but he gifted Arsenal a title by selling Petr Cech to them
A player who won 2 titles in his first 3 games for the Gunners – albeit one of them was an undesignated Emirates Cup, Petr Cech has proved to be a difference for Arsenal in so many big games this Season. From his life-saving goal-keeping against Liverpool where he kept Philippe Coutinho at bay – to his effort against Bayern Munich, which gifted Arsenal their best win of this year, Petr Cech is already making a world of difference for the Gunners.
While he has proved to be invaluable thus far, it will be his performance in the 2nd half of this Season that might cause Jose Mourinho to pinch himself. Arsenal have always lagged behind their rivals in the 2nd half of Premier League but with the experience of Cech at the helm, the Gunners can continue their form even after December.
4. He played well for Barcelona – but Alexis Sanchez is now on another level
For a player who didn’t manage to score a single goal in his first 6 appearances this Season, questions were started to raise regarding the form of Alexis Sanchez. However, unlike Jose Mourinho, who prefers to do the talking without doing anything, Alexis Sanchez kept his head low and came out fighting.
He has scored 10 goals in his last 8 appearances for club and country, however, in addition to his personal form that has roared to the sky, the form of Arsenal has directly gone up with the Chilean.
In all the matches in which Sanchez has scored this Season, Arsenal have lost none winning all in the process in the League. His first goal for the Gunners came after they were thumped out by Chelsea 2-0 against a high-flying Leicester side, however after scoring a hat-trick in that particular fixture, Sanchez hasn’t looked back.
Thus, with Sanchez setting himself new limits to conquer, Arsenal could do nothing but take advantage from the selflessness of their main player.
5. Francis Coquelin and Mesut Ozil
While they both play in the midfield department of the Gunners, no comparison could be drawn between the gameplay of Coquelin and Ozil. While the former likes to go rough, loves to indulge in a hard tackle with nothing left behind, Ozil plays a more exciting game where he lets the ball do the talking for him.
After missing a penalty against Bayern Munich last Season, the season of Mesut Ozil went down the drain. The lowest point of his Arsenal career was probably when he was an unused substitute against Manchester City in January this year. However, for a player who was applauded by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo for a reason, Ozil has come out in flying colors this Season.
Talking about Coquelin and the Frenchman hasn’t put a foot wrong this Season for the Gunners. It is of nothing strange to Arsenal fans that when Chelsea scored two goals against them in September, both the goals came when Coquelin was subbed out due to injury.
Thus, while these two players couldn’t be further apart from each other, Arsenal have found themselves a winning combination courtesy of this duo.
