Arsenal are in fine form right now, and they may finally be bona fide Premier League title challengers.
Arsene Wenger is celebrating 20 years at Arsenal
Six wins in their last seven games with 19 goals scored and only 4 conceded, up to third in the Premier League, top of their Champions League group and Arsene Wenger is smiling away as he celebrates two decades with the Gunners.
Theo Walcott is looking like the player we all expected him to become when he showed such promise at 16, Alex Sanchez is working effectively as a centre-forward and Shkodran Mustafi has given Arsenal the solidity they have lacked for so long alongside Laurent Koscielny in central defence.
But isn’t that so often the case with Arsenal? They show such promise, giving supporters hope at this time of year only to disappoint post-Christmas as injuries and form take their toll and they fall away into a more comfortable and familiar Champions League spot.
Alexis Sanchez is in fine form
Right now, everything is looking rosy for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. They look settled, comfortable and dangerous playing a 4-2-3-1 formation with Alexis Sanchez at the apex and a lot of pace, movement, vision and guile in behind him.
The way in which Arsenal are currently playing is a joy to watch, but that is nothing new. The problem with Arsenal is that they cannot maintain that kind of style effectively for 38 games, so we asses whether there is valid reason to believe that has changed.
Alexis Sanchez is a wonderful player, but he is not a centre-forward, and as the season progresses, that will almost certainly reveal itself at times. When that happens, Arsene Wenger will have Lucas Perez and Olivier Giroud waiting in the wings, and it is the latter of the two that makes the Gunners genuine title hopefuls.
Arsenal signing Lucas Perez
Perez is a good player, but like Sanchez, he too is not an out-and-out striker. A late bloomer, last season was Perez’s first outstanding one, now aged 28. Despite spending much of last season as a forward, the uncapped Spaniard played as a left winger for former club PAOK, and for much of his earlier career.
He is a clever player, who links up well with teammates, has an eye for a pass and will fit in very well at Arsenal. However, he is a more like-for-like switch than a plan B, whether that be on the wing or up front, Perez doesn’t bring a new aspect or dimension to Arsenal’s game.
Olivier Giroud is obviously a man who can. When he is on the pitch Arsenal are able to swing the ball into the box, look for knock downs and have a real focal point to their attack. What’s more, the stats show that Giroud can be highly effective as an impact player, influencing games off the bench.
Olivier Giroud can be a key man off the bench for Arsenal
For a long time there was talk of whether Giroud was a ‘title-winning striker’, and there was a general consensus that he was good, but not great. A top four striker, sure, but a title winning one? That wasn’t so clear, as most felt he fell just short of the likes of Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Diego Costa.
Now though, as an impact player and a so-called ‘plan B’, Giroud doesn’t have to be of the same calibre as Sergio Aguero or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he just has to be effective in helping Arsenal win games when they’re not at their silky and fluid best.
In midfield, Granit Xhaka has almost immediately become a fan favourite, and whilst Arsene Wenger still seems to have a penchant for Francis Coquelin, most would ultimately like to see Xhaka and Cazorla become the Gunners holding pair in a 4-2-3-1.
Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil
As always, it is with the three players behind the forward where Arsenal have the most options, with arguably as many as eight or nine players who could play in those three positions. Defensively, the Gunners should be as solid as any other time in the last decade.
Mustafi and Koscielny look a solid central defensive partnership (although it is extremely early days), Hector Bellerin is an excellent right-back and Nacho Monreal is a perfectly adequate left-back.
Arsenal still lack the depth of this seasons early pace setters Manchester City. Whilst injury to Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil could be quite damning, Pep Guardiola’s team seem to have a top class replacement in every position. However, should Arsenal get the rub of the green this season, they finally look well-rounded enough to make a serious title challenge.
Can Arsenal win the Premier League this season?
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