ARE ARSENAL NOW TITTLE CONTENDERS? Arsenal fans believed that with the addition of Alexis Sanchez from FC Barcelona that they could now win the title. The season started well with a Community Shield victory over Manchester City, which now looks a bit meaningless. Since the season actually kicked off though Arsenal have been poor. They scrapped to a 2-1 victory on the opening day against manager-less Crystal Palace and then drew consecutive away games with Everton and Leicester. One can point to the come back versus Everton as being an improvement but the club were lucky not to have been beaten in this game. It is early days but Arsenal are already four points off of the top, after just three games. The transfer activity has been OK without being spectacular. Arsenal haven’t bought a world class striker and do not possess one. Danny Welbeck is a decent squad player but he is unlikely to set the world alight, having struggled to consistently score goals at Manchester United. Even if he does improve on this, he is unlikely to scare opposition defences. The side is essentially similar to last seasons. The lack of a top defensive midfielder wasn’t addressed by Arsene Wenger, nor was a chronic lack of cover at the back. Arsenal go into a title challenge with just six defenders, it is almost unthinkable. The squad is light. In midfield is Arsenal’s best player in Aaron Ramsey, his fitness is crucial to getting them into the top four. Jack Wilshere has yet to prove he is worthy of his initial hype whilst Santi Cazorla has consistently gone missing in big games. Mesut Ozil also has a lot to do to live up to his hefty price tag. Thus far he has dipped in and out of games for Arsenal and managed just four goals last season, not good enough for a self professed world class no.10. All of this is in light of the fact that Arsenal picked up so few points against the big teams last season. Their record versus top eight teams is famously bad, even if they did beat City in the Community Shield. Fans could point to their FA Cup victory as restoring belief but their problems versus top teams have been tactical. Wenger often approaches the games too naively and leaves the side open in midfield and vulnerable on the counter. Without a top striker their tika-taka attempts of slow build up are fruitless. Signing a top centre-back and a top defensie midfielder would have given them more bite in this regard and made them look more threatening versus the big sides. We will learn a lot about Arsenal’s title hopes when they host City on Saturday. A City team who looked vulnerable against pace at the weekend (cue Danny Welbeck getting in behind). But, with Manchester United strengthening significantly and spending an awful lot of money, Arsenal’s top four place might not be certain. The title is probably beyond them, their squad is actually weaker in some regards than it was last year (except up top). Alexis Sanchez will have a lot to do, but having shelled out on him and Ozil last year, failure to get to the top four will be on Wenger. Wenger didn’t sign a defender or a defensive midfielder, despite the obvious need for one. He also passed up on better striking options than Welbeck, before eventually paying quite a lot (£16 million) for the forward. Arsenal must win against City to make a real statement of intent. What do you think?
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 16:38:02 +0000
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