Are Arsenal genuine title challengers?
By Vivek Julka
Why not? I think this season is our best chance to challenge for the Premier League title. At time of writing we are currently 4 points clear at the top after 10 games played. We have won 9 of our opening 10 which is near perfect.
Previously I have been very critical of Mikel Arteta and I still stand by some of the judgements I made, however he is doing a very good job this season and I cannot complain. And if he gets us in a title charge till the end of the season I will admit he is the right man for the job because that is what I wanted and what we should be doing as we have spent nearly £400 million under him.
We have started the season off superbly and have come through some tricky tests including Liverpool. The Liverpool game was a big eyebrow raiser as we have struggled against them home and away many times in recent years. The Man United loss came down to naivety from Arteta I felt as we played into Man United’s hands with a high defence line, but that is one loss in ten so it is not too much of a worry based on this season.
The fast forward football this season has been a joy to watch and a stark contrast of what we have seen before under Arteta. The addition of Gabriel Jesus has transformed our attack and finally William Saliba has been given the chance after 2 years to show why he is one of the best young prospects in Europe. Also, the resurgence of Granit Xhaka has been one of the main reasons we are top of the table. He has had many critics, including me and deservedly so but has shown his best form since joining Arsenal in 2016 and I hope it can last for the whole season.
If we are talking about the title we have to mention Man City, the current champions, a team that has won 4 of the last 5 Premier League titles. They are the favourites as they have the experience and quality. And they have a machine up front in Erling Haaland who has already scored 15 league goals this season.
If anything lets Arsenal down this season it will most likely be our squad depth. An injury to our key players such as Gabriel Jesus or Bukayo Saka is likely as we have so many games and it will definitely hurt us as we don’t have good enough replacements. Eddie Nketiah is nowhere near the level needed to win the title and I don’t know why he was handed a contract extension on more money. We need to add to our squad in January with proper quality. A centre back, centre midfielder and forward is badly needed.
Overall, we can challenge for the title this season, we must not show any fear and just go for it this season. This is a good chance to win it this season as teams like Liverpool and Chelsea are in transitional periods leaving Man City as the only threat. But we must add in January to have a chance of winning the league.
Vivek Julka
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