Just my personal opinion. by Shiva
My instinct says that Arsenal would go on to be the premier league champions this year after a gap of 19 years.
Arteta was backed by the board and was given the time and resources to build a team, not only for a season or two, but for the future. This current team is full of young energy barring Xhaka, Partey, Trossard and Jorginho who then come up with the experience and composure to provide the team with the ultimate composition to be the champions.
Not to disrespect Man City, but this Arsenal team had planned this really well. It is not easy to grab the points when meeting the traditional top 6 teams. So the plan was to not lose any points to the teams that are below the top 6, which I think have been the highlight of the Arsenal team this season. When you compare this stat with Man City, they have lost more points to teams that are below the top six.
The most stunning stat apart from the one stated above is the away record that this team possesses. They have managed to take 34 points from the possible 42 which is 7 more than Man City. Plus they have the best defensive record away from home this season. This really puts a lot of emphasis on the defense that the current team boasts and the amount of importance given (do not forget the defensive errors from the previous seasons). To be able to concede just 9 goals from 14 away matches is nothing short of stunning.
Another stat that proves that this team will go for glory is the goal scoring players. Unlike Man City, Arsenal does not depend on one single player for their goals. We have Saka, Martinelli, Jesus, Odegaard (Zinchenko, Xhaka, Troussard sometimes) who can all score and assist which makes it a dynamic team. This is proven by the absence of Jesus from the squad for 3 months and still Arsenal managed to eek out tough wins.
Beating Man United, Tottenham (home and away), Liverpool (for the 1st time in a long time), this season is something else. I was hoping for Arsenal to grab the top 4 spot last season. But this season they are going all guns out for the League. With the Europa League gone, we have enough time to rest when compared to Man City, who have Champions League Knockouts in the upcoming weeks.
We will just need to mind the 3 important games that we might have in the coming weeks. One each against Chelsea at home (who are getting onto some form), Away at Liverpool (cannot predict as they are not consistent this season) and Away to the defending champions (tough take). If Arsenal can take out a draw at Man City, that will just be enough, as Man City too have games against Liverpool and Chelsea which can tilt the title race.
This might be the perfect start that Arsenal can take and start building a Champions League team going forward.
#GoArsenal
Shiva
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–compiled by our friends in the Irish Supporters Club – DublinArsenal
