The former Arsenal and England star Ray Parlour has been talking up the Gunners after being very impressed byt the way the team have been playing. The ex central midfielder gave special attention to the recent performances of Francis Coquelin, as reported by the Daily Star, and accepted that the young Frenchman has, for now at least, secured his place in Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up.
And Parlour was also optimistic about the Gunners and our chances of challenging for the Premier League title, although he seems to think this season is too soon. But Parlour believes that a few key additions to the squad in the summer will see Arsenal give it a right good go next season.
He said, “The squad they have now is very good, but the signings are important. The age of the squad is very good.
“This summer is going to be so important. They will get back to winning stuff.
“They could overturn Manchester City and Chelsea if they bring in the right players. It is time to kick on from last year’s FA Cup win.
“It is great to see Coquelin play well. A lot of the plaudits go to attacking players, but he’s taken his chance very well.
“Wenger is loyal so, if you play well, he will keep on playing you. He’s become an important player for Arsenal.
“He probably thought it was his last chance and he’s certainly done brilliantly.
“It will be interesting to see what he does in the summer.”
I would go a little bit further than the ex Gunner though, and suggest that Arsenal have already got a squad capable of becoming champions of England. So why are we only in 5th place? Easy, because of the massive amount of injury problems that Wenger has had to cope with.
Missing the likes of Ramsey, Walcott and Ozil in the second half of last season saw us slip from top to 4th. And this season has been even worse, but now that the injury situation is a lot more manageable, you can see just how strong Arsenal are.
Do you think it is a coincidence that Chelsea and Man City have had very few injury problems this season and that Liverpool were in the same situation last year? I do not and hopefully Wenger and the players will have the chance to prove what we can do with a strong and fit squad. What do you think?