The look of relief on Arsene Wenger’s face was for all to see as Arsenal just about held on to a 2-1 win over Everton. Many would have expected a blowout from Arsenal as Everton had lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United, but the Toffees aren’t an easy team to defeat nowadays, much like every other team in the league.
When Ross Barkley scored that deflected goal close to the end of the first half, Arsenal could have crumbled under the pressure, instead they held on, even in the second half when Everton were battering them and looked close to getting the equalizer. That was one aspect of the game of Arsenal which has been missing for quite a long time.
This same Arsenal team actually defeated Bayern Munich in midweek as well, inflicting their first loss of the season; again not many would have marked Arsenal down for a win against the might of Bayern Munich. We have seen that this Arsenal team are a little different from the other teams that have disappointed under Arsene Wenger. This could be the season that Arsenal finally get their hands on the Premier League title once again but can they hold onto their position at the top of the table?
The Gunners are fit and fine
We had spoken about Arsenal’s title winning credentials earlier on and one of the keys to success was keeping most of their squad fit and healthy. While the likes of Jack Wilshere have been injury plagued at Arsenal, most of the team is doing pretty well, in terms of avoiding injuries. Aaron Ramsey’s injury is a loss, but Arsene Wenger has a quality replacement to bring into the team in case someone does get injured.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of the better players for Arsenal and they have a wealth of talent to bring in. Another issue we had pointed out earlier was the lack of a top striker but rotating between Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud seems to be going great for Arsenal at the moment, not to forget they also have the likes of Danny Welbeck to come back into the team who can provide another dimension to their attack.
Arsenal also have not looked the worst when they have faced some of the tough teams, Liverpool and Chelsea might have been blips, especially the Chelsea game but Arsenal showed their class and attacking ability when they tore into Manchester United. That same intensity, if brought in by the Arsenal players on a regular basis should lead to more wins than losses for the Gunners.
A couple of weeks ago we saw a different side of Arsenal when they travelled to face Watford, the team actually let the home team play and beat them at their game with a 3-0 win. Arsenal have the momentum at the moment and the longer they continue playing in this mode the greater the chances they would have of winning the league.
The real litmus test would come once they play Manchester City, who seem to be the only other team capable of beating Arsenal this season. That surely will be a titanic clash and in all probability the team that comes out the best from those two clashes will win the league title. This is the best chance Arsenal have of winning the title with Liverpool and Chelsea looking out of sorts and Manchester United still not the finished article, Arsene Wenger must take this chance with arms wide open.