Arguably one of the most competitive domestic competitions in Europe in the world of football, the Premier League has provided some enthralling action so far this season as it looks to eclipse the entertainment value of the league last season. Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, who finished 2nd last season, have made a decent start to the campaign but are slowly losing some momentum. It is that time of the year that Wenger’s side start to lose their wheels and that last two losses against Manchester City and Everton show that same. But the Gunners were in a different position at this time last season, with different season goals as well. So what was going on at the Emirates at the same time last year?
To start off with, Wenger’s side were in better form going into the boxing day fixtures last year, picking up 7 points from the previous three matchdays. They had 33 points in their bank, having scored 29 goals in the league by Match Day 17. They were in the second place in the points table, just two points off Leicester City at the top going into the new year. But amazingly, Arsenal, have taken a point more from their games in the league so far this season but stand in the 4th place in the points table, having scored 38 goals so far this season. The numbers have gotten better but with competition all around, the Gunners are still a fair distance away from Chelsea at the top.
Wenger’s side managed to move into the round of 16 for yet another year and after being mauled by Spanish giants Barcelona in the previous season in the knock-out round, Arsenal, was drawn against German giants Bayern Munich, in yet another tough knockout fixture for the side this season. The Catalan outfit made light work of the Gunners last season but with Wenger’s side in some decent form since the start of the season, along with Bayern’s inability to stay consistent, they might be able to put up a better fight this time around.
Arsene Wenger, who failed to spend in the summer transfer window before the start of the previous season, decided to splash the cash in the summer this year to add a number of players to his squad. Yet, the London outfit have been linked with some of the best players in Europe. Julian Draxler, who was the top transfer target, has now agreed to move to PSG while Jordan Pickford, and Marco Rues remain transfer targets for Wenger. But the manager will be more concerned about extending the contracts of star player Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, who have demands of their own to put pen to paper.
But at the same time last season, the Gunners were looking comfortable at the top of the Premier League table and Wenger was looking only for young players who could have helped the side in the long term. They were desperate for a striker in January and were linked with Manchester United outcast Javier Hernandez for a move in January. Lars Bendner, and Sergi Samper were other names linked with a move to Arsenal. Wenger finally settled for Mohamed El Neny, who is now an important part of the squad at the club.
Arsenal are not for away from the Premier League title this season but if they cannot improve on their performances from the second half of the season last campaign, they will not be fighting for the title for too long.