Is This the Year? Can Arsene Wenger Lead Arsenal to Premier League Glory?

Arsenal‘s Arsene Wenger is one of the longest serving managers in the Premier League, having taken over as the manager in 1996; he is often regarded as one of the best managers from the Premier League era and even brought in a great brand of football to the club, making them one of the most attractive sides to watch in Europe.

For all the great things he has managed to do, he still faces a lot of criticism. One of the biggest gripes that fans and analysts have about him is that he does not spend money when he can. He might have brought in Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil for a huge price but everyone knows that Arsenal need a top quality striker and defender but Arsene just is not willing to splash the cash, even though he has a sizeable war chest to dip into.

The biggest criticism he has had to face is the fact that he didn’t win a trophy at Arsenal for nine years. Although Arsenal did qualify for every Champions League season during that period and Arsene did break that nine year drought with back-to-back FA Cup wins, it is the Premier League crown which has eluded him since 2003-04 season.

Invincible Arsenal for glory

Many still remember the ‘Invincible Gunners’ who went through the 2004 season undefeated, that ended with them winning the league title that season and fans will he hoping for something similar this season.

Arsenal might not be at a similar level compared to that glorious team but currently they have a lot of quality in the side and that should be enough to push them towards a serious challenge for the title. This is accentuated by the fact that almost every team seems to have a kink in the armour, Manchester City looked to be running away with the title but consecutive defeats have put that notion to rest. Chelsea are struggling while Manchester United have risen to the top but it would not be a surprise to see them falter at some point of the season.

Arsenal have a lot of players who could hit top gear and blow the rest of the competition away. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott, to name a few, can provide Arsenal with a lot of power up top, something that most clubs, apart from Manchester City cannot stake a claim to.

If Arsenal want to win the league, they need to ensure that everyone stays fit, something which has haunted them for the past couple of seasons or so. Similarly, the fact that they have not invested in a couple of areas could be the reason for their failure to win the league this season.

The lack of another top quality striker has seen Theo Walcott being pushed up top, and while that has provided a return in the game against Leicester, he is not the answer to their striker problems. Also the lack of a good central defender is another factor which could prevent Arsenal from winning the league, a back line of Koscielny with Mertesacker or Gabriel isn’t the best to work with.

Arsenal might still have a decent season and finish in the top four easily and another good domestic cup run is possible but anything more than that might be a little too much to ask for from this side.