Why We Haven’t Seen The Best Of Arsenal Yet This Season

Following a bitterly disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season, Arsene Wenger’s side have put a footballing master class on show for all of Europe to admire, dropping only two points in their following five premier league fixtures, they also triumphed in each of the four champions league games they played during the same period (inc. qualifiers). Despite their spectacular form, scepticism and doubt have been words heavily associated with the north London club, mainly due to their lengthy trophy drought, as well as the fact they have, by comparison to title heavyweights like Manchester City or Chelsea, a squad that lacks any real depth.

This is partially true, in order to try and get a result at Old Trafford, the only attacking player Wenger could bring on was one Nicklaus Bendtner. However, when we look at the injury list that the Frenchman has, there is substance to argue that Arsenal have a plenty strong squad, with players enabling them to play in countless styles, something that their title rivals should be very cautious of.

Although they sit top of the Barclays Premier League after 11 games, there have been situations most weeks this season where Arsenal have missed the pace of Theo Walcott, or the ability to threaten through the wide areas on either side with the long term absences of Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The first time they dropped points after their opening home defeat was away at the Hawthorns. West Brom made it really difficult for Arsenal to get through on goal, closing down all pathways through the middle.

 The gunners were able to get out with a point after falling behind in the first half, but I could not help thinking whilst watching the game, that Arsenal would have presented a completely different dynamic of attack for the West Brom defence to deal with, had they been able to call on the likes of Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain. Their ability to strike on the counter attack is also hindered with this lack of pace, no one can doubt that Cazorla or Ramsey can shift up the pitch when needed, but it is nothing even in the same league as what Walcott can offer. When all of these players return, Wenger will have at his disposal, a real title bid; if he can bring another striker into the club in the January window to release the pressure from Giroud, he has every reason to start to feel confident.

Before the start of the season, following the record signing of German international Mesut Ozil and the acquisition of hard man Mathieu Flamini, questions were being asked about how all of Arsenals midfield stars would be able to get a place in the starting eleven; and one thing making the decision harder for Wenger is the outstanding turn of form seen in Aaron Ramsey. His confidence is sky high shown by the fact he has equalled the goal tally of his first five seasons at Arsenal (11) in just the first three months of this term.

Olivier Giroud has also found fine form this season, scoring in the first four premier league games, but more recently being responsible for countless assists, his hold up play has been second to none, and with the likes of Ozil, Ramsey and Cazorla coming forward, it is no surprise that Arsenal have failed to score just once this season. As Christmas fast approaches, so too does the heavy cluster of Premier League fixtures at the end of December, and this will be a crucial time for a team like Arsenal who will look to put themselves in pole position for the run in to the end of the season, the return of players like Podolski and Walcott will be crucial, either setting up a new starting eleven for arsenal will two fully fledged wingers, which would certainly be good for the goal scoring form of Olivier Giroud, or offering  real goal threat to come off the bench and change games when needed.

Either one of these scenarios sounds exciting in my eyes, and it could be somewhat of a second burst of form for the gunners, offering a completely different style of attack, further strengthening their title credentials.