Arsenal have been in the Premier League since its inception in the 1992/93 season. Indeed, they have been a top-flight side since being (somewhat controversially) re-elected to Division One ahead of the 1919/20 season. But despite being one of the most successful clubs in English football history, the Gunners have still only won the Premier League title three times since in total: in 1997/98, 2001/02, and when they remained unbeaten in the league in 2003/04.
But, after a solid 2-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, 4th October, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are back to the top of the table. Can they kick on and forge towards their first title in over two decades? Or will they stutter to second place as they have in the previous three campaigns? Before we answer that, let’s recap on Arsenal’s season to date.
Only One Defeat in the Premier League
After seven games in the Premier League, Arsenal have won five, drawn one and lost one. The fact that their defeat came away from home to the current champions would ordinarily be accepted as par for the course. But for this season’s increasingly ambitious Arsenal team, their narrow 1-0 defeat to Liverpool was seen more as a missed opportunity.
So too was their home draw against Manchester City. Although they came back from a goal down to equalise in injury time, Arteta’s troops dominated possession and created enough goalscoring opportunities to win with room to spare.
The league campaign started in positive fashion with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United. And the Gunners followed up with an emphatic 5-0 hammering of newly promoted Leeds United at the Emirates. Then came the defeat to Liverpool before another fine home win, 3-0 against Nottingham Forest. The draw against City was next up before their second fine away win of the league campaign, 2-1 at Newcastle United. Finally, last time out, Arsenal eased past West Ham with a 2-0 win in north London that could have seen more goals for the home side.
Two from Two in the Champions League
After two games of the League Phase of the Champions League, Arsenal are one of just six sides to have won both their matches. Most of the others are probable contenders, with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan all boasting 100% records so far. As do the relative minnows Qarabag of Azerbaijan, but surely they won’t maintain their fine start.
Back to the Gunners, though, and Matchday 1 saw Arteta’s men put in a mature performance as they beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 away from home. They were at the Emirates for Matchday 2 and won by the same scoreline, this time against Greek side Olympiakos. The Arsenal manager made good use of his expanded squad options in both victories and the newly purchased depth will certainly pay dividends towards the latter stages of the tournament.
League Cup Progression as Fringe Players Tested
Arteta will no doubt be pleased his side eased past Port Vale in the League Cup, not least because the competition gives the opportunity to give game time to fringe or youth players, or those coming back from injury. One of Arteta’s toughest tasks this term might be keeping all his players happy with plenty of rotation having already been employed.
But if the club goes far in the League Cup and, later, the FA Cup, he will at least be willing and able to play some of those who might not get a start against, for instance, Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. The club has a long history of players coming through the ranks, often after starring in the League Cup, so there’s a good incentive for the understudies to put in decent shifts when called upon in the cups.
Can Arsenal Finally Win the Premier League Again?
After Arsenal had taken top spot in the Premier League at the weekend, they got an extra boost when the current champions Liverpool lost in the Saturday evening kick-off to Chelsea. That was Liverpool’s third defeat in a row in all competitions, and second in the league, suggesting all is not running perfectly smoothly at Anfield at present. If Liverpool are unable to recreate their fine form of last season, that would give the Gunners a great chance to win the title.
Of course, Liverpool aren’t the only other side capable of pushing Arsenal all the way. Manchester City have had a mixed bag of results this term, but there are indications they could be finding their feet, and with Erling Haaland scoring for fun, Pep Guardiola’s men could pose a serious threat to Arsenal’s title ambitions. Chelsea and Spurs are potential title rivals too, although neither quite has the consistency to be feared at present.
There’s still a long way to go in the Premier League campaign, of course, and there are so many variables in terms of form and injuries. But Arsenal are looking more balanced and assured than they have for a long time, and Arteta and his players look determined to ensure this is the season they go all the way in the title race.