While the Gunners’ recent momentum may have stalled of late following a disappointing EPL draw at St. Marys and a comprehensive 2-0 defeat to PSV in the Europa League, they at least remain two points clear of defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League.
In fact, Arsenal’s start to this campaign, which saw them win nine of their first 10 league games and beat both Tottenham and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, has got fans dreaming of a first EPL title in 19 years.
But just how likely is this, and what’s required if Mikael Arteta’s men are to overcome the blue half of Manchester?
Why History is on the Gunners’ Side – Sort of
Prior to the draw against Southampton, Arsenal had won nine of their opening 10 Premier League matches, becoming only the fifth club to achieve this objective in EPL history.
Interestingly, the other four all went on to win the Premier League titles, including Chelsea (2005/06), Manchester City (2011/12), Manchester City (2017/18) and Liverpool (2019/20).
However, it should be noted that in all of these scenarios, each side also went on to extend their impressive starts and open gargantuan leads at the top of the table.
Chelsea won 20 and drew one of their first 22 league games (including their opening nine) in 2005/06, for example, while Roberto Manchini’s City won 14 of their opening 17 matches and lost just one.
In the case of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side in the 2017/18 campaign, the Citizens won a staggering 19 of their opening 20 EPL games, and remained unbeaten until a 4-3 reversal at Anfield on January 14th.
The Reds’ own start to the 2019/20 season was the most impressive of all, with Jurgen Klopp’s side winning 27 of their first 28 league matches (only dropping points in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on October 20th).
So, although Arsenal’s start to this campaign puts them on the right side of history, they’ll need to remain consistent if they’re to follow in the footsteps of the sides listed above.
Appraising the Gunners’ Title Chances
Arsenal remain second favourites to win this season’s EPL title, at an average price of 13/2.
You can get on this while using the best Stake welcome code, although a quick glance at the prices reaffirms that City (who have won four of the last five EPL titles) remain the overwhelming, odds-on favourites.
However, it’s clear that the team will have to continue its current form and remain consistent if they’re to emulate the aforementioned sides in this post, and the question that remains is do the Gunners have the necessary squad depth to achieve this goal?
The initial answer appears to be no, with Arsenal’s players looking jaded in the second half at St. Marys and a number of second string players (including Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney and Albert Sambi Lokonga) having struggled to cope with the intensity of their opponents against PSV.
So, although January could bring some much-needed reinforcements and see Arteta strengthen particular areas of his squad (especially the midfield), for now it seems largely unlikely that Arsenals will win their first EPL title since 2004 during this campaign.
