Can Arsenal Sail on After Chelsea Dominance?

(Photo Credit: Sky Sports)

 Arsenal ushered out one of the greatest performances fans have seen in a few years. The passes and positioning of the players has seen many fans and media outlets as well as the bookmakers tipping Arsenal as title contenders all over again. Can the dominance continue?

On Saturday, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil scored three goals in the first half to down Antonio Conte and Chelsea. This was the first time Arsenal has beaten Chelsea in the league since 2011.

In the 2015/16 season, Arsenal were tipped as favorites to win the league after Chelsea’s poor start under Jose Mourinho, Liverpool’s woes under Rodgers, sub-par performances from Manchester United and the inconsistency of Manchester City. At the end it was Leicester City that won the English Premier League.

Arsenal started the 2016/17 Premier League season at home to Liverpool but Wenger’s management skills was too much for the fans to bear as he fielded a friendly line-up compared to Jurgen Klopp’s bold line-up. 

If Arsenal is to keep on with the fine performance throughout the season, a couple of notes should be recorded.

Arsene Wenger Should Always Feature Complete Line-ups

Arsene Wenger loves to take matches easy with the notion of given other players the chance to play, something that saw Arsenal ousted from the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League because Wenger opted for young French striker Yaya Sanogo instead of Olivier Giroud. 

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Pep Guardiola’s success at Barcelona came as a result of featuring bold line-ups week in and week out. Even with Luis Enrique, it is difficult for the MNS or the midfield trio of Iniesta, Busquet and Rakitic to be sidelined because they need rest.

With Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil, Arsenal has found the perfect midfield combination. 

Shkodran Mustafi has been a good buy. At centerback he has been excellent and his partnership with Koscielny means that Mertesacker’s involvement in the team this season would be limited. Monreal has been great and Hector Bellerin needs no mention because at the moment he is part of the best five right backs in the modern game.

Many Arsenal fans are now calling Alexis Sanchez the new Henry because of his eye for goal and his composure on one-on-one situations but Iwobi and Walcott’s contribution has proved invaluable to the team’s success this season. This paves small way for Olivier Giroud in the starting line-up but the French man can contribute his best if supported in the right way. 

Keep Giroud on the Bench or Play Him with a Strike Partner 

If Sanchez’s performance keeps improving and stays the same then Giroud should accept the role of a super sub but in football anything can happen. 

Players are injury-bound and that is where Olivier Giroud comes in. At the UEFA Euro 2016, Giroud thrived in the tournament because he was supported by Antoine Griezmann who likes scoring and eventually became the top scorer of the tournament with six goals. Leaving Giroud upfront means that the wingers should work tirelessly to get in the balls because he is not pacey as Alexis Sanchez but with a little support he can match any striker in the current game.

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Arsenal have Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton still to come and that would ultimately be a determining factor in the teams quest for a premier league title in 13 seasons.

Congratulations to Arsenal, as football fans, it has been seen that consistency is important in the long run and would be a major factor in determining if London is indeed red.