Arsene Wenger and Arsenal hit the ground running this 2014 season, winning the FA Cup by defeating Hull City, 3-0 and then winning the Community Shield from Manchester City, 3-0. These were the first pieces of silverware that Arsene Wenger had seen since 2005.
Still, Wenger has struggled to bring back the Premier League trophy to North London since their famed undefeated season in ’03-’04.
Last season seemed to be their year as they sat atop of the table for 128 days, while League winners, Manchester City, sat atop for only 14 days. Arsenal finished fourth last season to qualify for the Champions League qualifiers.
Arsenal has strengthened its squad this season with the addition of striker Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona for a fee of £30million. Sanchez scored 19 goals last season with Barcelona. He was fourth to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Diego Costa. He recently scored his first goal for the Gunners in a 1-0 win over Besiktas to send them into group play of the Champions League.
This means that they will play against Dortmund, Galatasaray, and Anderlecht and will prove a tough challenge for Arsenal if they want to make it to the Round of 16 again.
Arsenal is again faced with many injuries as they were last year. Theo Walcott is expected to join Arsenal on the pitch any day now after 237 days on the injured list. Laurent Koscielny is also expected to rejoin the team soon, but Keiran Gibbs and Mikel Arteta will still be out for two weeks, which forces Wenger to play struggling players Debuchy and Flamini as their replacements.
Last season’s top scorer for Arsenal, Olivier Giroud, has also just been put on the injured list, and it is now known that he will be out for at least the rest of 2014 and will surely be missed on the pitch. Wenger brought in Sanchez to help deepen his squad in the attack and rest his strikers, but Giroud’s injury has soiled the plan. Yaya Sonogo and current World Cup Winner, Lucas Podolski, do not have the same type of qualities that Giroud does. Arsenal is reported to be in contact with Danny Welbeck, Loic Remy, Allesio Cerci, and Radamel Falcao. Remy and Falcao would be best suited to fill Giroud’s shoes and add an even stronger element to their squad.
Arsenal surley has one of the best midfields in the league. For them to replicate this success of just one loss last season, Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshire, Rosicky, Arteta, Flamini, and Walcott — as well as Mertesaker, Szczesny, and Kosceilny — will need to play their best every game and will need to win points against Chelsea, Liverpool, and City to keep the race close.
Ozil played well in his first few games for the Gunners last season, but he went missing in big games such as the two games against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He will be an important factor in replicating their success and will need to link up well with Sanchez to score and assist goals consistently throughout the season.
Chelsea, Liverpool, and City are still the most likely to win the league. Chelsea has brought in former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, who already looks comfortable with the team. They have also brought in Diego Costa, who has proven that he can always score goals and already has two under his belt. Liverpool has sold its star-man, Luis Suarez to Barcelona, but has brought in Mario Balotelli, who has Premier League experience and a title with Manchester City. Title holder Manchester City took Arsenal’s full back, Bacary Sagna. This Transfer window and their squad looks as strong as ever.
Currently, Arsenal sits in fifth with four points and will have the opportunity to steal three more from newly promoted Leicester City on Sunday, August 31. If Arsenal is to win the Premier League this season, every block will have to fall into place, or else it will see the same result as the season before.
PHOTO CREDIT: David Price, Getty Images Sport