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Can Arsenal Win the Title with Their Current Squad?
Arsenal is looking for a second FA Cup in just as many years. The Gunners have gone through Manchester United and Reading recently in the tournament, but they’ve looked like a new side this year in the league, too. Arsenal has recently beaten a big team in Liverpool, and the side hasn’t lost an EPL game since February against Tottenham. The Gunners’ side is a team in form, and it finally seems as if the club is fulfilling its potential on the pitch. However, the question remains: can Arsenal win the league with their current squad?
Arsenal’s first half of the current season was dismal. The Gunners didn’t even manage to win 3 league matches in a row, and injuries were yet again a seemingly incurable problem for the club. Defense was the main issue. With Laurent Koscielny consistently out, there was no stability at the back, and injuries to Mathieu Debuchy didn’t help the cause.
After Koscielny returned in January though, it didn’t take Arsenal long to regroup, and comfortable wins, notably the 2-0 Man City triumph, followed. Hector Bellerin also started to make a name for himself, Mertesacker and Gibbs were solid with their preferred Frenchman in the middle, Monreal began performing, and Francis Coquelin proved an intimidating stop-gap to breach. Plus, a promising defender in Gabriel Paulista was signed in January.
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Even after the first half of Arsenal’s current campaign, which was characterized by the tendency to slip defensively, the Gunners have been solid. They now average 1 conceded goal per league match, compared to last season’s 1.08 (per squawka.com), and Arsenal’s strength on the defensive side of the ball in the 2013/14 season was arguably the main factor that helped the club stay atop the league for most of the previous campaign.
Moving further up the pitch, the Gunners become deadly. Ozil, Giroud, the Ox (though injured as of late), and Alexis have all been brilliant recently. Alexis’ brace yesterday even secured a second straight FA Cup final appearance, and he, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla average 3 of the 5 best key pass rates per game in the EPL this season (per whoscored.com). Arsenal has more especially-offensive reinforcements, too, in Ramsey, Walcott, Welbeck, Rosicky, and Wilshere, and each has performed greatly at one point this season.
But, are the Gunners actually strong enough to win titles with the current squad? With a solid defense, a hard-to-beat Ospina in goal, and an in form Ozil, Giroud, and Alexis on the field, yes. However, it is consistency that wins titles. Just look at Chelsea. They’ve been top of the league since the beginning of the season, and the Blues’ squad has consistently performed well- they’ve only lost twice this year. What’s more, it doesn’t seem as if any EPL team can beat a well-playing Chelsea side.
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This consistency is required in order to win the EPL title, and it’s what the Gunners have been lacking in past years. Last year, though Arsenal was on top of the league for more time than any other club, the side’s form weathered to a drastic dip in the second half of the season. This season, the same thing occurred in the first half of the campaign.
Now that the Gunners are finally performing well, though, can Arsenal retain its consistency? That is the question to be asked. However, Arsenal’s side is strong enough as a whole right now to win titles, and summer reinforcements should only help the cause next year, too.
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