%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Arsenal Have Squad To Build On Chelsea Win
Arsenal smashed Manchester United 3-0 last season but lost momentum thanks to a host of injuries. After the win over Chelsea, the squad is far improved.
October 4th. Arsenal were leading up to a key matchup with longtime rivals Manchester United in the hope of solidifying themselves as genuine title challengers. They were the best team in the league at the time, and after adding Petr Cech in the summer transfer window were tipped by many to lift the trophy come May.
Related Story: 30 Greatest Players In History
They had, however, not beaten any team of significance in the Premier League having lost 2-0 earlier in the campaign by a Chelsea team spiralling out of control under the misguided management of Jose Mourinho and coming off a midweek shocker at the hands of Olympiakos in the Champions League.
More from Pain in the Arsenal
- 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
- 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
- 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
- Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
- 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
Nonetheless, the Gunners pummeled United in a tremendous first 20 minutes, blitzing them with pace and power in attacking areas with crisp, tight passing, dominating every aspect of the game. Ultimately running out comfortable 3-0 winners, the victory gave the side a brimming confidence that saw them lose only one Premier League game until Boxing day.
The issues from last year, though, came through, as they always do for the North London club, horrific injury issues. Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez all missed major time throughout the season and quite simply, the squad was not capable of handling such absences.
In very similar circumstances, on Saturday, Arsenal pummeled Chelsea after a scintillating first half performance. Nonetheless, however great the win was, it still only brought home three points. Thankfully, Arsene Wenger has assembled a squad that can now handle the inevitable injury crisis whenever it comes.
With the additions of Lucas Perez, Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka in the summer, added to the return of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with the emergence of the likes of Alex Iwobi, the Gunners now have a squad that can reel off consistent wins, rather than the odd impressive performance, even with some of their better players injured.
Next: Arsenal Vs Chelsea: 5 Things We Learned
The win against Chelsea was wonderful to watch, like the battering of Manchester United the year previous. However, it offers no use to this side if Arsenal cannot proceed to reel off a series of wins against a run of fixtures that offer the perfect opportunity to build some title challenging momentum. The squad is capable, though, even when injuries come.