Why Arsenal doesn't have what it takes to win the Premier League

Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening saw them drop points for the tenth time this season, losing further ground in the Premier League title race.

The Gunners let a convincing two-goal lead slip with Villa capitalising on defensive sloppiness to score two swift goals. Despite putting plenty of pressure on and having a late winner ruled out, the result showed just how poor Arsenal have been at times this campaign.

The failure to maintain a dominant lead over Villa was the last straw for many Arsenal fans, including myself. Along with a number of other factors, it ultimately showed that this squad doesn't have what it takes to win the Premier League.

Arsenal don't have what it takes to win the Premier League

As has been the case over the past two seasons, Arsenal has a squad of serious quality and while that has shone through at times this campaign, they haven't really shown that they have what it takes to win the Premier League.

The Gunners have failed to win ten of their 22 league games so far this season and have dropped 12 points from winning positions, their most since the disastrous 2019-20 campaign. That really is not meeting the standards of a club with ambitions to win the league title, especially in January.

Arsenal's struggle to hold on to leads has resulted from two major factors: an inability to score goals and the decision to sit back and stop playing good football when only one or two up. On too many occasions, the squad has missed clear-cut chances to put games to bed, and that has ultimately cost them.

The failure to win games, from winning positions or not, has also stemmed from an inability to convert chances. In the ten games Arsenal have dropped points in this season, they have missed 20 big chances (via FotMob). Throughout the entire league campaign, they have missed 44 big chances, the fourth most of any team.

Arsenal also hasn't been able to capitalise when Liverpool has dropped points. Out of the six matchdays the Reds have either failed to win or not played, the Gunners have won just three of their games.

It seems when they have been in a position where they can put extreme pressure on their title rivals, Arsenal haven't been able to cope and have folded in the same way as the Reds. When you're trying to keep up in a title race, that isn't exactly a great mentality to be displaying on multiple occasions.

Individual performances have halted the squad as well. Frequent poor performances from the likes of Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard, among others, have had a huge impact on team displays. Captain Odegaard, who has just four goal contributions in the league, has maybe had the biggest effect having failed to step up and lead his side in games where they've struggled.

Of course, it's not all been down to the Gunners how they've performed this season, with injuries playing a major part. Arsenal have lost key players such as Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to injury this season, with the latter being among those still unavailable.

While the squad has suffered in terms of fitness, Arteta has made some poor decisions when trying to handle it. When the Spaniard has struggled to field his best players, he has frequently changed his mind over who to play, as well as starting players out of position. This has led to a huge inconsistency in the starting XI.

The latest poor tactical decision came against Villa with Arteta starting Thomas Partey at right back due to Jurrien Timber shifting to the centre of defence. Partey playing at the back has not worked with the team conceding in each of the six games he has played there this season so the Gunners boss should have made a different decision. Jakub Kiwior, although suffering from a lack of match fitness, could have stepped up at centre back to avoid the switch around.

Arsenal's injury crisis has also led to a significant lack in squad depth. Against Villa, three of their eight outfield substitutes were academy players while just one of their attacking subs was a senior player, Raheem Sterling. For a club that is trying to win the Premier League title, that is a very worrying lack of quality to call upon and that has arguably come down to an inability to act in the transfer window.

It is clear that Arsenal don't have what it takes to win the Premier League. Their struggles to secure wins from dominant positions and capitalise when Liverpool have dropped points through a frequent wastefulness in front of goal has damaged their ambitions. While injuries have plagued them at times, Arteta's occasional failures to deal with this correctly and his overall tactical approach have significantly altered how the team performs. The lack of squad depth that has stemmed from failure to act in the transfer window has also been pivotal.

Oh how I wish to be proved wrong and see Arsenal win their first Premier League title in over 20 years, but I just don't see it happening. However, it won't be over until it's over.

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