Why this could finally be Arsenal's year to win the Premier League

Arsenal are currently four points clear at the top of the Premier League and while they are only nine games in to what is going to be a long campaign, it's looking like this could finally be their year to win the title.

The Gunners defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 in their most recent league outing to secure their seventh win of the season, those triumphs going hand in hand with one draw and a loss since the start of the term.

Mikel Arteta's side have already picked up positive results in games they struggled in last campaign and that could be a major factor in them finally ending their long wait to win the league.

Why this could finally be Arsenal's year to win the Premier League

Over their last three title challenges, Arsenal have often been guilty of slipping up in those 'easy' games, regularly dropping points to opponents they should be comfortably beating. While that happened at times during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, it was a very frequent occurrence last term.

The Gunners finished 10 points off champions Liverpool last campaign after drawing 14 and losing four of their 38 league matches. Their performances were rarely convincing and there were multiple occasions when they looked as if they couldn't see games out, often failing to maintain winning position as a result.

Added to the significant injuries they have suffered over recent years, that failure to hold onto winning positions and the frequent slip-ups has been what thwarted Arteta's side's title hopes, but they seem to have eradicated that issue this season.

Arsenal have already defeated West Ham and Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium while also taking three points from trips to Manchester United, Newcastle and Fulham. They dropped points in all of those exact fixtures last season.

Not only are the Gunners managing to avoid the same blunders that have previously affected them, they appear to have mastered the art of comfortably seeing out victories. Last season, they dropped 21 points from winning positions (their joint-worst in a single campaign) while they are yet to drop any so far this term.

In their three 1-0 wins this campaign against United, Fulham and Palace respectively, Arteta's side came under tremendous pressure in the closing stages, but they rarely looked like conceding and defended brilliantly to see out the victories and take all three points.

Rewind to last season and it's unlikely Arsenal would have held onto one of those leads, let alone all three. That's the staggering difference between the dismal Gunners side we witnessed too often last season and the one we are seeing this term.

Most fans, pundits and journalists will argue that Arteta isn't playing the most exciting football with his side's tendency to score from set pieces currently a big talking point, but there's no denying it's all working very well for them so far.

It's important not to get too carried away as of course we are only still nine games into the season, but at this point, things are looking positive for Arsenal. Not only are they six points clear of Manchester City and seven ahead of Liverpool, they are looking like a genuine title-winning side that can see out every lead they take.

If they can carry on playing like this, it could finally be the Gunners' year to win the title.