Arsene Wenger has completed his Arsenal puzzle – now I think they can last the course and win the Premier League
Confidence in the Arsenal camp must be sky-high as the table-toppers attempt to take another significant step towards a first Premier League title since 2004 on Wednesday at Liverpool.
The Gunners aren’t going to be runaway champions yet I felt at the start of the season that they had a good enough squad to compete until the end, at which point it becomes about getting over the line.
Questions about their mental resilience used to plague Arsenal but they seem to have overcome those doubts with back-to-back FA Cup victories and there are now winners throughout the squad.
Arsene Wenger has added real quality to his team and some players – such as Mesut Ozil, their key weapon – who initially struggled to produce their best have settled down and done just that.
Ozil provides the magic but is by no means the only source of technical creativity, with Santi Cazorla – currently injured – and, to some degree, Aaron Ramsey also able to conjure openings.
They have the sheer pace of Theo Walcott and, while they haven’t been able to call upon the sidelined Danny Welbeck, the run of games that has afforded Olivier Giroud appears to have benefited the Frenchman.
Defensively, Nacho Monreal has been fantastic at left-back and Hector Bellerin has developed into a complete footballer on the other flank, while Laurent Koscielny has chipped in with goals.
The signing of goalkeeper Petr Cech has also made a major difference and means that Arsenal are now better equipped to win games even when they are not performing at their best.
Wenger has completed his jigsaw, so the question is now: what, if anything, is going to stop them from reclaiming the trophy?
The marathon nature of the league season is of course a threat, as is the danger of injuries and suspensions, but so too for their rivals. They just need to manage them equally well to stay ahead.
Manchester City are the biggest threat and have not only a squad of great quality but also the spending capability to improve it immediately.
Their weakness is that they need their spine of Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero to be playing for the team to be at their best, and that trio have had fitness problems.
Kompany, in particular, has been a huge loss when injured since City’s centre-backs seem to play like total strangers when the captain is not there marshalling the back four.
Arsenal, by contrast, have greater fluidity of selection and, if pushed, I would make them very slight favourites for the title for that reason.
Everything points to a Gunners victory at Anfield tonight against a Liverpool who are team struggling for form. If they achieve that, it would be a massive result.