Hey; it’s much too early to write the Gunners off in their quest to win the 2023/24 Premier League title.
And I’m not a Spurs fan…far from it!
But Mikel Arteta’s side hasn’t had the best of weekends and, after playing so well in the early months of the campaign, I just can’t help feeling their best chance to win a first league title since 2004 may have disappeared last season. As it turned out, Manchester City went on a relentless run to take top spot and Arsenal fans must be dreading a case of déjà vu.
Defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday left the Gunnersin second place, just a point behind leaders Liverpool but, crucially, only three ahead of Manchester City. I’m not the only one at SBOTOP who fear for Arteta and his men, the latest Premier League 2023 betting odds still place the Sky Blues odds on and Arsenal have just been nudged by Liverpool into third place.
But Arsenal are still there at 4.30 and they are already through to the Champions League Round of 16, with one group tie left to play, against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday. Fourth favourites to win the European crown and third favourites to win the Premier League this could be a spectacular season for the Gunners, but they do need all the stars to align.
Search for a Striker
Arsenal were outgunned by their former boss Unai Emery as he led Aston Villa to a 15th consecutive home league win on Saturday. John McGinn’s early goal was enough for the Villains who hold out, despite conceding possession and losing the shot counts. Arsenal just lacked that cutting edge. Take a look at the Premier League leading scorers list and you have to go down as far as joint 16th to find an Arsenal player. Striker Eddie Nketiah has five goals and so has winger Bukayo Saka, and the young England star also has five assists.
The Gunners have plenty of exciting creative players, skipper Martin Odegaard and wide man Gabriel Martinelli among them, not to mention centre forward Gabriel Jesus. But with no player on target to get 15 goals in the campaign they are outliers in the title race. Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland has 14 goals and Liverpool’s Mo Salah has 11.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been linked with a move to North London once his ban for betting irregularities expires in January. He has previously spoken of his admiration for the Gunners and, having scored 63 goals in 111 games for the Bees, just imagine what Toney could do with supply from the likes of Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard. The sticking point may be the fee and so Arsenal will also look elsewhere for a striker, with Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Roma’s Paulo Dybala on the radar. Both are experienced internationals with superb skills but neither are prolific goal scorers and Toney certainly is that.
Arteta will be working hard on this issue; summer signing Kai Havertz can slot in but, again, he is more of a wide man or number ten.
Can anybody stop the Sky Blues?
Manchester City’s recent Premier League 2023 results have been eye-catching, but not in a way you would expect. A 2-1 win away to Luton Town on Sunday came just in time for Pep Guardiola to avoid five games without a victory for the very first time in his managerial career. The Sky Blues were poor in their loss to Aston Villa last time out and drew their previous three league games. But look a little closer and you see that Guardiola’s team bossed their matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, only to concede late equalisers, in injury time to the two London teams.
Those results will have irritated Guardiola no end, but his squad is clearly still ahead of the challengers and he has a record fourth consecutive league title in his sights. The City boss has said that many would view second place in the Premier League as a failure and that is a mentality Arsenal don’t yet have. Manchester City are in a stronger position than they were in the run-in to the 2023 title and are ready to click through the gears.
Can Arsenal win the 2024 league title? Of course they can but they need a few things to go in their favour: they need a goal scorer, they need Manchester City to underperform… and they need to overtake Liverpool. It’s going to be an incredible five months…don’t take your eyes of it.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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