Every year, Arsenal fans and a few neutral Premier League fans believe it is Arsenal’s year. However, since 2004, the club haven’t built a team that has challenged right until the end of the season, meaning they have had no title glory for 13 years.
To add to that, the club missed out on Champions League football by finishing in fifth place this past season and may struggle to hold on to some key players. But, it is still impossible to rule Arsenal out, and based on the past two Premier League winners, it seems to be a positive thing if the club has no Champions League football.
Here, we suggest 5 reasons that might help Arsenal win the Premier League in 2018:
#5 The club has been linked with top players
Unlike other years, it seems Arsene Wenger is determined to do a lot of business this summer. Arsenal have already had a bid of at least £87 million for Kylian Mbappe rejected and have been linked with other players too such as Thomas Lemar and Alexandre Lacazette.
Additionally, they have been linked with other numerous smaller names who could still improve their side. Arsenal have come close to signing these sorts of players before but couldn’t get the deals across the line. Maybe this summer is when they can surprise everyone.
Also read: Reports: Arsenal and Tottenham favourites to sign Real Madrid midfielder
If the North Londoners were to sign two of those three players, there’s no doubt they would be a huge force in the Premier League next season. Despite Arsenal having Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, the team still lacks a focal point who will score at least 20 goals a season regularly. Both Mbappe and Lacazette can offer that to the current Arsenal side, which would certainly make them Premier League title challengers.
#4 No Champions League football
Arsenal may be in the Europa League next season, but it’s unlikely that Wenger will field strong sides in the competition unless they reach an advanced stage. This allows Arsenal to fully focus on the league and domestic cup competitions, something both Chelsea and Leicester did in the last two Premier League campaigns, thereby winning the league title.
So, they do have European football to compete in, but the Europa League is not as competitive as the Champions League. Also, the Europa League has become a laughable competition, and ideally Arsenal fans would prefer to avoid winning it after mocking Manchester United for celebrating winning it.
Now this does depend on whether Wenger chooses to field younger players in the Europa League. However, with complaints from fans about Arsenal’s poor Premier League campaigns, it would seem obvious Wenger wouldn’t jeopardise a title challenge by playing a full-strength side in the Europa League.
#3 They’re going into the season with confidence
Arsenal had been completely written off before the game even started at Wembley. They had even been written off in the semi-final, but, the Gunners lifted the FA Cup for a record 13th time.
Nobody expected it, but they beat the Premier League champions comfortably, having played much better than their opponents throughout the 90 minutes. This, along with them winning their final five Premier League games in a new formation, will give them a lot of confidence going into the new season.
Although people may say it is typical of Arsenal to play well when the pressure is off, the end of this season felt different, especially with the FA Cup win. It could possibly lead to a good start to the 2017/18 season, if the team is prepared well enough.
#2 Their new formation
As mentioned already, Arsenal won their final five Premier league games with a new formation as well as seven of their last eight league games. They also won an FA Cup semi-final and FA Cup final against both Manchester City and Chelsea, two clubs who finished above them in the Premier League table.
The new formation has transformed the performances of their centre-backs and central midfielders. Since changing to a three at the back, Rob Holding, Gabriel Paulista and Nacho Monreal have all performed excellently. In centre midfield, the combination of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey seems to be working splendidly, as the two players put in man of the match performances in the games at the end of the season, suggesting Arsenal may have found a solid midfield pivot.
The previous 4-2-3-1 set up had seemingly become stale under Wenger. Changing that has given belief to all Arsenal fans and could be one reason why Arsenal might win the Premier League next season.
#1 Ozil and Sanchez look like staying
Wenger revealed in an interview with Bein Sports that neither Alexis Sanchez nor Mesut Ozil will leave Arsenal this summer. Even though it may seem like the manager is saying that to please the fans, Arsenal and Wenger are in control of the situation as the two players are still under contract for at least another year.
If Arsenal do keep hold of the two players and they go on to win the Premier League, it’s likely they would sign new contracts. It is crucial the Gunners keep both players as their class is undeniably greater than the rest of the team.
Sanchez contributed to a huge 43 goals in all competitions for Arsenal this season, and Ozil created 98 chances, illustrating how creative and productive both the players are.
If Arsenal are to make some strong additions and keep their two best players, there’s no reason why they can’t challenge and win the Premier League title in 2017/18.
