After the optimism of what was an encouraging preseason, there is a sense of déjà vu about Arsenal’s early Premier League stutters, as a lack of transfer activity has already heaped pressure on manager Arsene Wenger.
The victory over reigning champions Chelsea in the Community Shield lead many to believe that this would finally be the year the Gunners would mount a sustained title tilt. On evidence thus far, this looks a farfetched claim, as they have looked toothless in attack and vulnerable in defence, even with the much-heralded signing of experienced goal keeper Petr Cech.
First four games
The opening day meltdown against West Ham was seen as a major reality check after the all hype surrounding the North-Londoners’ credentials. What was seen as a straight forward home encounter quickly turned into a nightmare, as Arsenal slumped to a 2-0 defeat, with Cech having a shocking outing on his debut, culpable for both goals conceded.
A tricky assignment followed away at Crystal Palace, where Arsenal ground out a 2-1 victory to earn their first points for the campaign. Olivier Giroud’s sensational acrobatic volley to open the scoring was the highlight of a much improved performance, although midfielder Francis Coquelin could count himself extremely lucky not to be sent-off during the second-half.
The tantalising Monday night clash with Liverpool which followed was seen as a great opportunity to end a dismal recent home record. But if it were not for the first half heroics of Cech, the Merseysiders could of been out of sight at half-time, in what was a chaotic defensive display. Arsenal dominated after the break but to no avail as they played out an entertaining goalless draw. It was the fifth time the Gunners have failed to score in their last six home encounters.
The latest assignment for Arsenal was a trip to St James’ Park to take on the winless Newcastle United. A deflected Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain effort was enough to earn an unconvincing 1-0 win, in what was another disjointed performance from the visitors, despite playing against 10 men.
Transfer window performance
Unlike summers gone by, Arsenal were able to keep a large portion of their squad in tact this time, with only Wojciech Szczesny (AS Roma) and Lukas Podolski (Galatasary) moving on. A host of talented youngsters, including Serge Gnabry, Chuba Akpom, Daniel Crowley, and Carl Jenkinson were all farmed out on loan.
Strengthening the spine of the team was the focus for Arsenal, and the signing of Chelsea legend Cech was seen as a huge coup, solving a long standing problem between the posts. The arrival of a world class striker was also seen as a vital component if the Gunners were to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea this season.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was heavily linked to the club for the majority of the summer. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in their attempts to land the Frenchman, as the lack of elite centre-forwards on the market made Wenger’s task of finding that necessary marksman difficult.
The signing of Cech proved to be the only major acquisition to arrive at London Colney, as the squad again looks a couple of players shy of being compete across the board. Arsenal and their manager continue to be the ‘nearly men’ of the transfer window.
Key player
It has been an underwhelming start for the large majority of the Arsenal first team, but one man has continued to blossom after his break out year last term, and that is French midfielder Coquelin.
With Wenger deciding against bringing in another screener to sit ahead of the backline, Coquelin’s combative style has become vital, and will shoulder much of the defensive responsibility in the middle of the park.
His passing has also improved going at a healthy 91% accuracy, an aspect of his game thats been questioned previously. An injury to the feisty Frenchman could spell trouble, as doubts linger over the value of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini.
What has gone right?
Despite being well below-par, a total of seven points is not a bad return, but it does paper over the cracks somewhat. The two performances from defender Gabriel Paulista were promising, especially against Liverpool, where he coped with the imposing Christian Benteke admirably. The continual improvement of Coquelin and the consistency of Nacho Monreal have also been positives, but overall there has been little to write home about thus far.
Where to improve?
There needs to be significant improvement right across the board. Defensively, there are far to many opportunities being presented to the opposition. The teething problems between the new goalkeeper and the two central-defenders is evident, especially from high balls, where there has been several breakdowns in communication.
In midfield everything is congested and unbalanced. Everyone wants to come inside and play the No.10 role, meaning there has been a severe lack of width to stretch the opposing defence. One of Santi Cazorla or Aaron Ramsey has to make way, as deploying either on a flank is unnatural to both and a gross misuse of their talents. Reverting Theo Walcott back on the right-hand side would make sense, as he is someone who naturally hugs the touchline with the ability to skip past defenders.
Up front the situation is dire. Olivier Giroud is clearly out of favour, having only scored once in his past nine outings, while the jury is still out on whether Walcott can authoritatively lead the line. With Danny Welbeck now out until Christmas, Arsenal will now negligently only have one genuine centre-forward in their squad. There is simply no choice but for Giroud to come to the party, otherwise more goals will need to come from midfield.
Next four games
September and early October looms as a defining period for Arsenal’s season. Firstly the Gunners welcome Stoke City to the Emirates, followed by two tough away trips to Chelsea and high flying Leicester City, rounded out by a notoriously difficult fixture at home against Manchester United.
Drastic improvement is needed, especially at home, otherwise the Gunners’ season could be in tatters, similarly to this time in 2014-15. With no outfield players being bought in during the summer, Wenger has given himself little margin for error, as he obviously feels what he has is good enough to contend towards the summit of the table.
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There is still ample amounts of quality within the squad to ignite Arsenal’s season, so it would be foolish to write off their chances just yet. Confidence breeds success, and that term is appropriate when dissecting this team. When on song, they play with a wealth of swagger and style.
On the other side of the coin, they are also prone to self-destructing when the pressure is on. The next month will teach us a great deal about how good this team is, and whether they possess the strength in mind to vindicate the managers unwavering faith.
Grade – C
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