Bacary
Sagna believes that Arsenal can win the Premier League next season.
Does he have a point?
There is no denying that Arsenal were
schizophrenic last season. Cup defeats to Bradford and Blackburn were
inexcusable, but Wenger’s team finished the season excellently, taking 26 out of a possible 30 points to secure 4th position.
In the end, Arsenal finished with the second best Premier League defensive record, conceding 37 goals.
Comparing this with the 49 goals conceded in the 2011/2012 season, a significant
improvement has been made. The central-defensive partnership of Laurent
Koscielny and Per Mertesacker has flourished and the old cliché of Arsenal not
being able to defend is surely out of date now.
In order to mount a title-challenge, it is
vital to make a good start. But over the last couple of seasons, Arsenal have
made poor starts. This can be attributed to the departures of key-players. For
example, after losing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in 2011, Arsenal failed to
gain domestic form until October. They also stuttered in 2012 after losing
Robin van Persie and Alex Song, as it disrupted a major part of the team’s spine.
Arsenal are unlikely to lose a first-team
player this summer. It could be argued that this is because Arsenal no longer have
any world-class players, meaning that clubs such as Barcelona have no need to
swoop. By keeping the nucleus of the team intact, there is no reason why they
cannot build on the form that was captured at the end of last season.
However, if Arsenal are to mount a serious
title bid, they must buy a world
class striker. Although I think Olivier Giroud has been a good signing, he
admittedly struggles against the best Premier League teams, and because of
this, he should be second-choice up front.
As for a first-choice striker, Wenger will
never purchase someone like Edinson Cavani at their current market value, and
rightly so in my opinion. Kaká and Fernando Torres were bought at £56 million
and £50 million respectively; they both failed to live up to massive
expectations.
Gonzalo Higuain has been heavily linked
with Arsenal and he would be a superb signing. He should be available at around
£22.5 million, which would break Arsenal’s transfer record, but I think he is
good value for money. According to transfermarkt.co.uk, he had a market value
of £33.5 million in 2011. While this could provide evidence of stagnation, at
25 years old, he would be worth the risk.
Arsenal should also be able to benefit from the managerial
changes at the title-contending clubs. It
will take a considerable period of time for David Moyes to feel comfortable at
Man Utd, and with tough opening fixures, there is, for the first time in many
seasons, just a hint of uncertainty at Old Trafford.
To conclude, I do think Arsenal can at least challenge for the Premier League this season. Their defensive
frailties appear to be ironed out and with some intelligent signings, such as Higuain,
they’ll have a competitive team. While actually winning the Premier League may
be a little too optimistic, a second place finish would provide a solid base to
build upon for the 2014/2015 season.
By
Kelvin Jones
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us on Twitter! @ChapsTalkFBall
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