Four reasons why Arsenal won’t win the Premier League
To get ready for the upcoming Premier League season, we at West of the Pond are doing a series of why each team from the top seven last year will not win the league this upcoming season. It’s a fun exercise to vent a little and to point out the weaknesses of each of the top clubs in the EPL.
I was tasked with Arsenal which as a true Spurs fan couldn’t be more fun to do. (I promise I’ll be as neutral as possible here, seriously) The Gunners have made some splashy additions to the squad this summer but we’re here to get down to brass tax, why they won’t be hoisting the Premier League trophy in May.
Alexis Sanchez either leaves or overshadows the team:
The first domino in the fate of Alexis Sanchez has fallen with Neymar’s transfer to PSG going through. While it doesn’t look like Neymar will be leaving the Gunners high and dry for a move to Manchester, he could still be on the move before the season begins. A Sanchez sized hole in the Arsenal attack could be hard to fill and even if he stays, issues could still arise.
You could make a point that Arsenal has already missed their chance to sell Sanchez at peak value opening the door for him to leave for free at the end of the season. It doesn’t look like a return to the Emirates will be in the cards for Sanchez which could lead to him becoming disinterested by the end of the season. An unhappy Sanchez isn’t an effective Sanchez which could cause issues for the team. It doesn’t take much to derail a team’s title hopes but a little squad turmoil could be enough of an issue to slip up.
Alexandre Lacazette’s transition to the league isn’t all smiles:
This is an actual concern for the season. Lacazette is Arsenal’s record signing. After being linked to moves for him for years, he is now in North London and with the transfer fees comes expectations. While Lacazette was effective at Olympique Lyon, he has never played with true pressure on him. Ligue 1 is a two horse race so at the beginning of the season, everyone is already gunning for third place.
This isn’t the case in the Premier League where almost six teams have a shot at the title this season and dropped points & missed shots are punished heavily. Lacazette also scored 10 of his 28 goals from the penalty spot last season a feat that will not be replicated. Can he adjust to the physicality of the Premier League in order to provide Arsenal with the goal scoring power that they need to win the whole league? If no, Arsenal won’t win the Premier League.
Arsenal still has no like for like replacement for Santi Cazorla:
Arsenal with and without Santi is a completely different team. For a man small in stature, he has a large impact on their performance on the field. The issue is, he’s never on it. Granite Xhaka was supposed to offer relief in the midfield but his game isn’t suited to orchestrating an attack. If you want a bone crunching tackle or an untimely yellow card, Xhaka is your guy.
Otherwise, if you’re looking for a smooth transitional player to link the middle third of the pitch with the front three, you’re left with Aaron Ramsey. At this point, Ramsey is what he is and any chances of him developing into a world beater or true key to the attack may be behind him.
#WengerOut:
While Arsenal had a good end to the season winning the FA Cup, this is always a team that dials up their performances when the pressure of chasing the title is off. During the middle of the season, things looked to be stagnating at Arsenal and it wouldn’t have been too surprising to see the club part ways with their manager but instead:
Guess who’s back, back again
Wenger’s back, tell a friend.
Guess who’s back, Guess who’s back
Guess who’s back, Guess who’s back
And another season like last year could mark the official end of the Wenger era. A hot start from the club won’t be enough to erase doubts as they have to sustain their success over the full campaign in order to win the title. Recent Arsenal teams haven’t shown that ability and that’s why Arsenal won’t hoist the Premier League Champions trophy.
