A late Olivier Giroud rescued a point for Arsenal at Old Trafford in their last but one game on a day when the team simply did not seem to click and the result of the draw left them 3 points behind the leaders, causing betting odds on them winning the league to drift out to 8.00 with many leading bookmakers. Fortunately for the Gunners this past Saturday they managed to beat Bournemouth 3-1 at the Emirates in the League as Theo Walcott scored the day after becoming a first-time father and Alexis Sanchez added a fine brace as the Cherries could only score once courtesy of a Callum Wilson penalty. There is still a long way to go, and a fascinating title battle is unfolding with Arsenal currently in fourth 2 points behind Man City and Liverpool in 2nd and 3 points behind leaders Chelsea.
The result against Man Utd was not bad at all as many teams will leave Old Trafford empty handed this season, but the performance gave Arsenal fans cause for concern. Until Giroud struck with a towering header in the 89th minute, Arsenal had failed to record a shot on target. It was a pretty weak performance, they were overrun in midfield and they couldn’t get creator in chief Mesut Ozil on the ball, so chances were few and far between. This could be partially attributed to the absence through injury of Santi Cazorla. The diminutive Spaniard’s influence over this Arsenal side cannot be overestimated. They simply look a different team with him starting, as he carries the ball forwards, links defence to attack and serves as a wonderful deep lying playmaker. Without him the likes of Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka – all fine battlers but none of them supremely comfortable on the ball – are typically left passing it sideways and backwards, starving Ozil and Alexis Sanchez of service.
After drawing with PSG 2-2 in the Champions League after the United game Arsenal seemed to be finding better form and the result this past weekend where player of the year Alexis Sanchez was superb, showed that Arsenal appear to be getting back into the form that has seen them go unbeaten since their opening day loss to Liverpool. Many pundits feel that Arsenal have the best chance they have had in years of ending their title drought but they will need to avoid the dreaded injury curse which has already cost them dearly with the likes of Bellerin, Mertesacker, Welbeck, Cazorla and Perez amongst others already missing siginificant time this season.
Arsene Wenger has rarely spent big in the January transfer window, but if Arsenal are to win the league this season he might have to invest in an understudy to Cazorla. Jack Wilshere looks like he could do a job there, but his injury problems have been shocking and as we know he has gone on loan to Bournemouth for this season. Paul Pogba showed Elneny and co how it’s done in the match at Old Trafford, driving forwards at will and bringing Man Utd’s attackers into the game. Wenger does not have to break the world transfer record to bring in a player of Pogba’s calibre, but Arsenal’s coffers are deep, and if he were to buy someone like Real Madrid’s out of favour midfielder Isco, a fantastic creative talent, then Arsenal would be less likely to come unstuck in the absence of Cazorla. He has been a fantastic servant to Arsenal, but he is 31 now and the injuries are becoming more frequent. Bring in someone like Isco and you have a ready-made replacement. Arsenal under Wenger have always had players like this, from Patrick Vieira to Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky to Cazorla. Wenger loves attacking midfielders, and another signing could reinforce Arsenal’s title challenge.
Otherwise fans might have to lower their expectations. Arsenal have never won the EFL Cup under Wenger, as he does not take it very seriously, but they have a great chance of silverware as they are at home to Southampton in the last eight tonight, and Man City, Spurs and Chelsea are already out. Betting odds of 4.33 are available on them with Paddy Power, and this could be a good platform for them to build further success on. They have been remarkably successful in the FA Cup of late and could add another trophy to their haul. They are fifth favourites at 11.00 with Sportingbet and that looks a great price. The Champions League, where they are 26.00 ninth favourites, looks beyond them at this stage, so one of the cups could be a good option for Arsenal to focus on if they fall further behind in the league but the title for now is still very much in reach.