The international break has come at the perfect time for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s side have been on a poor run of form which has seen them slip from title outsiders to top 4 outsiders. Serious questions have to be asked of this team and their ability to deliver what the fans crave: the Premier League title.

When you look at this Arsenal side how many leaders do you see? How many players willing to do the dirty work? To put everything on the line for their team and battle it out when the going gets tough. Players who can batten down the hatches and take care of the nitty gritty when the opposition are on top. The simple answer is that Arsenal barely have any players like this in their squad.

Supporters might point to the impressive fight back against Bournemouth, to claim a point from 3 goals down. But what were they doing 3 down in the first place? No genuine title contender would ship 3 goals so quickly at Bournemouth. Champions make sure they don’t concede that many goals when the opposition are on top, they restrict the chances, make it difficult, battle. You rarely ever see Arsenal doing this.

The Gunners have no shortage of talent in their squad; perhaps with Manchester City they are the most technically gifted team in the Premier League. But time and time again they are found wanting when the hard work needs to be done. They wilt under the pressure.

It doesn’t have to be this way; if Wenger would just substitute a little technically quality for some extra brawn in the squad Arsenal would be a different outfit entirely. They need more players who will be counted for when the game is going against them, players who set standards.

Gooners might not agree but moving for Victor Wanyama would have made so much more sense than splashing £30million plus on Granit Xhaka. Xhaka came with a reputation of being a tough, sometimes reckless tackler, who could build the play well from deep.

However, it’s Wanyama who has proved to be vastly more effective this term. The amount of opposition attacks he breaks up for Spurs is massive and would make a huge difference at Arsenal. Whereas Xhaka has barely imposed himself physically on a single game, apart from when he’s giving away penalties or being sent off.

Arsenal went for what they thought was a extra attacking quality in a defensive midfielder, which was frankly ludicrous. Wenger needs to get a handle on this if Arsenal are ever to improve. They are stuck in a cycle, unable to take the next step toward the title. They need to buy strong players, with a strong mentality, alongside the usual quality they bring in.