Smooth, Stylish and Strong: Why it’s time to take Arsenal seriously

Olivier Giroud (R) celebrates after scoring against Borussia Dortmund

Former Liverpool defender and football analyst Alan Hansen has caused controversy with recent comments, in which he doubted Arsenal’s title credentials. Despite currently topping the Premier League table with an impressive 22 points from nine games, Hansen thinks Arsenal will come undone when their fixture list becomes tougher.

‘[The big teams] will target Arsenal’s weakness without the ball and the question marks over their central defenders and goalkeeper.’ Hansen told The Telegraph.

Hansen said that he felt the Arsenal side lacked a leader. In the early games this season, Mathieu Flamini was appearing to fill this role, but with the French midfielder ruled out for the next two weeks, he is likely to miss vital games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. But is Flamini the only leader in the Arsenal side? Players like Per Mertesacker, Bacary Sagna and Mikel Arteta have started to show more leadership qualities both on and off the field, helping Arsenal become more organised and resolute and win games they may not have won before.

“They do not have a Roy Keane, Graeme Souness or Patrick Vieira, somebody who can bring it all together when it goes wrong, but they will need one when the bad run comes along,” added Hansen.

Whilst many would agree with Hansen, such a statement cannot be made until this new look Arsenal has been through it’s first, tough period. The next few weeks will definitely be testing for the Gunners, but they are a much stronger outfit than last season. With more experience, quality, and resilience about them, Arsenal are better equipped to win games against their title rivals.

‘My fear for Arsenal is that when their bad patch arrives, they will take an awful lot longer to emerge from it than teams such as Chelsea or City, who have already bounced back from slumps this season.’

How are Arsenal different from previous seasons? Let’s take a look at the side that played, and lost at home to Chelsea in the league last season: Mannone; Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Arteta, Diaby; Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski; Gervinho.

Defensively, Arsenal look much more secure now. Szczesny has established himself as the number one with a string of convincing performances. Mertesacker has displaced Vermaelen in the line-up, adding vital experience and a calming presence to an often-frantic looking Arsenal backline. Gibbs has raised his performances to the next level since the arrival on Nacho Monreal. On top of that Bacary Sagna has fully recovered, and is starting to churn out the consistent impressive performances we know him for.

Kieran Gibbs Duels Won This Season

In midfield, Ramsey has been relocated and reinvented, Ozil’s quality has been added, whilst Rosicky and Walcott have showed signs of improvement. The likes of Gnabry coming through have also added more flair to the squad, and Flamini’s arrival has proved a shrewd purchase. An obvious loss is Diaby, his ability to carry the ball between the lines of the opposition is a attribute rarely found in a player and much desired.

Mesut Ozil Chances Created

With Giroud now leading the line, and on form, Arsenal are a completely different side. The midfield now has a target to aim for and the Frenchman’s improved physical presence enables him to hold the ball up excellently. He also has brilliant link up play, and offers much more than Gervinho as a lone striker.

One place Arsenal could become unstuck is their lack of depth in key areas, such as up front and in defensive midfield. Flamini’s injury leaves Arsenal without any natural replacement, and if Arteta were to get injured then the Gunners would be without any natural holding midfielder, an essential cog in the fluent Arsenal system. Time will tell whether Arsenal will be successful this season, but they are certainly an improved outfit this season and they are far better tooled to challenge for the title this term.