Pointers from the opening EPL exchanges

Although Arsenal began the season a high note by vanquishing champions Chelsea to collect the Community Shield for a second year in succession, they haven’t exactly set the world alight in the Premier League just yet.

In fact, the Gunners spluttered out of the gate in an opening day defeat to West Ham at the Emirates before improving to record three wins and a draw, mirroring the start they made to the 2001/02 campaign – the last time they won the Double.

It’s difficult to predict how Arsenal’s season will pan out at this early stage but he is what we have learned after four matches.

Who will be Arsenal’s closest rivals?

It’s difficult to judge who will be the closest challengers to Arsenal after five games. Liverpool and Manchester United have spent heavily this summer in the battle to finish in the top four, while North London rivals Tottenham will also hope to build on an impressive first season under the management of Mauricio Pochettino.  Swansea may prove a surprise package given their impressive start to the season under Garry Monk.

The Gunners were locked together with United immediately outside of the top-four, while Spurs were mired near the foot of the Premier League table, but come the final stages of the season the usual suspects should arrive together in the European places to fight out for the right to play in next year’s Champions League.

Wenger’s reluctance to adequately strengthen the squad will have a detrimental impact

The Gunners were the only Premier League club not to purchase an outfield player during the summer transfer window, with the signing of Petr Cech from Chelsea the only incoming at the Emirates Stadium, contrary to the spending sprees enjoyed by their closest rivals.

Wenger’s unbreakable faith in his squad is admirable, albeit somewhat misguided, and his unwillingness to address the need for an experience centre-back, an anchor man to lighten the load on a still-developing Francis Coquelin and an elite-level centre forward, namely one Karim Benzema, will inevitably come back to haunt the Gunners later in the season.

The evidence is there already to support the latter with two of the opening three goals Arsenal have scored this season attributed to an opposition player, while they laboured to break down a 10-man Newcastle side – who conceded a 63 goals playing with the same defence – for 74 minutes in a 1-0 victory before the international break.

Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck can’t be relied on

Giroud is an extremely capable player, which is evidenced by the 42 goals he registered in his first 100 Premier League appearances, but the long-held belief is the France international doesn’t possess the necessary ‘je ne sais quoi’ to transform Arsenal into a genuine trophy-winning force ala Thierry Henry.

The same applies to Walcott and Welbeck, Fine players in their own right who can provide a different dynamic to Giroud in attack, through questions continue to be asked regarding whether they are more impactful in wide positions. The issue for the trio is consistency and Wenger can’t rely on a triumvirate of erratic forwards if Arsenal are to make a serious challenge for the title and the Champions League.

Can Arsenal challenge for the Premier League title?

The short answer to that question is not just yet. Arsenal have an extremely talented squad and in Wenger, the longest serving manager in the Premier League, a leader of unrivalled experience.

Regrettably, however, the Frenchman’s managerial wisdom won’t be enough to inspire the Gunners to their first top-flight crown since the Invincible season of 2003/04, although they will be dead-certs to finish in the top-four having done so in each of the 19 seasons Wenger has spent in the Arsenal dugout.

Debilitating weaknesses and a distinct lack of quality in certain areas will prevent the Gunners from embarking on a fully-fledged assault on the Premier League, or Champions League for that matter, with Wenger overlooking the need for an experienced central defender, holding midfielder and top-shelf forward that would bring Arsenal onto an even keel with Manchester City and Chelsea.

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