Football Special Report: An Overview of Arsenal’s Season So Far
Arsenal has a lot of surprising results this season, and their whole campaign so far has been packed with uncertainty. Sometimes, Arsenal has emerged victorious despite being the favourites, while on certain occasions Arsenal failed to win in easy circumstances.
Therefore, Arsene Wenger has a lot on his mind right now, especially because he has his eyes on the title, but he would have to maintain the consistency in his results.
Arsenal is a club based in North of London and has a big history as well. It is the only club in England that has never been relegated from the top league. Therefore, the fans expect their team to be one of the best and they want to win the English Premier
League titles, along with other trophies. However, there has been a drought at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s own fortress, which is making the fans impatient. But, at the start of the season, Wenger gave good news to the fans by telling them that the team is
ready to reclaim the title.
Despite all the promise in the team and the individual brilliance in Arsenal’s squad, Arsenal has fallen short of their target so far. The season is not different from other seasons of the Gunners, as they are facing the same old problems once again. There
are a few things synonymous to Arsenal’s typical season, and one of them is the injuries to important players. This season also started in the similar fashion and Robin van Persie has once again spent most of his on the sidelines. Also, Thomas Varmaelen is
another name in the list of Arsenal’s casualty list, while the Gunners’ captain Cesc Fabregas has joined these players on the sidelines as well.
However, this time Arsene Wenger prepared himself for an injury to Robin van Persie. The Dutch striker has not been able to remain fit for a whole season, so Wenger went out in the transfer market and got Marouane Chamakh, as a substitute. Now, the Moroccan
forward has cemented his place in the team and has totally out-performed Van Persie.
Also, Arsenal’s goalkeeping problems are haunting Arsenal once again, like their previous seasons. Since Jens Lehman, Wenger has not been able to get hold of a quality goalkeeper, but he is still in a state of denial. It seems that this season would also
go on with problems at the back and Arsene Wenger would only realize his mistake at the end of this season.
Apart from all the other problems, one problem peculiar to the current season for Arsenal is their home record. Arsenal, unlike their previous seasons, has shown a better away record this season. The Gunners had some great results away from home, including
a great victory over Manchester City by a margin of 3-0, and another victory against Aston Villa by a margin of 2-4. On the contrary, Arsenal had some poor results at Emirates stadium, including their shock defeats at the hands of West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle
United and Tottenham Hotspurs.
The real reason behind this problem has nothing to do with the players, but the manager of Arsenal. In fact, Arsenal is not accustomed to any other style of play except for the passing game. However, unlike Barcelona, Arsenal is not a perfect side which
follows this peculiar style of football. Therefore, when the Gunners go away from home, with a strategy to attack the opposition, they generally succeed, as the clubs normally adopt an attacking style in their home fixtures. On the contrary, Arsenal adopts
a same style in their home matches, but the opposition comes at the Emirates stadium with intent to defend for the most part and hit the Gunners on counter-attacks and breaks. This usually backfires, as Arsenal players have a tendency to choke under pressure
and they start searching for a perfect goal, always playing more passes than are generally required.
The consistency is the major problem for Arsenal and it has been a basic problem in the previous seasons as well. It looks like Wenger has to talk to his players before every match and revitalize their spirits before sending them on the pitch.
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