The Premier League title race is about to get real for Arsenal. For the first time since Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” won the club’s last title in 2003-04, Arsenal feel like a team that can go all the way and take the trophy to the Emirates. But manager Mikel Arteta’s side have only done the easy part so far.
Make no mistake: to be five points clear at the top of table, having suffered just one defeat in 14 games, is a genuine achievement for Arteta and his young team. Arsenal deserve to be leading the race as the Premier League resumes after six-week pause for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but their impressive start to the season is now just money in the bank. We are about to see how far it will take them.
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Since the Premier League began in 1992-93, there have been 30 completed seasons and the team that sits top on Christmas Day just has the edge. Sixteen teams have been top at Christmas and ended up as champions, with 14 clubs failing to go the distance. Arsenal were second to Manchester United on Christmas Day 2003 and went on to be champions.
It is a slightly skewed historically statistic this time around, with Arsenal only having played 14 games due to the World Cup shutdown. By now, teams have usually played 17 games, so it is perhaps unfair to burden Arteta’s team with the pressure of having to live up to the “Christmas leaders” tag. But by starting so well and maintaining their form, Arsenal are unquestionably in the title race.
Arsenal’s run of fixtures between now and the return of European football in mid-February will give us a clear indication as to whether they can sustain their title bid or will fall by the wayside, with serial winners City benefiting from the depth and experience of their squad to overhaul the Gunners.
A home game against West Ham on Monday is the start of the tricky run, followed by a difficult trip to Brighton and the visit of in-form Newcastle on Jan. 3. And in the space of a month, after an FA Cup third-round trip to Oxford United, Arsenal must play Tottenham (away), Manchester United (home) and Manchester City ( home), so it is certainly a testing period ahead for Arteta and his players.
Some title winners — Leicester (2016), Blackburn (1995) — have started well and harnessed a wave of momentum all the way to the end of the season, but many others have run out of steam. We’re about to find out which category Arsenal will fall into this season.
