Arsenal may have only won the English Premier League three times, but the team remains one of two teams in the English league that have gone through the entire season without losing a single league game, hence the nickname “The Invincible”. The likes of Thierry Henry, Jens Lehmann, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, etc. have all made their names heard by other football clubs in the world and strike fear to their opponents even before the match started.
Nonetheless, for the longest time, even though there were trophies won domestically, the Gunners were not able to emulate the success that they had in 2004, with only two second-place finishes in the English Premier League in the last 18 seasons. During that extensive period of time, their long-time manager Arsène Wenger has also retired as a football manager and his replacements were not able to repeat his glory days there.
But after winning eight games out of nine, collecting 24 points out of a possible 27 and scoring the second-most goals in the Premier League this season, the Arsenal side under new coach Mikel Arteta reminds us of the formidable Gunners of the old days. During those eight games, the Gunners have beaten big teams like Leicester City, North London rival Tottenham Hotspurs and recently Liverpool; They have dropped points after losing to Manchester United at Old Trafford in September.
The football style that Arsenal plays under Mikel Arteta has been young and volatile. The latter had served as the assistant of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and is looking to emulate the same culture to the young Arsenal side.
While one may say Arsenal has had an easier schedule during the last nine games and has yet to be tested by last season’s champions, Manchester City, the Gunners have been in great form and might be one of few teams that could challenge the latter for this year’s title. The sides were supposed to meet earlier this season but the game was postponed due to the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and with only one point separating the two at the moment, their clash would be an instant classic.
(Photo Credits: The Short Fuse)
