Can Arsene Wenger Save Arsenal's Season?

It’s the first week in November and Arsenal sit six points behind league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool.

There are 27 Premier League games remaining, yet every pundit in the game seems to believe that the Gunners have no chance of claiming their first title since the unbeaten season of 2003-04.

Looking at it in black and white, these suggestions would seem to be premature. Unfortunately, even the most loyal Arsenal supporter would agree that it looks unlikely and that something isn’t right this season. 

Before looking ahead, let’s look back to 5.15pm on September 27^th as Arsenal kicked off their "home banker" against Hull City at the Emirates stadium.

Sitting top of the league and having played some irresistible football in getting there, the team who weren’t fancied at the season’s start were now expected to increase their lead at the top of the table with an easy three points.

Times were good for Arsene Wenger as four days earlier the Arsenal youngsters had demolished Sheffield United 6-0 in the League Cup, and with winnable fixtures against Sunderland, Everton, West Ham, Tottenham and Stoke on the horizon, it looked possible that Arsenal could put a run of victories together that would put them in a commanding position moving into the winter period.

The critics had cited Arsenal’s lack of strength and depth as the reason why they had written them off. Obviously high profile names such as Hleb and Flamini had left the club, with Samir Nasri, who had been tipped as one of the brightest prospects in European football, being the only player to come in that could step straight into the first team.

Wenger had put his faith in the group of players that were already at the club. In the previous season players such as Denilson, Eboue, Bendtner, and Walcott weren’t performing to the standard that fans had come to expect from players who wore the famous red and white. It looked different this season as these players showed early promise in preseason and took their form into the opening games of the league season.

It looked like Wenger’s faith would be repaid.

Then came a shock.

Hull City became only the second team to win at the Emirates Stadium and since then Arsenal have been very much part of the chasing pack.

A draw away at Sunderland allowed Chelsea and Liverpool to pull away from Arsenal. Then came a mini revival with wins against Everton, West Ham, and away to Fenerbahce showing enough positives for supporters to believe that they had overcome a minor blip in their season.

However, Arsenal would again come unstuck, this time against their fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Leading 4-2 and moving into injury time, Arsenal conceded two late goals to draw the match 4-4. The result had a devastating effect on the players and there were reports of a rift in the changing room after the match.

Even still, when Saturday came and the challenge of Stoke City loomed, Arsenal were expected to get a victory and try and get their title ambitions back on track. It wasn’t to be.

Stoke City won 2-1 and all those that had predicted that Arsenal wouldn’t have the resources to compete with Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Liverpool this season look to be right. However, none of them could have expected Wenger’s team to struggle in the way that they have.

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