Arsenal Must Prove Big-Game Traumas Are History When Manchester City Visit

Last season, no side led the Premier League for longer than Arsenal. Ultimately, their title challenge was eventually undone, and the Gunners slipped to fourth.

The post mortem of their season suggested a variety of possible reasons for their collapse. However, the prevailing feeling is that they were severely hampered by their failure to deal with their biggest rivals.

Arsene Wenger’s team suffered humbling defeats away to Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. What’s more, they failed to beat Manchester United, City and Chelsea in their home games. Had Arsenal taken more points off the elite teams, they could well have won the title.

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This season, Arsenal must address that failure. If they are to be taken seriously as championship contenders, they must demonstrate the capacity to put their immediate competition to the sword. Wenger knows as much and told Arsenal.com's Chris Harris:

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It is a good opportunity to show that we have improved on that front because a year before it was completely the opposite and last year it was like that. We have now got the opportunity to show that we have grown as a team, that we are more mature and ready for the fight. Let’s do it.

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Last season, some of Arsenal’s most hurtful hidings came in the lunchtime kick-off games. However, Wenger insists that the timing of the fixtures is not the most crucial factor, as per Arsenal.com's Isaac Moore:

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I think the coincidence was that we played against very strong teams away from home at 12.45. I think it was more the quality of our opponents and the lack of quality in our performance that produced a result, not the kick-off time.

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You’d have to think he’s right there. These are professional athletes, meticulously prepared for each and every game. It shouldn’t matter whether or not the game kicks off a couple of hours earlier.

The problem was not one of start time; it was one of strategy.

All too often, Arsenal would begin games against top-level opposition looking casual and cavalier. The full-backs would push high up the field, leaving the centre-halves unprotected and exposed.

Arsenal also often failed to carry much of an attacking threat in these games. With Olivier Giroud up top, defenders could squeeze relatively high up the pitch in the knowledge that Arsenal wouldn’t have anyone capable of running in behind. That compressed the midfield and muddled the Gunners’ intricate passing game.

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Wenger must learn from those defeats. Arsenal must find a balance between caution and conviction. The pace of Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez provides a new problem for the opposition. At the other end, the defence must be urged to play it safe, particularly in the early stages. Arsenal cannot afford to find themselves out of contention inside the first 20 minutes.

If Wenger can lead his team to victory, it would be a significant statement. He told Harris:

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I don’t think that this game is very important for us mathematically [just] because we dropped points away from home [at Everton and Leicester]. But it gives us credibility and confidence if we do well.

It’s a big game and for us it is a home game as well. We had a decent start in the Premier League but of course we dropped some points and we have a good opportunity at home to play against Manchester City and get the three points.

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Credibility and confidence are key to any title challenge. This match should be an early indicator as to whether or not Arsenal are likely to be prominent players in the race for the Premier League.

Come Saturday, we’ll discover whether or not they have learned the lessons of 2013/14.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2014/15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.