When the Going Gets Tough for Arsenal

I think the above title sums up the Gunners season so far quite well.

Cut back to the beginning of the season, when anyone even remotely connected with football were coming in with predictions. If you would have said that Arsenal would be top of the table come December, people would be calling you crazy.

Man Utd, Spurs, Liverpool, and Chelsea were ringing in new transfers where as all was quiet on the Gunner front. To top that, Henry left in a surprise move—and when we all expected a big name signing to replace him, Wenger brought in complete unknowns in the form of Eduardo and Bacary Sagna.

Given this state of events, the Gunners were the prime candidates to fall out of the "Big 4," with Spurs looked upon by everyone as the replacement.

Now back to the present. What a difference a couple of months makes in the world of football.

After having one of their best starts ever, the Gunners were being hailed as the "new invincibles," until their recent defeat to Boro last week. But even with that loss, any Gunner’s fan would still be satisfied with what this team has managed to achieve so far this season.

But until this team manages to win a major title, they will continue to have a lot of doubters.
 
Looking into the future now, the team has a tough round of matches coming up in the holiday season with Chelsea, Spurs, Portsmouth, and Everton in quick succession. The results from these matches will go a long way in determining how the season will conclude.

If Arsenal comes through this round of matches relatively unscathed, this team will be in prime position to lead the title charge going into the new year. In the last 2-3 matches, we have missed our primary "creative force" in Hleb and Cesc. With this duo set to return—as well as Flamini and RVP coming back from long injuries—the future looks bright.

And finally, the big question regarding the January transfer window.

I don’t see Wenger being too active. I think we will still see Lehmann be a part of the team for the remainder of the season, after which it will finally be time for him to leave.

In the striking and mid fielders department, we have a lot of options—I don’t see too many changes happening there. There is a possibility of Wenger allowing Gilberto to move, considering his poor performances this season.

The key area in which I would love to see Wenger invest is in the defence. With Kolo and Eboue going to the African Nations Cup, we will be short of cover. And in the event that Gallas gets injured during that time, it could be disastrous.

Although it's not Wenger’s way, I would be happy if he gets a good experienced defender with about 2-3 years left to play. It would be a good arrangement for all concerned, considering we will probably have a couple of youth stars ready to step by in a few seasons down the road.

In conclusion, while I would love to see the team win the EPL this season, my gut feeling is that this will happen next season and not this one.

The club has already managed to graduate to another level in terms of play this season—if they can iron out a few of the last remaining kinks in the armor this year, the Gunners will be all set to fire away next season.