The story last season
Arsene Wenger's Gunners started last season with a bang, dominating their way to the top spot with Aaron Ramsey in particularly sublime form; but injuries to key men, sudden defensive lapses and lack of cover for Olivier Giroud up front saw them utterly collapse in January, and the problems persisted for the remainder of the season as the Gunners withered dismally in pressure games, losing 6-3 away to City, 5-1 to Liverpool and an absolutely humiliating 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea on Arsene Wenger's 1000th game in charge. A promising start to their Champions League campaign also came to an end with the North Londoners bowing out in the second round against Bayern Munich. There was, however, a bright ending to their campaign as they claimed fourth spot, edging Everton to the Europa League and ended a 19- year long trophy drought, beating Hull to claim the FA Cup.
Off Season Report
For the second season running, Arsenal have managed to hold on to their key players while adding another excellent signing which goes a long way in solving their problems up front. Alexis Sanchez adds yet more pace and directness to a side teeming with it and will be a key man this season provided he can adapt to the rigours of English football. David Ospina is a massive upgrade over Lukasz Fabianski and the duo of Matheiu Debuchy and Calum Chambers are also a significant improvement over Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson.
Aaron Ramsey has been their standout performer in the run up to the start of the league, picking up exactly where he left off last season. A special mention must also go to the very promising Hector Bellerin, who looks like a future Emirates darling.
The Manager
Fresh off a summer in Brazil, covering the World Cup, one must imagine Arsene Wenger to be pretty satisfied with the way things have gone thus far, but disaster right when things are going their way seems to be the theme of Arsenal's recent seasons gone by. It will be intriguing to see how the new signings fare under his tutelage. Could Alexis Sanchez be their next Robin van Persie?
Strengths
Arsenal boast of one, if not the best midfields in the Premier League. Tomas Rosicky's opener at White Hart Lane and Jack Wilshere's magical team goal against Norwich were absolutely top drawer performances. Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott's performances will be instrumental in their title challenge.
Weaknesses
While their attacking midfield left us spellbound last season, central midfield remains a slight worry for Arsene Wenger's men. Jack Wilshere, despite showing sparks of true class was often disappointing last season and frequent injuries to Aaron Ramsey and him didn't help while Matheiu Flamini is nothing more, or less than acceptable. Wenger will need to find someone a whole lot better than Kim Kallstrom to bridge the midfield gap. Sami Khedira, anyone?
Key Players
Mesut Ozil arrived and hit the ground running, but was clearly unaccustomed to the rigours of English football. He will return as a better player, though and his genius vision and assists will be key to Arsenal's title dreams. Alexis Sanchez's arrival gives the Gunners a reliable and deadly goalscoring threat up front. Can he be the Gunners' X- Factor?
It's a big season for
Jack Wilshere. Touted as England's next big thing since a couple of years now, he has delighted and frustrated in equal measure. Time is running out for English football's golden boy. Will he step up to the plate or wilt, and can he put this summer's disappointment behind him?
Emerging Star
Gooners have been salivating over 17 year old wonderkid Gedion Zelalem. The youngster showed massive promise last season for the under-21s, drawing comparisons with Cesc Fabregas. With Arsenal reliant on aging central midfielders like Mikel Arteta and Matheiu Flamini, it could very well be a breakout season for the German.
Prediction
The arrival of Alexis Sanchez must have Arsenal dreaming of glory once again, but stiff competition awaits them in form of an extremely improved Chelsea team, last season's champions Manchester City, a Suarez- less yet dangerous Liverpool side, and Louis van Gaal's Manchester United, all of whom Arsenal failed to convincingly overcome last season. The signs have been impressive, though, and it could very well be the season in which they finally break the curse of fourth place. But can they avoid the collapses?
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