I know you probably think that it’s too early to discuss it. I know that Arsenal have played one game against teams currently in the top four and they lost that at Old Trafford. I know that the unique scheduling of this season means that the turn of the year isn’t the turn of the year. But, well, we really do have to say it: Arsenal can win the title.
Can, not will. There are reasons to doubt that accompany the reasons to tell the doubters to do one. There is a lack of depth for certain positions, most notable in defence. There are certain players who are overperforming and we’re not sure whether a regression to the mean can be avoided. The Europa League will return in March and even playing a reserve team saps the energy. They still have to play Manchester City twice. We know all this.
But you can’t just focus on the negatives and ignore the repeated magnificence that Arsenal are producing. They have taken 43 points from 16 matches, which is on course to break the Premier League points record (I’m not saying they will, this is pure context, I promise). They suffered an injury to their new centre-forward and the replacement has scored in both games since. They are easily the most fluent attacking team in the division and they are getting better at that too. They are allowing only eight shots per game against them, which is remarkable given that last season they conceded 48 goals (more than Crystal Palace).
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For the neutral, it is Arsenal’s chaos illusion that is most appealing. You watch those five most attacking players on the pitch: dipping into space, switching positions, sometimes dribbling, sometimes passing and sometimes crossing, dropping deep and then driving forward. You become dizzy watching that movement until you cannot believe so many moving parts can be deliberate. And then Martin Odegaard plays a blind pass on the turn between two defenders you didn’t even see in shot and Arsenal have scored again. It is all deliberate.
The pass
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 1, 2023
The cold finish
The celebration
Everything about this movepic.twitter.com/VSPQQoPiyT
I know what the response will be from many Arsenal supporters (are you even a proper football supporter if you don’t believe that joy is only ever a prelude to despair laid like a trap by fate’s cruel hands?) Nothing has been won yet. Nothing may yet be won. Get excited now and it only inflates the eventual disappointment.
To which I’d say: live it. Only one team wins the league every year and these days it’s usually Manchester City. This season it might well be Manchester City. So if you only celebrate at the end, you miss out on the journey and you risk missing out completely. Your team is playing its best football in what, 10 years? Fifteen? It is packed with young players who love their manager and their manager loves them. Ride the wave while it lasts in case it doesn’t last for long.
This is an extract of The Score, Daniel Storey’s weekly verdict on all 20 Premier League teams’ performances. Sign up to receive the free newsletter on Monday mornings here
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