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Arsenal have no excuses with current squad

Title-winning sides in the making do not always fulfil their potential.

Title-winning sides in the making do not always fulfil their potential.

They can boast celebrated talent, depth and cohesiveness, but if their mentality is not what it should be, they’ll fall short. They can possess all four of those positive traits (and more) but if a team is not tactically astute, success will prove elusive. A squad can appear to have everything, but if spirit is missing they have nothing.

Any team that is one major ingredient light will find scaling football’s peaks an incredibly difficult challenge. To win a Premier League crown, all the stars must align.

Arsenal, who face Everton, Stoke City and a Singapore Selection at this week’s Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore, know the frustration this brings. Over the past 10 years they have had magnificent players and played stunning football, but never had enough tools to climb highest.

But now, Arsene Wenger’s class of 2015 are finally equipped to challenge for the Premier League title again. The Gunners are gaining strength, while familiar frailties are fading away.

NOT ENOUGH DEPTH

Anyone who argues this is living in the past. There are at least two players in each position who wouldn’t expect to be labelled a “reserve”, and Wenger has contrasting styles to choose from.

TOO RELIANT ON ONE PLAYER

Alexis Sanchez may have enjoyed a sensational debut season, but the overall picture clearly shows that is nonsense; Arsenal scored 71 Premier League goals in 2014/15, and no other club had a larger spread of scorers or assist makers.

TOO MANY FOREIGNERS

Wenger has developed a British core that is now the envy of their rivals. Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Calum Chambers, Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey are the heartbeat of a dressing room that blends local and overseas talent beautifully.

NO LEADERS

When the Frenchman looks around his changing room he knows the vast majority will stand up and be counted. He has more than enough winners. Are Petr Cech, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Francois Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere, Alexis, Olivier Giroud and company the type to accept defeat limply? I don’t think so.

TACTICS ARE TOO GUNG-HO

Lessons have been learnt in this department, and although they still need to prove it over the course of a whole season, the back door wasn’t left open anywhere as often last term. In their past 18 games, only once did they concede more than one goal.

ARSENAL’S A SELLING CLUB

Not anymore. Wenger bought Mesut Ozil and Alexis from Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, for big money, and no longer fears his star men walking away. Financially, Arsenal are still short behind the biggest players in the market, but they are competing — and no one wants to quit.

Over the past three seasons, their improvements have been gradual and impressive. Without sacrificing the flavour and fluidity of classic Wengerball, the Gunners have subtly established a fresh style that is a pleasure to watch and effective in a disciplined sense. Two FA Cup triumphs were a reward for that change in approach.

With most of their stars at their peak, now really is the time for this Arsenal side to make the next step. There is no obvious component missing at Arsenal, so there can be no excuses for taking a backward step.

It’s little wonder Arsenal were all smiles when they arrived in Singapore for the Barclays Asia Trophy. They haven’t been this strong since “The Invincibles” swept all before them in 2004.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Adrian Clarke, TODAY’s EPL analyst, is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of English football. Now an experienced sports journalist, he writes for many publications around the world.

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