Report cards: Every Premier League team graded
As we approach the turn of the year, it's time to take a look at how Arsenal have fared so far in 2016-17.
Can Arsene Wenger end his 12-year wait for the Premier League title? Here's how the season has gone so far.
Grade: B-
Positives:
The reaction to losing 4-3 against Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season was heartening. The Gunners then went 14 games unbeaten in the league, showing some real character, playing some attractive football and looking much more like an Arsenal side than they did last season. The deployment of Alexis Sanchez up front allowed those around him -- in particular Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott -- to contribute to the goalscoring, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked as if he was starting to fulfil his potential.
The big win over Chelsea in September provided genuine encouragement that things were heading in the right direction and after the 3-1 win at Stoke on Dec. 10, they went top of the table. Sure, it was temporary as Chelsea had a game in hand, but that was still a very positive place to be.
Negatives:
Basically, the last week, which saw Arsenal travel to Goodison Park and the Etihad, take the lead against Everton and then Man City, yet end up losing 2-1 on both occasions. The repercussions of those defeats were obvious when looking at the league table, as they now sit nine points behind leaders Chelsea. Yet beyond that, the way the games were lost spoke to Arsenal teams of the past that struggled with these kinds of fixtures. They felt especially damaging because the hope was that this group of players had a bit more about them.
Wenger spoke of maturity and experience in his squad, yet they were unable to cope with the pressure of leading and their record away from home against the league's big sides remains a major obstacle to overcome. There's still time to turn things around but it remains to be seen how they recover from what the Arsenal manager rightly described as a "horrendous week."
Star man:
Unquestionably Sanchez. The Chilean was drafted in at centre-forward at the beginning of the season and has enjoyed a hugely productive first half of the campaign. He's not only the side's leading goal scorer with 14 goals, he has also dished out more assists than anyone else with nine in all competitions at the time of publishing.
Everyone knows his quality and if more of his teammates shared his absolute desire to win games and willingness to give everything they had to do so, perhaps Arsenal would be in a better position. He looks like he's really enjoying his football, too; the responsibility of being the main striker seems to suit him and while you could say this is true of many teams who have a star player, the Gunners would struggle without him.
Flop:
There hasn't really been one, although Ozil has come under criticism for his last two performances. On the basis of those games alone it's merited to an extent -- although some of it has been ridiculously over the top -- but for the season the German has nine goals and five assists to his name. Until Everton and Manchester City he'd been widely regarded as one of the team's best players this season. There are no obvious flops as such, but perhaps you could point to a decline in consistency from Nacho Monreal this season, and left-back might well be an area that Wenger looks to strengthen in the not too distant future.
Predicted finish: Although competition is tight, finishing outside the top four would be a surprise, but it's beginning to look as if the title challenge is fading.