Five points clear! Now Arsenal must turn the screw on Premier League rivals

Robin Bairner

• 12 Nov 2022 23:20 GMT
• 4 min read

Even the most ardent Arsenal fan would not have expected their side to possess a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table come Christmas, yet the Gunners will go into the World Cup break with that healthy advantage.

A 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday was secured by a couple of goals from Martin Odegaard in the second half, which combined with Manchester City’s shock 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Brentford at home leaves Mikel Arteta’s side with a healthy advantage.

Arsenal remain underdogs in the race for the title, but they have given themselves a legitimate opportunity to go all the way.

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If they are to do so, though, they need to make best use of these next six weeks to supplement a squad that continues to look too thin to challenge successfully on both a domestic and European front. Indeed, this period could be pivotal for their title aspirations.

“I said from day one that we have a short squad because at the end we left some players. It’s what we have,” Arteta said after the Carabao Cup loss against Brighton in midweek.

“If everyone’s available and no one is injured we are OK, but the moment there is, we know what it is. It’s nothing new. I think I said it the first day after the transfer window.”

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Time to go for it

Now it is all surely a question of ambition for the Arsenal board. Champions League football next season should be a virtual formality given a 14-point advantage over fifth-placed Manchester United, but will they be ambitious enough to supplement the side sufficiently to maintain a title challenge.

There are compelling reasons why Arsenal must take action in the transfer window beyond simply adding depth to their squad.

Firstly, it would send a message to their rivals, most notably Manchester City, that they are serious about winning the title.

Perhaps more importantly, though, it would be sign it would give the squad that the whole club is prepared to go the extra mile to become the first Arsenal side to lift the Premier League crown since the Invincibles did so in 2003/04.

Self-belief will be a key ingredient in the second half of the season, and the addition of a couple of judicious arrivals might just be the nudge that the Londoners need.

The board is reportedly ready to furnish Arteta with £50 million to make signings, with the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhylo Mudryk and Palmeiras midfielder Danilo among the names on their shortlist.

While Arsenal can’t keep the momentum going on the park for the next six weeks, fixing up a couple of deals before the start of the January transfer window can keep it going off it.