Premier League: 5 reasons Arsenal can become champions

It has been almost 12 years since Arsenal last won the Premier League title.

Arsene Wenger’s 'Invincibles' lifted the trophy in May 2004 after going through an entire league campaign without defeat. However, the period that followed has felt like an eternity to most Gunners’ fans.

Despite losing at home to Chelsea on Sunday, this might finally be the year that Arsenal break their lengthy title drought. And here are five reasons why...

SQUAD DEPTH

During their barren years, many Arsenal fans cited a wafer-thin squad as the main issue. Let’s not forget, the Gunners have fielded the likes of Sebastien Squillaci, Johan Djourou, Philippe Senderos and Park Chu-Young since their last title success.

However, in recent years Arsene Wenger has addressed the problem, either by promoting quality such as Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin from the youth ranks, or by finding ‘bargain buys’ to bolster the strength of the entire squad – rather than just the regular starting eleven.

The Gunners now have at least two quality players for every single position, and despite losing the likes of Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Santi Cazorla for long periods this season, they are still able to field 18-man match-day squads as strong as anyone in the Premier League.

DEFENSIVE ORGANISATION

Jaws dropped when Chelsea allowed Petr Cech to join their bitter rivals over the summer and, in truth, the veteran keeper has proved to be the signing of the season so far.

Until now, Arsenal have really struggled to replace the eccentric Jens Lehmann, with the likes of Vito Mannone, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny all looking below the standard of a side challenging for the title.

However, since arriving at the club, Cech has seemed to instil a new confidence in the Arsenal back four, seemingly placing a huge emphasis on organisation and structure.

For years, Gunners fans were crying out for a natural holding midfielder to be purchased, but little did they know about the sturdy stopper hiding in their reserves.

Francis Coquelin found himself on-loan at Charlton last season, seemingly looking for a move away from the club after being played out of position in many of his first-team appearances.

However, after an injury crisis, the Frenchman was recalled from his loan and immediately inserted into the first team – where he has remained ever since.

Coquelin is different to any other player in the Arsenal squad and is more than happy to put his body on the line to benefit the flair players in the side. The young Frenchman also possesses natural leadership qualities and is vocal, organising his fellow midfielders into the required positions.

ADAPTATION AND FLEXIBILITY

Up until midway through last season, Arsene Wenger was very much a man stuck in his ways. Since arriving at the club, the Frenchman has always favoured a fast-paced, attacking style, and while that was largely successful, the Gunners often came apart at the seams against teams of stature.

However, something changed in January of last year, when Arsenal travelled to Manchester City. To the surprise of everyone, Wenger’s men spent much of the game behind the ball, soaking up possession and counter-attacking en route to an impressive 2-0 away win.

Since that day, Wenger has adapted his team selections in accordance to his opponents, which has made the Gunners far harder to beat and break down – particularly when playing away from home.

MESUT OZIL

The signing of Mesut Ozil in the 2013 summer transfer window signalled the start of a new era for Arsenal. The German playmaker arrived from Real Madrid for £42m, which shocked many, especially considering Arsenal’s distinct lack of spending over the previous years.

Despite a fast start and a high (but not always noticeable) work rate, Ozil rarely hit his peak form during his first 12 months at Arsenal. Yet in the second half of last season, we saw the World Cup winner spark into life.

Since then, Ozil hasn’t looked back. The German international has been by far the best player in the league so far this season, recording an amazing 16 league assists – breaking the Premier League record for assists in consecutive games along the way.

Arsenal have an abundance of pace and flair in forward areas, and if Ozil can continue providing the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott with precision service, then the Gunners are going to be hard to pip this season.

BELOW-PAR COMPETITORS

In truth, Arsenal will never have a better chance of winning the Premier League title.

Defending champions Chelsea have had a wretched season so far, finding themselves too far back to contend, while Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool look to lack the required level of consistency to maintain a title charge.

Leicester have performed miracles at times this season, but in truth we see them falling away shortly, with a top-four spot the more realistic aim.

It looks to us – and the rest of the country – as though it is a two-way title race this season, with Manchester City being the only club standing in the way of a first Premier League title in 12 years.

We can’t separate the two and see it going right down to the wire, with their meeting at The Etihad on May 7 already looking like a title decider.

Calum Chinchen is chief sports writer for Myclubbetting.com