Do Arsenal Lack the Consistency to Beat Manchester City to the Premier League Title?

At this stage of the Premier League season, it’s still too early to call who will lift the title, but Arsenal will certainly feel they could have done more to assert their dominance as an early favourite. The Gunners failed to beat both Manchester City and Liverpool – their two biggest rivals in Premier League betting – leading to questions being asked of their consistency.

Arsenal are still looking to end their 20-year wait for a Premier League title. You would have to go back as far as Arsene Wenger’s Invincible side, who lifted a golden trophy in 2004, for the last time that anyone in north London tasted the success of winning England’s top flight. That said, the Gunners have come agonisingly close in recent times.

Indeed, you get the sense that Mikel Arteta’s side have improved with every next phase they enter under the Spaniard. The group that capitulated away to Newcastle United, preventing a return to the Champions League, has now increasingly matured thanks to a blend of new signings and gaining experience through each setback.

The last two seasons have seen Arsenal finish second behind City, each improving on their points tally, as well as their defensive record.

William Saliba and Gabriel have established themselves as one of the best centre-back partnerships in the league, while the addition of Declan Rice from West Ham United last summer added composure and consistency in front of the back four.

August also saw the additions of Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna and Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, taking their title challenge up another gear and looking to go one better than the 89 points they picked up last term.

That said, Arsenal have faltered when attempting to assert their dominance at the top of the tree. Rodri’s injury at the Etihad meant City are without the current Ballon d’Or winner for the rest of the season, while Liverpool were supposedly in a transitional period under Arne Slot.

Yet, the Gunners only took two points from those games against their closest title rivals, and when you factor in the dropped points at home against Brighton and Hove Albion, you wonder if Arsenal have already set themselves back from winning the league.

Arteta’s side are developing a reputation as one that inherits the dark arts as often as possible. Granted, they suffered injuries and even a red card in the games against City and Liverpool, but you wonder after so much investment and with things seemingly falling into the Spaniard’s lap, if they can be consistent enough to get over the line come the business end of the season.

The injuries are piling up at the Emirates, and that has led Arteta to keep his cards close to his chest when it comes to revealing details about his squad. Bukayo Saka was reportedly injured for the Liverpool game, yet started, and was on hand to rifle in the opener past Caoimhin Kelleher.

While these strategies are working well at the moment, it’s natural to wonder whether success can be sustained if the team continues to face challenges and dropped points.

There’s no doubt this Arsenal team are extremely talented, but they will be pushed to their limits in the next few weeks ahead of the festive period. Tough trips away to Chelsea and West Ham are followed by a key clash against Manchester United, with Arteta’s title credentials once again tested in the biggest moments.

Only time will tell who lifts the Premier League trophy come the end of the season. Arsenal remain in the race but could their inconsistency in these early weeks and failure to beat City and Liverpool come back to bite them? The coming months will be pivotal in their pursuit of the title.