Why Arsenal will be Premier League Champions

The 2023/24 Premier League title race has the chance to go down as the best ever. 

As things stand, there is only one point separating the top three teams at the top of the table. Arsenal currently sit at the top with 64 points, Liverpool are in second with 64 points due to having a worse goal difference than Arsenal and Manchester City have 63 points. 

These three teams have great squads, have shown incredible consistency throughout the season and have world class managers leading them. Each of them also have fascinating narratives surrounding their season which they hope will end with a bang. 

They have each played 28 games, which means there are 10 to go. This is the stuff that dreams are made of. 

Here’s how I see the final stretch of the season going down. 

After a rocky end to 2023, the Gunners have been nothing short of sensational since the turn of the year. They have won their last eight Premier League games by a combined score of 33-4. This includes a few maulings on the road against the likes of West Ham, Burnley and Sheffield United. They also completely outplayed Liverpool at home in their 3-1 victory in February. 

Earlier in the season there was a lot of chatter about Arsenal’s lack of a clinical striker being the reason they won’t win the title. The reason they will go on to win the Premier League is because they have hit form in front of goal at the right time. Players like Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are playing their best ball of the season. The fact that their attack is now flowing, combined with them having the best defense in the league is a scary proposition for everyone else. 

The toughest games left for Arsenal are all away games against Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.They’ll beat one of them, draw to the other two and win the rest of their games which means they will finish the season on 90 points. 

Games against teams like this is where the Gunners will have to show that they are worthy champions. One of the last memories I have from Arsenal’s 4-1 defeat to Man City at the end of last season where the Gunners’ title hopes went up in smoke was the difference in physicality between the two teams. While Arsenal did have some key players missing that would have bridged the gap physically, Arsenal’s recruitment in the summer showed that Mikel Arteta did not want his team to be in that position again. We saw this when Arsenal beat Man City at home and in the Community Shield at the start of the season. 

Around this time last year was when Arsenal’s title campaign began to fall apart. However, I believe that Arteta’s red and white army have learned from last season and the new editions will help them get over the line this time round.

Header Photo: Arsenal’s Declan Rice, left, celebrates with Bukayo Saka after scoring the opening goal against Brentford. (Frank Augstein/The Associated Press)

Write to Mohamed Warsame at mohamed.warsame@mnsu.edu