We are currently in the middle of the following season in the Premier League. If you are a fan, then you know how interesting it is to watch every gameweek in a season 22/23. There are many surprises, both positive and negative ones. When it comes to things that no one expected, that is surely related to the bottom of the table, with teams like Southampton, Everton, Wolves, and West Ham. All of these teams were in the first half in previous years, with certain ups and downs, but never in a struggle to be at the bottom.
Still, most people will talk about the positive surprise, which surely is related to Arsenal, who has held the first spot for a long time. Before the start of the season, many people thought it would be an easy title for City, and Liverpool might be the only serious opponent. However, Liverpool is also struggling, and it is questionable whether they will reach any European competition, while Arsenal is 5 points ahead of City in the first position. The interesting fact is that even though Arsenal has been holding the first spot for a long time, the odds were on the side of the City for most of that time, and they only recently changed. If you want to check the latest odds on PL football, check out Asianbookie Bandar Bola.
If you decide to bet on Arsenal at this point, you will get around 1.8 x the investment, while that number for City is slightly over 2. Another interesting fact is that the odds for next favorite to win the league, Manchester United, are over 50 in most cases. It seems like this is finally a year where Arsenal will manage to keep it to the end and win the league after a long time. Here are the main reasons why they are the best team at the moment.
1. Great Form and Flexibility
Source: arsenal.com
When it comes to the starting line-up, Arteta is not making a lot of changes for each round. We got used to the line behind the attacker, Saka, Odegaard, and Martinelli. This trip is amazing, with 22 goals and 14 assists only from them. The important detail is how they are achieving to focus on a team play all the time, and resolve games, even when one of them is not at its best at the moment. For example, we can see a slightly weaker form from Martinelli in a couple of latest games, where he did not manage to provide either a goal of assist, but he is still making a huge impact on the field, while his team mates Odegaard and Saka or scoring more often. On the other side, the start of the season was not the same, and we could see Martinelli as the one involved in most goals. Therefore, things could change over the season, but the point is that having a bad day, less luck, or anything else won’t be an excuse for this trio.
Furthermore, there is a strong line behind them, with midfielders Xhaka and Thomas, who have decent replacement on the bench, such as Fabio Vieira, or Elneny. The defense is finally in shape, and it was a serious issue for Arsenal for many years in the past. Saliba and Gabriel are managing to control the game from the defense, while there is an excellent support on the side-becks positions as well. Players like Zinchenko, Ben White, Saliba, Tirney, Cedric, are all strong in defense, but what is even more important, starting actions and getting involved in goals is not strange for them.
2. They Are Finally Dealing With Injuries
Source: arsenal.com
This is not the first time where Arsenal was holding the first place for most of the season. However, it might be the one where it will finally manage to keep it to the end. The main issue for them was related to injuries of key players, and that was usually happening around the half of the season, when they drop in form, and then struggle to remain in the top 4 at the end.
This season is different, and the main proof of that is that they are coping with inured players without any problem. For example, Gabriel Jesus already missed a lot of games, but that did not affect them significantly, and his replacement, Nketiah, proved that he can play high-quality football. He even scored twice against Manchester United.
One of the players that was standard during previous season Emil Smith-Rowe, is now recovering from an injury, which means that Martinelli will get a support. This is very important in case of fatigue or drop in form. All positions are covered by decent replacement on the bench, which was not the case for Arsenal for a very long time.
3. They Are Not Under Pressure
Source: sportsnet.ca
We can easily say that they are showing the best performances in the league at the moment, and it is a joy to watch their games. One of the reasons for that might be the fact that they are not under pressure. Also, they are not competing in the Champions League, which means that they can focus solely on winning the title. That is not the case with City, who will face a difficult time once when the CL continue in February.
The difference of 5 points might not seem too big, but Arsenal has one game less, which means that the advantage can be 8 points if they win. The double gameweek that Arsenal will face in the round 23 will round-up the season for that, since they will face City for the first time this season. They are playing at home, and we are expecting an amazing game.
Last Words
There are many games to be played by the end, which means a lot of potential points for all teams. While it is still too early to make easy predictions, there is a great chance to see Arsenal as a winner at the end. It depends on City as well. They will play two games by the end, which means that 6 points is in play, and that is a difference that will bring City to the top if they win. However, that won’t be an easy task against Arsenal with this form.
Standings provided by Sofascore
