English Premier League – Arsenal 2011 Preview
Going into the 2010-11 season, Arsenal’s hopes were high, and they thought they had every piece necessary to win the Premiership. Unfortunately, though, they were overshadowed once again by Manchester United.
Odds to win the 2011-12 Premiership outright 8/1
The Gunners ended the season fourth overall on the table behind Man United, Chelsea and Manchester City; their second time finishing the season out of the top three in the past three years.
The team had no problem putting up goals during the 2010 campaign, scoring 72 goal-second to only champs Man U–in 38 Barclays Premier League matches. They have players up and down their roster that can score at will so the pressure to finish ahead of their fiercest rivals will be intense.
Forward Robin Van Persie led the team with 22 goals in all competitions, and managed 18 goals in just 19 league games that he started. Persie is known for having a nagging injury every year that slows his play, but he seems healthy heading into 2011, and if he can stay that way he has all the tools needed to be one of the best scorers in all the Premier League.
Marouane Chamakh, who was acquired last summer from Bordeaux, stepped up big time for the Gunners last year when filling in for Persie, becoming the teams main offensive threat and number one scorer. Chamakh had a great start to the season when filling in for the injured forward, but looked to run out of juice as the season went on, and that won’t bold well for him if he plans on making the starting XI from the get go. [ad-3678122]
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s goalkeeping is the team’s biggest issue going into the new season. The team had a double-headed conundrum in between the sticks with Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski getting 15 and 14 starts respectively. Each keeper had lackluster starts and gave up more goals than they should have, and both seemed intimidated when facing top talent teams like Man-U and Chelsea. However, they did combine for 13 clean sheets, but their wins were garnered with Arsenal’s ability to outscore their opponents.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, they don’t have a lot of options in goal, and they will need to tighten up this spot if they want to be at the top of the Premiership yet again.
Another area of concern will be keeping the Gunners starting XI healthy. The team was flooded with injuries throughout the 2010 campaign and losing their remaining stars to international play in the World Cup did not help matters.
Finally, although the Arsenal defense is probably a bit underrated by fans thanks to their soft reputation, the side allowed just 43 goals last season, god enough from fourth best in league play. They will need to keep up the same intensity if they want to chase down the top table contenders in 2011.
Matt’s Prediction:
It has been a long time since Arsenal hoisted the hardware in the Premier League, and I wouldn’t count them out to make a run this season . Nevertheless, they will need to rely heavily on their offensive attack to try to outgun the opposition; a strategy the often fails more times than not.
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