Are Arsenal in Danger of Getting Left Behind in the Premier League Title Race?

For more than a decade Arsenal fans have become predisposed to feeling envious about their rivals, for all the Premier League titles, glamorous signings, and overall greater sense of direction and ambition. 

But that feeling must be even more painful and acute this summer.

Glance around the Premier League, and Arsenal will see most of these rivals in the throes of an intense and exciting new relationship.

Across the capital, Chelsea are enamoured with new manager Antonio Conte, collector of titles, and so impressive with Italy at Euro 2016, who has already brought greater organisation, discipline, and a certain N’Golo Kante to the club.  

In the red half of Manchester, serial winner Jose Mourinho has been emboldened by the arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Mkhitaryan, and a burning desire to restore his reputation, while at Manchester City Pep Guardiola, winner of the last three Bundesliga titles, brings his coaching philosophy and a raft of new signings to the Etihad Stadium.

Even Liverpool, are intrigued to see what Jurgen Klopp, still a relative newcomer to the Premier League, can now achieve in what will be his first full season in charge at Anfield.

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All these clubs share the same sense of excitement, and the hope that new leadership could deliver them success this season. 

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger, once a fresh face and innovative force himself in the league, prepares for his 21st season at Arsenal.

And Arsenal fans now know exactly what to expect; some impressive wins, possibly a few months at the summit of the table, a slump when it matters most, but then a timely rally to safeguard yet another finish in the top four.

This has been the pattern of many seasons over the last decade, and so far there has been nothing to suggest it won’t happen all over again.

Arsenal are trapped in a cycle of mediocrity, and next season are in danger of being left behind in the title race.

In contrast to last summer, Arsenal have made outfield signings, Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach, and the usual Wenger low risk signings of Kelechi Nwakali from Diamond Academy and Rob Holding from Bolton.

Xhaka is an impressive signing, a technical and graceful player, capable of livening up Arsenal’s midfield, but he is not nearly enough. Arsenal need more.

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The vacuum at the heart of the Arsenal attack remains a festering problem.

A club of Arsenal’s stature and ambition should not be simply getting by and making do; they need a reliable and prolific goal scorer.

Olivier Giroud remains an enigma, at times a class act able to boast a record of 82 goals in 188 games at Arsenal, and also good enough to help take France to the final of Euro 2016.

But all too often he fails to deliver, too stiff, slow and profligate, and last season, when it mattered from January to May, he went 15 Premier League games without scoring a goal.

There have been times where Giroud does a passable impression of a player who could lead Arsenal to a Premier League title, but the truth is preserving with him now would be an act of extreme and unwarranted generosity from Wenger.

This is Arsenal. There has to be a better option than Giroud.

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For several years, that option tantalisingly appeared to be the Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who was often linked with a move to the Emirates, but that was scuppered this week when he instead he travelled the length of Italy from Napoli to Juventus. 

It cost Juventus an estimated £75 million, the third biggest transfer fee in history, to get their man, an amount that remains an anathema to Wenger, but this is now the market.

Wenger knows there is a problem up front, his pursuit of Jamie Vardy earlier in the summer proves that, but the Leicester City striker turned him down.

Maybe Vardy was a unique situation, keen to stay and enjoy Leicester’s fairy tale for at least another season, but Wenger should be concerned he failed to sign a player who was famously playing for Fleetwood Town only four years ago.

The search goes on, and according to the BBC, Lyon have rejected a bid from Arsenal for their striker Alexandre Lacazette this week, but if Arsenal are to compete for the title they have to find someone.

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Arsenal's stable of fellow attackers, including Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil is too good to see their work continue to flounder in the penalty area.

Though they finished as runners-up, Arsenal were the lowest scoring team in the top four last season, and just three or four more goals could have transformed their campaign.

At the back, the injury sustained by Per Mertesacker last week, which will keep him out for an estimated four months, suddenly makes the Arsenal defence look vulnerable, and Laurent Koscielny will also be late to pre-season after his Euro 2016 exploits. Reinforcements are now likely needed in defence as well. 

On the eve of the new season, there is a flurry of new faces, and an overwhelming sense of renewal around the league, but the task at Arsenal is rather different: to prove that the same manager won’t simply produce the same results as the last twelve years.