Does Arsenal’s identical record to last season show signs of stagnation at the Emirates?

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Arsenal’s tenacity to come back twice after going behind against Manchester City to draw on Sunday means that, after 28 games of the Premier League campaign, the Gunners have exactly the same points tally of 51 as last season. Not only this, but they have an identical record; fifteen victories, six draws and seven losses.

The Gunners are running parallel with their efforts of last year, despite being two places worse off in the English top flight table.

So does this show that the Premier League has become more competitive, or that Arsene Wenger’s side have simply stagnated in their progress over the past twelve months?

In all honesty, it’s a combination of both.

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea have been an unstoppable force since the beginning of October whilst London rivals Tottenham have shown no signs stopping their relentless chase of the Blues.

Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United have all been consistently inconsistent; all three could be challenging for the title if it hadn’t been for frustrating results against bottom-half sides.

It’s been one of the most competitive battles for positions in the top four in recent memory, and will undoubtedly go down to the final few games of the season – but will Arsenal be able to keep up?

With the club in its current state, it’s got to be said that it’s unlikely that they will.

It’s been a running joke for a while now that Arsenal start a season strong, reach the Champions League knock-out stage, draw a big side (generally Bayern Munich) and then watch their season unravel across February and March, just about managing to claw themselves back into the top-four with a late run.

This just shows that Arsenal have in fact stagnated as a club; their ambitions and aims each season haven’t changed for years, and it almost seems like gaining a top four spot means a big success.

One of Arsenal’s biggest issues, and a huge motive behind the ‘Wenger Out’ movement, has been their inability to attract the world’s biggest names and biggest stars to the Emirates Stadium.

Whilst Manchester United signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, City signed Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and John Stones and Chelsea re-signed David Luiz, Arsenal’s marquee arrival was Granit Xhaka.

This summer arrival of Xhaka – highly-rated at the time – has done nothing to improve the squad, and the exit of Jack Wilshere on-loan and injury to Aaron Ramsey has meant that Francis Coquelin has been Arsenal’s first-choice main defensive midfielder; a player devoid of the quality that Arsenal need.

Mesut Ozil hasn’t had the best season either by his standards, struggling with injury at times, and this has left Alexis Sanchez as the only real world-class player in the Gunners’ squad.

His quality has stood head and shoulders above everyone else this season, being involved in just under 50% of Arsenal’s goals (27), top-scoring with 18, and has been the sole reason as to why Wenger’s side are just about holding on to the coattails of Manchester City in fourth place in the Premier League.

The Chilean’s frustrations have been clear to see all season, mirroring the emotions and anger that Arsenal supporters worldwide have been feeling during uncertain times for their beloved team.

Four losses in five Premier League matches prior to Sunday’s battling draw against Manchester City have left the Gunners completely shot of confidence and any sense of morale in the dressing room. Each performance looks full of nerves, with the players carrying an immense amount of pressure on their shoulders to deliver, and this has been visible to see in some dismal displays since the start of January.

With the vultures circling over Wenger following another humiliating Champions League exit and a struggle to make the top four, and the ‘Wenger Out’ initiative seemingly gaining more momentum by the week, there’s been far more to deal with at the Emirates this season that just football.

Consider this, along with the Alexis Sanchez transfer debacle that seems to have been running all season, and it begins to look surprising that Arsenal are still challenging at this stage of the season.

Yet a club with the history and stature of the Emirates outfit need to have Champions League football to function – without this, there’s even less chance of attracting the big names in the summer window.

Wenger’s inability to splash the cash and invest in his squad in recent years has made Arsenal stop progressing, and too often have they supposedly ‘nearly’ signed top quality stars; all in all, it could be this that has put the final nail in his coffin as manager of the club, and could lead to a summer exit.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Duarte Vinagre.