Arsenal title challenge is on as Unai Emery's flat-track bullies fire warning at Liverpool and Manchester City

Tony Evans8 October 2018

So it’s not a two-horse race after all. The Premier League pack have suddenly bunched going into the international break. And there, within striking distance of the top, are Arsenal.

Unai Emery’s team have crept up the table since their season-opening defeats by Manchester City and Chelsea. In August, Arsenal looked like a team adrift in the battle for the top four. A six-game winning streak in the League — nine in all competitions — has turned the Gunners into contenders.

Perhaps that’s stretching the point. It has been a relatively underwhelming 100 per cent run. Arsenal have beaten only one team from the top 10 — Watford — and in most of those matches lived dangerously for long periods. Even on Sunday, the first half of the 5-1 victory over Fulham was fairly even before Emery’s team asserted themselves. There’s a touch of the flat-track bully about Arsenal but that’s a good thing. Punishing the Premier League’s lesser lights will take you a long way.

The 0-0 draw between Liverpool and City raised smiles across London. Chelsea are excelling under Maurizio Sarri. Tottenham were expected to be among the front runners and although they have not been at their best they are eking out results.

In Pictures | Fulham vs Arsenal | 07/10/2018

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Arsenal fans will wear the biggest grins, though. Despite two defeats to big-six rivals they are right in the mix.

The fixture list has been good to Emery. The Spaniard’s determination to school his team to play out from the back might have been punished by some of the division’s better sides.

Yet there is much to like about the 46-year-old’s approach. Alexandre Lacazette is thriving. Arsene Wenger never trusted the 27-year-old but the forward has been in fine form. His partnership with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang improves with every game. Emery is deploying his striking options with much more certainty than his predecessor.

Lucas Torreira will be crucial if Arsenal’s title aspirations are real. The Uruguayan is the sort of player the club have long lacked. It has taken Torreira a while to satisfy his manager that his fitness levels are good enough to start Premier League games but the defensive midfielder makes the team significantly more solid.

The improvement of Alex Iwobi is a good sign, too. Like many Arsenal youngsters, Iwobi plateaued under Wenger. There is a new purpose and togetherness at the Emirates and in the second half against Fulham they looked coherent and incisive.

Title key: Torreira will be crucial if Arsenal are to launch a genuine challenge
PA

This may be bad news for Mesut Ozil. The German was absent with a back injury. It could be that the team are more balanced without their highest-paid and most talented player.

If it turns out that way, Emery will not shy away from the decision.

There will be painful days for Arsenal. They do not have the personnel to pass the ball out of defence the way their manager demands. Even so, the evidence of the first two months suggests that they can reclaim a top-four slot at the very least. With Chelsea playing Manchester United and Spurs hosting City before the end of the month, it is possible that the Gunners will be even closer to the top by the time Liverpool go to the Emirates in early November.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are suddenly looking over their shoulders. The title race is on and Arsenal fans can dream again. At least for now.

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