Opinion: Familiarity and Consistency Will Win Arsenal A Premier League Title In 2022

Success is a weird thing for Arsenal fans. Three consecutive wins against some fairly shite teams and all of a sudden we think it's 2004. However, 2022 could be the year that a big bank account and a team straight out of FIFA fall short against familiarity and a consistent brand of confident football. 

I'll be the first to admit that I never expect anything special when a red and white shirt steps on a football pitch. Luckily, a team in Manchester has filled that void nicely and allowed the Gunners to get off to their best start in recent memory. 

A solid performance that gradually got worse was enough to see off Crystal Palace in the season opener, but a new brand of confident football against Leicester and Bournemouth has sent Arsenal to the top of the table.

With 35 games still to play, most football fans would be pretty confident in saying that the only way is down for Mikel Arteta's men - and I'd tend to agree. However, this year, there is something different. 

This new Arsenal team is blooming with title-winning confidence from one end of the pitch to the other. For too long, the club have been under the illusion that fourth place counts as a successful season and that has drifted into the minds of the players like some sort of lingering fart. This year, it seems Arteta has set out with a clear intention of returning his club to the very top of the table, and not settling for distant runners-up. 

The familiarity between the players is also something that is immensely undervalued. Not only has Arteta used the transfer window wisely and brought in key figures like Zinchenko and Jesus who share a similar philosophy, but he's made sure everyone is on the same page. There's now not a single player in an Arsenal shirt that needs his ego massaged every five minutes. Cheers Barca! 

This is going to be where Arsenal shine throughout this season. The likes of Manchester City and Chelsea have made big headline-worthy signings and ended up with teams you can only create on FIFA. That's all well and good on paper, but it does get to a point where there are too many cooks in the kitchen and teams end up producing so-so results that hurt their long-term title chances. 

Furthermore, with big signings also comes big pressure. After signing Erling Haaland, there is NO excuse for Manchester City not to win every trophy going this season. On the other hand, Arsenal has made smart decisions in the transfer market (which is a nice change of pace) and built from the ground up. 

Arsenal fans have had a long painful wait for this moment, but I believe their return to the very top of the Premier League table is happening right now. 

Let the slander commence...