Arsenal have been fighting with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table since the start of the 2022/23 campaign. The Gunners have lost just three games this season, winning 17 of their 23 matches so far as the pressure continues to build heading towards the run-in.
Mikel Arteta's side are set to face Leicester City this afternoon ahead of their game in hand against Everton on Wednesday, March 1. By this time next week, Arsenal could be five points clear at the top of the table but Arteta knows his side need to go on a winning run to keep City at arms length.
Thomas Partey could be set to return to the matchday squad after missing the last two matches with a muscle injury. Gabriel Jesus has been absent since the World Cup but Eddie Nketiah has proven to be a capable deputy, helping keep Arsenal at the top of the table.
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It has been a remarkable season for the Gunners as they continue to overcome each obstacle thrown their way. Last-gasp winners, vital away wins and coming from behind; Arteta's men have proven they can do it all this term - highlighted by the win against Aston Villa last weekend.
Many people, including Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero, felt that injuries to key players could derail Arsenal's title challenge given their lack of squad depth compared to City. With the World Cup taking place in the middle of the season, that also threatened to hamper the Gunners' chances of a first title since 2004 and the injury to Jesus thought it would see Arsenal struggle to score goals in the second half of the season.
The Argentine ace discussed the first half of Arsenal's season back in October and stopped short of claiming he thinks the Gunners can go all the way because of the impact the World Cup might have on them. "We're on the first stage of a Premier League that will be different from many others – by and large because we'll have a World Cup in the middle of it," Aguero said.
"That makes it harder to foresee how it'll turn out. Consistency is the name of the game to win the title and the missing piece is knowing in what condition each player will rejoin their clubs after the World Cup.
"Arsenal will probably be one of those teams but surely not the only one."
Yet, two months later, Arsenal are well back into the swing of things after the World Cup and they still sit top. Nketiah is now the club's top scorer in all competitions this term, while his league tally sits just one shy of Jesus' total.
It shows that the culture Arteta has helped implement at Arsenal is working well given Nketiah's impressive displays despite hardly getting a game whilst Jesus was fit and firing. The Brazilian striker is set to return to action in March but could find it hard to force his way back into the team.
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