They've never had a better chance. Not since Arsene Wenger's 2018 departure. Indeed, not since well before then. With Manchester City sliding. With Liverpool team still not humming on all cylinders. This season is tailor-made for Arsenal. So close after the past two campaigns, the Gunners shouldn't be looking up at Arne Slot's Reds and Chelsea. They should be free-and-clear. If not out of sight, then at least there should be daylight between themselves and the chasing pack.
Yet instead, as we say, they're looking up. Six points behind Liverpool - and also having played a game more - it's not the stuff of doom-and-gloom. But for all the momentum garnered these past two years, Arsenal are not only underperforming, but threatening to blow this gilt-edged title chance.
"It's down to us," declared skipper Martin Odegaard in midweek, "we have to focus on ourselves and, for us, we're frustrated that we haven't won our last two league games. Whatever the other teams are doing, we can't control it, we have to look at ourselves, make sure we improve and sharpen our game in the key moments of the game."
It was a clarion call to teammates. But these stumbles aren't just about the players. They need help. An intervention. This team needs that long pursued centre-forward signing.
Ever since Dusan Vlahovic chose Juventus over Arsenal when leaving Florence two years ago, it's been clear management have known Mikel Arteta's squad is a striker short. Or better yet, a centre-forward short. A target-man. A natural goalscorer. One that Arteta's attacking midfielders can buzz around. Can hit with crosses. And can be relied upon to convert a high percentage of the chances they create.
For now, Arsenal don't have that. And it's been a mystery why after the Vlahovic setback, management have failed to bring to London Colney someone similar. Indeed, it's almost as if they've been shot-shy ever since the Serb's snub.
But that needs to end next month. Arsenal need to push the boat out. Again, it's about opportunity. Alexander Isak is on the market. They would have to pay over the odds, but Arsenal know that Newcastle United will sell in January for the right price.
The Toon are still battling the Premier League's ridiculous Profit & Sustainability rules. For any chance to refresh Eddie Howe's squad and allow Paul Mitchell to reshape the team, Newcastle need a big sale. £100-110m has been mentioned as a price that would bring the Magpies to the negotiating table - even in January. Of course, it's over-the-top. Overpriced. But as we say, just how much does this Arsenal board want it?
This is where Arsenal make that final call. Are they a top four club? Or a title challenger? Isak is ready to move. The Swede pulled out of new contract talks in October. With a deal to 2028, on the surface, Newcastle are under no pressure to sell. But the frustration of PSR and the player's desire to be a Champions League regular are factors that are opening up a pathway for Arsenal to get a deal done.
For Newcastle, they're hamstrung. Management know they need to match the ambitions of the talent on the books if they're keep them satisfied. But the only way of doing so is by sacrificing one or more to get themselves around the limits of PSR. The sale of Isak, for the price mooted, would end such a dilemma. There'd be a backlash. And it could be similar to Andrew Cole's sale to Manchester United almost 30 years ago. But something needs to give. Sitting in the bottom half of the table was never in the script for the club's Saudi owners.
So the door is open. The opportunity is there. Arsenal just need to act. They've done it before - burning off both Manchester clubs to land Declan Rice 18 months ago. This isn't the biscuit tin club of the past.
But they need to recognise the moment they're in. This isn't about building towards something. Now's the time to act. To win. Even if it's about paying over the odds. Isak can be the final piece to turn this team from pretenders to champions.
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