Gunners well-poised to overcome November jinx

If Arsenal are to win the English Premier League this season, they will need to negotiate a tough November to prove their credentials.

They face an important trip to Old Trafford to take on defending champions Manchester United on Nov 10. That tie is sandwiched between visits from in-form Liverpool and Southampton.

As if those matches are not daunting enough, the Gunners also have tricky Champions League ties against Borussia Dortmund (away) and Marseille (home) to deal with.

Nevertheless, the time has come for Arsenal to step up and show that they mean business, and I firmly believe they can do it this year - despite November being a bad month for the North London side in recent years.

From 2008 to 2012, Arsenal bagged only 28 EPL points from a possible 66 - a meagre 42 per cent success rate - in November.

Furthermore, Arsene Wenger's recent sides have had a tendency to implode when the going gets tough.

In 2011, they were chasing an unprecedented Quadruple - league, two domestic Cups and the Champions League - but came up empty-handed as they crashed out of the three Cup competitions in three torrid weeks.

Still, there are signs that the current team can make a difference.

In Mesut Oezil, they have someone who can produce a moment of magic to win matches - something they have lacked since the Invincibles era.

In addition, Wenger's faith in the British core of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is finally paying off.

They have grown together over the years and are coming into form now.

Mathieu Flamini has also given the team more balance. Finally, there is someone who does the dirty work of protecting the backline and covering the whole pitch, in the process liberating the attacking players.

Crucially, the Gunners did not lose any key players over the summer.

Wenger has kept the core of the team, and also got rid of the deadwood while adding quality players.

With Oezil, Ramsey and the free-scoring Olivier Giroud creating and plundering goals, I think Arsenal are well-poised to overcome their November jinx and emerge relatively unscathed.

In fact, I can see them remaining top until Christmas when the leaders traditionally go on to win the league.

stsports@sph.com.sg

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