Arsenal beat Everton but are they title contenders?

Arsenal were comfortable winners in the Barclays Asia Trophy final with goals from Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil which secured a 3-1 victory against Everton.

The most impressive part of the performance was how sharp the Arsenal players looked very early into their pre-season, so this has sparked a debate on whether they can finally mount a title challenge.

New signing Petr Cech made an impressive start to his Arsenal career with two fine saves, but is the former Chelsea goalkeeper the final piece in the puzzle to a successful league campaign?

Thierry Henry has voiced his opinion, suggesting Arsenal need 3-4 players to be able to compete with champions Chelsea and it is clear he feels the striking department needs improvement, with Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck being the only clear strikers at the club. Karim Benzema has been recently linked to the North London club and would be an ideal fit for Arsenal, which would also mean he would be reunited with former Real Madrid team mate Mesut Ozil, but the deal seems like a difficult one to complete.

Furthermore, Henry has urged his former boss, Arsene Wenger, to strengthen the midfield by adding a defensive midfielder but after a fantastic season for Francis Coquelin, and Mikel Arteta signing a new contract with the club, it is hard to see the Frenchman splashing the cash on a defensive midfield player.

In years gone by Arsenal have struggled to compete with the big spenders Manchester City and Chelsea, but times have changed. The Emirates stadium and other commercial deals have now allowed Arsenal to spend large amounts of money on world class talent such as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez who have both had a major impact on the club.

Wenger has proved his ambition is to win the league this coming season with the addition of Petr Cech, however there are still question marks over whether the current squad are good enough to challenge for the Premier League due to inconsistency in previous campaigns, but their form towards the end of last season showed signs of improvement where they managed an eight game winning streak in the league.

There’s no denying that Arsenal have technically gifted players who can play attractive football, but it’s time for them to show that they have the mental strength to go the distance and win the league.