Arsenal are well placed to end a 12-year wait for the Premier League by going all the way this season.

Arsene Wenger’s side have won ten of their opening 15 league games, and have suffered just the one defeat – at home to Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season.

Since then, they have beaten Chelsea and drawn with Tottenham and Manchester United in what was a 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions, yet it came to a disappointing end when they lost 2-0 at home to Southampton in the League Cup two weeks ago.

Nonetheless, Arsenal have been excellent this season and for the first time in five years won their Champions League group by just pipping French champions Paris Saint-Germain to the Group A top spot.

Their reward for winning the group is a last 16 tie against Bayern Munich, a team that have knocked the Gunners out of the competition at the same stage in two of the last four years.

Regardless, their league form has been excellent, and another victory at the weekend over Stoke temporarily sent them top of the pile, albeit Chelsea regained top spot after beating West Brom on Saturday.

In what has been a fine first four months of the campaign, which has seen Arsenal lose just two of their 24 games, we thought we’d review the Gunners’ season thus far…

PRO – Forward players in sensational form

Going forward, Arsenal have looked as lethal as any other side in the division this season.

Alexis Sanchez’s switch to the main man upfront has been a revelation both for his own form, and indeed the form of Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Sanchez has scored 11 goals already in the Premier League this season, as well as two in the Champions League, but he has also laid on five assists, and it’s his all round presence in the advanced role which helps the others.

England international Walcott is able to use his pace to get at defenders, and he has netted ten times in all competitions, already more than last season, and Ozil is able to control the play in the middle, knowing that any through ball could be latched onto by the agile Sanchez or the rapid Walcott, Iwobi, and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The latter hasn’t played as much as the rest, but he still has two goals and four assists in the league, and Iwobi netted his first league goal of the season at the weekend against Stoke, having already laid on three assists.

The Gunners are playing with so much confidence that they are getting the best out of these players, and if they continue to do that, then are going to take some stopping.

CON – Have they broken the psychological barrier?

How many times have we said in the past at Christmas that Arsenal are genuine title contenders, are playing some brilliant football, and could go on and win trophies this season?

And how many times have they actually gone to achieve what they set out to in recent years? Not many.

The concern for many is that, although they beat Chelsea comfortably back in September, the three other games against the top six sides they have played have been far from convincing.

They lost at home to Liverpool on the opening day, and then drew at home to Tottenham and away to Manchester United.

Granted, they deserve credit for getting a draw at Old Trafford, but they didn’t play well enough to stamp their authority on both of those games, and thus didn’t deserve the victories.

The same can be said of the Champions League as well, where they played twice against the other top side in the group, Paris Saint-Germain, and were second best in both games, again they deserve credit for getting draws in both.

However, does it still suggest that there is a psychological barrier to overcome? They will not get a better chance to beat United at Old Trafford than the one they had last month, but they didn’t.

They have still got to face all of the top five away from the Emirates this season, and those games will ultimately decide whether or not they can win the league come May.

PRO – Defensive solidarity

One of the biggest issues Arsenal have had in recent seasons is their defensive capabilities, yet they appear to have somewhat solved them this time around.

The purchase of Skhodran Mustafi from Valencia in the summer seems to have given the whole back four a boost, with he and Laurent Koscielny striking up quite the partnership in central defence.

Hector Bellerin has continued where he left off last season, although he has been out with injury recently, while Nacho Monreal has been solid at left-back, and Kieran Gibbs has deputised well when needed.

But it’s at centre-half where Arsenal really needed strengthening – they needed someone to slot in alongside Koscielny and solidify the backline. Mustafi has so far done just that.

It’s still early stages, but it looks like Wenger may well have a central defensive partnership to keep for many years to come.

CON – Contracts up in the air

Arguably the biggest concern for Arsenal fans at this stage of the season are the futures of Sanchez and Ozil.

Both see their contracts expire at the Emirates at the end of next season, and both have yet to agree new and improved deals in North London.

There are reports that both want significant wage increases and assurances over Arsenal’s ambition before signing on, with the money reportedly something the Gunners aren’t willing to meet.

Consequently, it could get to January and maybe even the summer without new contracts being signed, and that is going to leave both of them subject to intense speculation, as they will not be short of potential suitors.

It’s not just those two though, as Santi Cazorla’s contract is up at the end of the season, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has reportedly yet to begin discussions about a new deal, with his set to expire in the summer of 2018.

However, it’s the contracts of Ozil and Sanchez which must concern Arsenal fans, as both have proved how integral they are to the club this season.

The Gunners need to resolve both contracts as soon as possible before the interest mounts.

Player of the Season – Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal have been brilliant going forward this season, and a lot of it has come through one man.

Alexis Sanchez has been outstanding leading the line for the Gunners this season, netting 13 goals and laying on eight assists in all competitions thus far.

Five goals and three assists in his last three games is demonstrative of a man on top of his game after a slightly drier spell, but he helps make Arsenal tick in the final third, and his influence on the other forwards has already been mentioned, but cannot be understated.

If he remains fit and Arsenal remain confident, they will go far this season.