This is Arsenal’s 2016/17 Christmas review

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.