COMMENT: Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. They're not going to blow it are they?
Jose Mourinho and Chelsea are on their knees. Manchester City have just lost Sergio Aguero AND David Silva for a month or more. And Arsenal, themselves, showed up Manchester United as little else than over-hyped pretenders last Sunday.
This season's Premier League really is developing into Arsenal's - though really that should be Wenger's - to lose. But, unless there's a shift in the Frenchman's approach, Arsenal will again finish an also-ran in this season's title race.
It's obvious what needs to be done in January: buy a readymade defensive midfielder and a striker capable of getting 8-10 goals in the second-half of the campaign. Solve those two problems and Arsenal are champions. But will Wenger check his ego and actually do it?
The short answer, on current evidence, is 'no'. He'll take the bigger gamble, putting his ego ahead of the club's interests, by going with what he has. Wenger would love nothing more than to win the title 'his way', ignoring the advice of former players and pundits. And even if it means rejecting the absolute bleedin' obvious, Wenger, with his job for life, will be happy for January to pass without any business done - and to hell with the consequences.
You only have to consider the revelation by tribalfootball.com columnist Emanuele Gianinelli last week about Wenger's pursuit of Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid striker, to realise where all this is leading.
Wenger and Arsenal threw everything at trying to convince Benzema to leave. Fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry made contact. As did Gunners midfielder and former Real teammate Mesut Ozil. It was on a less-publicised scale, but the charm offensive would have done Real or Barcelona proud. However, there was no budging Benzema.
A good show of ambition from Wenger, right? But where was plan B? Why only Benzema? Is it really beneath Wenger to work from a list of A, B and C transfer targets - just as they do at Juventus, Atletico Madrid and even Manchester United? The answer, to the frustration of all Gooners, is 'yes'.
The only way you'll see Arsenal address these two glaring issues is if the decision is taken out of Wenger's hands. But with the lack of frontline football experience in management roles at Arsenal, this just isn't going to happen.
And this is why Arsenal will blow the title this season. They're one Francis Coquelin injury from collapse. If Alexis Sanchez or Theo Walcott break down, who will carry the attack? Olivier Giroud? Didier Deschamps, the France coach, admitted last week the striker's confidence is at rock bottom. He called him into the Les Bleus squad not on form, but out of sympathy. Deschamps conceding Giroud's selection, ahead of West Ham's Dimitri Payet, was made with the view to simply keeping his spirits up. Not exactly an endorsement of Wenger's man-management. Are you watching Wojciech Szczesny?
Or should that be David Ospina? Back in Colombia, the Gunners keeper made it clear he was unhappy bearing the blame for their Champions League failures and was now weighing up his options.
But the United result has papered over such cracks. Instead, Wenger is now talking about taking six points off Bayern Munich in their next two games. What's changed? A great 45 against United and suddenly Arsenal are on a higher level than the German champions? Ridiculous.
It'll be ground hog day. A couple of good, 'courageous' performances. But nothing close to bridging the class gap on Pep Guardiola's team.
And that'll be the same story in the league. Close. So close. But in the small details, Arsenal will fall short.
"An expert in failure", Wenger is not. But inflexible? Obstinate? Absolutely.
INJURY TIME
For Oguzhan Ozyakup, the mantra from his management team must be: 'You never go back'.
If Arsene Wengeris serious about taking the Besiktas midfielder back to Arsenal, Ozyakup must think long and hard about the prospect.
On the face of it, it's a great move. Champions League football. A title challenging team. A manager and staff who knows him. It seems ideal. But Ozyakup left the Gunners a teenager. He's done a lot of growing up since then. Transformed his game. Does he really want to go back?
At London Colney, Ozyakup was your typical Arsenal academy player. Tidy, clever on the ball with a decent pass. Another Gunners No10. But at Besiktas, particularly under Slaven Bilic, he transformed himself into a genuine, lung-busting, box-to-box midfielder. He still has all the guile and creativity of a Gunners graduate. But he'll also put his foot in. Compete. Scrap. Your typical Bilic player.
Returning to Arsenal, there's a real danger of Ozyakup being seen as he was before. He'll be typecast, sitting behind the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere. At West Ham, under Bilic, you can see him running the show - just as David Sullivan had hoped the injured Alex Song would now be doing.
In any case, the Arsenal offer may never actually arrive. Can you really see Wenger sucking it up and meeting Besiktas' £15 million valuation for a player he allowed them to have for £350,000?