Manager Arsene Wenger has rejected doubts about Arsenal's title credentials, saying statistics back him up about the Premier League leaders on New Year's day.
Monday's comfortable 2-0 win over Bournemouth ensured the Gunners ended 2015 on top of the table, above Leicester City on goal difference.
Arsenal have ended the year on top of the Premier League table on three previous occasions in the last 14 years but they could not go on to win the title in any of those seasons.
In 2016 though Wenger believes it can be different.
"It shows you that we have a good chance as the statistics show you that eight of the past 11 years the team who was top on New Year's Day won it," he said.
"I believe that we are mature enough and that we have the required quality to fight and compete.
"You question our mentality, I don't. We have to rise above that and show that we can deal with all that and I believe we have to be guided by playing better football and being a real team in every game and show that we can be competitive.
"The most important thing is to feel, at the end of the season, that we have given absolutely everything to be successful."
He continued: "After that, if somebody has been better than us, we will accept it, but we want to fight to show that we have a chance.
"I will remind you that only one team won the league without losing a game. That is Arsenal Football Club.”
Arsenal last won the league in 2004 when the famous ‘Invincibles’ side romped to the title without losing a single game that campaign.
Wenger's men host third-from-bottom Newcastle United in the league on Saturday.
And Wenger believes the St James’ Park club should keep faith with under-fire manager Steve McClaren, above.
"I believe that we are mature enough and that we have the required quality to fight and compete."
The former England boss has struggled to achieve consistency since being appointed at in the summer and takes his side to the Emirates Stadium still stuck in the relegation zone.
The 54-year-old McClaren has already come under pressure from some quarters despite recent wins over Liverpool and Tottenham.
But Wenger, whose side will be looking to maintain top spot with a win over the Magpies, feels his counterpart deserves more time.
"He has only just joined the club," he explained.
"Newcastle is a very exciting project because it's a very big club and it's a fantastic and exciting job for a manager like Steve McClaren, but it is a long-term job.
"Newcastle has a huge potential and in six months it's impossible to transform a club of that stature into a club competing for the Premier League. Give him time.
"I know that patience is not the first quality in our society but, unfortunately to be successful, you need it."
