Arsenal Make Things Exciting

So, without Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal finally defeat Manchester United, for the first time in the season. But, it was a hollow victory, atleast for the Arsenal fans. A few weeks ago, it looked like this match would be a title decider. Instead, it's a stumbling block for the Red Devils. But, it has opened the title race wide open. Chelsea, who in the winter looked completely out of the race, now has a wonderful chance to retain the league title next week, with the Blues visiting Old Trafford in a Clash of the Giants.  But then again, a lot has happened, so.... can Arsenal still win the title? Let's see.

Well, let's start with Chelsea. About 4 months ago, they were down and out. They were defeated at the Emirates by Arsenal, who at the time were arguably the strongest team in England, and people counted them out only half way through the season. Now, thanks to Arsenal's terrible recent form, they're in second, and only 3 points behind the Red Devils. But on Saturday, they were lucky to get their crucial three points against Tottenham, with the first goal never fully crossing the line, and the second being scored by Kalou from an offside position. I hate to say it (as an Arsenal fan), but I feel sympathy for the Spurs. They could have been a major changing force in the title race, but thanks to terrible refereeing, they're now behind Liverpool, who jumped up to 5th place. 

 

 

Now, on to Arsenal. Oh, the Gunners. How sad of a collapse. Despite all of their draws, they were still fully in the race until their loss to Bolton. Let me say that again, BOLTON. But with this win, can they be the dark horse in the race? In a word, yes. They don't play up to their full potential when under pressure, but now that people don't take them seriously in the race, they play freely. And the Gunners showed what they could do with that freedom, defeating Man United despite being robbed of a penalty. Chelsea and Manchester United play next weekend, and if Manchester loses while Arsenal beat Stoke City, the table will read Chelsea-73, Man Utd -73, Arsenal-70. Yes, I am being very optimistic. But why not? The 2010-2011 Premier League season has been absolutely insane, meaning anything can happen. Anything.

Premier League Title Race: Oh, It's ON!

Well, the last few days have been quite eventful in terms of the Premier League title race. On Saturday, Chelsea comfortably defeated West Brom with a score of 1-3, and in doing so, made the gap to Arsenal only 2 points. But, the Gunners, instead of being inspired by Chelsea's closeness in the table, only managed a home draw against Liverpool on Sunday. Arsenal's attack was slow, sluggish, and was actually very predictable. The wingers, Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri, couldn't even create many chances because they couldn't get past Liverpool's fullbacks, who were both from the reserves. Then, the magical moment. Arsenal got a penalty, and Robin Van Persie coolly put it in the bottom corner, thinking that he secured the 3 points. But, at the other end, Eboue had other ideas. He fouled Lucas, who wasn't even threatening Arsenal's goal, and gave the Reds a penalty. Dirk Kuyt put it away, and also basically put Arsenal's title hopes away for another season. 

So, it looked like today, Manchester United would finish off any chance for Arsenal to come back and cause a huge upset in the title race. But, Tim Krul, the Magpies' number one, had other ideas. Putting in a Man of the Match performance, he kept the Red Devils at bay and earned Newcastle a 0-0 draw. Because of Man United's naive performance, the gap is now 7 points, but Arsenal have a game in hand. Will this be an impetus for the Gunners? Will they now play the wonderful, attacking, and clinical football that they showed earlier in the season? Time will only tell. I think that players like Jack Wilshere and Robin Van Persie will play their heart out during Wednesday's game against the Spurs. It won't be easy, with Gareth Bale and Rafael Van Der Vaart constantly threatening to score. 

With 5 rounds to go, Manchester United still has to play Arsenal at the Emirates and both Everton and Chelsea at home. Compare this to Arsenal's fixture list, with tomorrow's game against Tottenham and the game against the Red Devils being the matches where Arsenal could truly lose points. But who knows? There can be many, many surprises to come until the last match of the season. Both teams could potentially drop points, and of course, no one should truly rule out Chelsea.

Haha. Just kidding. Those chavs are out of it.