DEC 15 — This season is proving to be a vintage edition because of its unpredictability. It’s a dream season for the neutral; a nightmare for football pundits and commentators.
Three weeks after being written off following the shattering defeat to Chelsea, Arsenal are — against all expectation — back in the race. Nothing can be written in stone this year.
Arsenal are now six points off the top with a game in hand. If they do go on to win the extra game, the Gunners would be level with Manchester United (MU), in biting distance of Chelsea, and looking to pounce on the Blues should any slip at the top occur.
That is, of course, if Arsenal can keep their momentum going.
Yes, it was only Liverpool last Sunday and many would be wondering what all the fuss is about with that win at Anfield. Well, it was a full strength Liverpool team and Rafa Benitez claimed this was a new start to the season for them. Besides, Arsenal are currently severely injury-hit and have been under-fire for all the wrong reasons.
The performance of the two teams in the second half spoke volumes about the two managers’ ability to motivate their players.
While Benitez was unable to motivate the team to hold onto to a 1-0 lead at home (obviously the Kop end is not what it used to be) and against one of the biggest clubs in England, Wenger was able to send his team out with all guns blazing for the second half,
Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas revealed Wenger was so angry that he told them “they didn’t deserve to wear the shirt”. That was enough to galvanise Arsenal into a comeback that secured a 2-1 victory to send them back to third place in the table.
Interesting fact is that under Wenger, Arsenal have only won twice at Anfield in the English Premier League (EPL). On both occasions, they have gone on to win the title.
Arsenal take on a Burnley boosted by their win at the weekend but the Clarets are formidable at Turf Moor, having lost just one league match this term.
The Gunners played Burnley twice last season, winning the FA Cup tie at Emirates while they were bundled out of the League Cup by them. This time around, Arsenal will not fall again at Turf Moor and should build on the weekend’s performance.
Once everyone has enjoyed their moment to declare the current campaign to be the most unpredictable — thus, the best in ages — the only question that remains is “Why?” Is it because the elite are not as formidable? Is it because of diminished quality in general?
Are the chasing pack closer to the top because they have moved forward or because the elite have stepped back?
The match to illustrate this is none other than MU’s home loss to Aston Villa. There was a time not so long ago when Villa never seemed to win against Big Four opposition. In fact, between 2000 and 2007 they managed just three wins against the league’s elite in almost 30 matches.
This season, they have registered victories at home to Chelsea, away to both Liverpool and MU, and will travel to the Emirates later this month striving to complete a set that — in Premier League history, at least — would be unique.
However, they have not been all that convincing. Their play against the big teams has been all about hitting them on the break with the fast players they possess.
So teams like Arsenal, Liverpool and MU who attack, can be picked off by Villa on the counter but teams like Wigan and Blackburn who are happy for a point against Villa and don’t commit themselves forward that much end up being the teams Villa can’t beat!
Tonight, Villa travel to Sunderland looking to solidify their fourth place. Sunderland are another team that seem to have done very well against the Big Four this season, defeating both Liverpool and Arsenal 1-0 at home and coming within seconds of a famous victory at Old Trafford but ending up with a respectable 2-2 draw.
Also, Sunderland have a solid record at the Stadium of Light, being unbeaten since their opening home loss to Chelsea back in August.
Despite having won just one of their last eight meetings with Aston Villa, and with the freakish results of last Saturday still fresh in my mind, I am willing to say that Steve Bruce’s lads will bring Villa down to earth with a win.
Both are in-form teams that are trying harder in their respective goals – Villa for Champions League action, Sunderland for a Europa League place. I just feel that the home advantage will eventually triumph here with Darren Bent again making his case for a place in the England side, against his rivals on the night, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey.
Also expecting a complete reversal of last Saturday’s result would be MU, who couldn’t have wished for a better game to regain momentum and level up with Chelsea, for a day at least.
They take on a resurgent Wolves, who face possibly their toughest test yet as they take on a wounded MU.
One would be surprised to know that Wolves have never won two matches in a row in the top flight since 1983 and having equalled that with their win over Spurs (following the win over Bolton the week before), they will be resigned to surrendering that “run” at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, league leaders Chelsea will be out to put behind them a four-match all-competition winless streak. They face their former manager Avram Grant’s Portsmouth.
I’m pretty sure Grant will be telling his players to play the long ball and send set-pieces into the box to expose the shaky Peter Cech. It has become apparent that Cech’s star is not so much as fading but crashing. Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for Chelsea, there is no other viable goalkeeping option available at Stamford Bridge.
It is now an open secret in the league that he is shaky and uncertain under a high ball and that weakness is the only logical explanation for why Chelsea’s team of giants – nine of their starting 11 this weekend measured over six foot – are so vulnerable to set-pieces. As of Saturday, 11 of their 13 league goals conceded were the result of a free-kick or corner.
Pompey have not beaten Chelsea in the league since Boxing Day 1957 when they triumphed 3-0. This is a must-win for the Blues, else the pressure will be heightened come January when a host of their stars leave for the African Nations Cup. I think Chelsea can win this, but narrowly.
The match of the midweek is between Spurs and Manchester City. Both teams are vying for the fourth CL qualification spot and that fact alone should make this tie interesting.
As an Arsenal supporter, I really cannot hide my disgust for these two teams, for the obvious reasons — one is the local rival, the other are just lowlifes.
Two 1-0 losses at home to Stoke City and Wolves have cost Spurs six points, which will have major impact at the end of the season as the race for Champions League positions is so much tighter.
If they don’t do the business against Man City on tomorrow, then they’ll simply just fall back into the hole where they seem to love hiding in so much. As always, full of promise but yet fail to deliver on the potential at hand.
As for City they have been largely inconsistent. The games in which Man City have gone in as underdogs, they have managed to get a favourable result. On the other hand, games which they should have won easily have resulted in dropped points and disappointments.
Mark Hughes’ side have drawn their last five fixtures on the road and last triumphed away from Eastlands in the league against Portsmouth in August. I cannot but see another draw on the cards. This result would favour Villa, and if a few red cards were to surface following a fight between players, that would put an even bigger smile on my face after such a satisfying weekend.
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