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- Nov 30, 2004
I disagree with your assessment. This is the type of game that Arsenal have had trouble with, albeit not at the Emirates. If you go back the last couple seasons Arsenal have the best record among the "Big 4" in intra-Big 4 matches. The problem Arsenal have had is losing at Stoke, or drawing at home with West Ham, things of that nature. I disagree with Wenger needing to have bought someone in the summer. If he buys a striker then, where do they play? RVP was lethal until he went down. Almunia last year was very solid, this year, well, yeah. I do however think Wenger absolutely should have bought a striker in the January window, I mean anyone knows that. Bendtner is very meh. Arsenal's problem is that one of their big guns went down. I would say RVP is 1b to Fabregas's 1a in importance to the team. I mean, where would United be if Rooney missed that much of the season? Chelsea has the depth to absorb anything like that, though losing Drogba would obviously be a big blow. At this point, its Chelsea's to lose, obviously. Unless the Terry saga continues to take a toll on squad harmony, they will win it going away. Arsenal and United will be 2nd and 3rd in some order. The season really comes down to the showdown between the 2. If Chelsea win its over, if they lose its a 3 horse race, if they draw, Arsenal are right back in the thick of it.Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
No offense but I think you're reading way too much into this win.
Today's match was the type of match Arsenal have been winning over their last 5 years. At home vs. weak teams like Sunderland are usually matches that Arsenal have no trouble winning. The problem for them is winning on the road (regardless of opponent) and beating Chelsea and Man Utd.
While Arsenal have a relatively easy schedule to finish the season, they pretty much need to win 10 of their last 11 matches to even have a shot at finishing first.
Chelsea and Man Utd have some tough matches to finish the season (including a match against each other) and they will both drop points but one of them (likely Chelsea) will finish with 80+ pts. Arsenal have 55 pts now with 11 matches to go, so they'll need to win A MINIMUM of 9 matches just to finish in the 82+ point range that is needed to win the league. Arsenal have not shown that kind of consistency since 2004 and with so many holes on the team, I find it extremely hard to accept that this team are title contenders. 2nd place is definitely up for grabs though (I'm sure Wenger would have little difficulty putting a positive spin on a 2nd place finish)
What irks me is that compared to the last few years, we knew that the EPL title would be a wide open race this season for various reasons (Liverpool looked good last year, Man City spending $$$, coaching instability at Chelsea and the transfer ban that has since been lifted, as well as Man Utd. selling their best player). Unfortunately though, Wenger did not really improve a team that was just 2-3 players away from actually being serious contenders.
Honestly Arsenal have a good shot at advancing in the CL A 1-0 win would do it, but Im just being pessimistic so that if they do win, I'll be happy. I said after they GET, not GOT.
