By Minal Vachheta
Some may say it is too soon to make the above statement, however I don’t think it is too soon to say that Arsenal’s title hopes are over. Only 6 games have been played in the Premier League so far but the writing is on the wall; the Gunners started the season with a difficult draw with Liverpool which is understandable as it is always a tough fixture at Anfield. They bounced back from the difficult start with three consecutive wins, two of which were comfortable and one which was again a struggle. During this time it did seem as if Arsenal were good enough to be a strong contender in the title race this season. They followed this excellent run by dropping two points against Sunderland, with nothing against Sunderland I have to say the game should have been a lot easier than it was but no Arsenal made a mess of it and they clawed back a goal in the last minutes of the game.
Yesterday’s game has been the biggest shock of the season so far, but I can safely say it is probably not the last. Arsenal were favourites to win the game, West Brom had a good midweek game but so did the Gunners. The Reds are one of the league heavyweights with a line up of top world class players, grouped with Chelsea and Manchester United and the tie at the Emirates should technically have been an easy one.
Are Arsenal going to win the league?
My honest answer to this is no they aren’t going to win the league. The competition from Chelsea and Man Utd is too strong and their teams are more developed than the Arsenal one. Every season Arsenal say they are going to fight for the league but inconsistent performances show otherwise. I know all teams have off days but the number of points that the Gunners drop is unacceptable and not something champions do.
Yes the team has major injury issues at present with Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelan, Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott injured who are major players in the attack. Cesc holds the midfield together giving it its strength. Walcott and Van Persie are extremely valuable attacking players and Walcott’s speed was definitely missing and Vermaelan is a rock in the defence and his guidance was sorely missed.
However if Arsenal want to be taken seriously in the title race they need to be able to play without injured players, they need to make sure that the players who are fit can perform instead. They cannot blame injuries because they are a part of the game and all teams get them, they also can’t rely on certain players.
What makes Chelsea and Man Utd so good? They have players to step in for their missing ones and are just as confident. They have enough players to put out two first class players at any given time.
What next?
Arsene Wenger needs to do the club a favour and bring in a new goalkeeper during the transfer window, no matter how much Almunia pledges that he is fit to be no.1 he has proved on numerous occasions that this clearly is not the case. The second and third goals were scored by West Brom because of his mistakes and bad decisions. A strong and experienced midfielder needs to be brought in to give it more definition, and stop opponents getting through. The most important thing is to get a goalkeeper and working on the consistency or Arsenal have no chance of winning any silverware.
