Wednesday 24 March 2010

Arsenal's latest revival

Sooo, Everyone is saying it's a 3 horse title race again...

To be fair, that was always the case as i'm sure it was with most Arsenal supporters. Just because (The Mighty) Chelsea dropped points suddenly everyone's in the mood to talk about the Prem trophy taking a trip to the Emirates this year. What did people expect, that Chelsea and United were going to go the rest of the season without dropping points!?

Of course United are in Pole position. Not only do they sit top of the table 2 points ahead of Arsenal, but they've been in that position before, and thy do have the experience in their team that could see them retain the title. But, like Chelsea on Sunday, i see them dropping points in this run-in. Where i don't know. Man City? Tottenham? It's a mystery, but the Premier League is becoming a division where almost anyone can steal 3 points or snatch a point from anyone if luck (& to some extent the referee) are on their side.

The return to full fitness of captain Cesc Fabregas obviously helps things enormously. The spaniard is Arsenal through and through and thats shown in his passion for the club, his determination to end the 5 year run of no trophy coming to north london. His 28 minute cameo against Villa earlier on in the season showed how much he cares.

Two other players that i think have had tremendous seasons are Alex Song and Thomas Vermaelen. The midfielder has almost become an unsung hero this season, allowing Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson, whoever it is, the freedom to cut open the opposition defence. Vermaelen is up there with the top buys this season. A young Belgian centre back that no-one has heard of has done more than just step into Kolo Toure's shoes. He's made that number 5 shirt his own. Wenger has done it again in the market and it's not just his defending that has caught the eye of everyone. Up the other end, he's scored the joint-third amount of goals in the league this season. Impressive for a centre half eh? And whose he tied with.....

Robin Van Persie, the forgotten man at Arsenal football club. Had he been fit all season, i'm sure we would be sitting pretty at the top of the league. Injured when he was in top form and one of the top scorers in the league, almost nothing could have stopped him, except for ankle ligament damage in an international friendly in November. Apparantly he's 'looking sharp' in training as he nears a return, and the run in might need a cameo appearance or two to help Arsenal's title push, the story's almost set itself up for a fairy tale ending...

One thing i also want to comment on is the Champions League draw. Waking up Friday morning hanging out of my arse after a night out and hearing that wasn't the best thing thats happened to me in my life i must admit. But why dwell in the negatives? Barcelona are a side great going forward, fair play, and it will be two very stern tests for the defence, they'll have to be disciplined and punctual and make sure our bank of four are a unit. But we do have the players to be able to be that. But going forward is where i see our success. Barcelona have never been a side known for their defending. Therefore this will allow us to play football. We will probably end up having more space than what they give you at the Brittania or the Reebok. Therefore let Alex Song sit, and let Cesc and Abou run the show. Let's just hope the right Nicklas Bendtner turns up to put them in. 2-1 at our place, then bring on the Nou Camp.

Either way, people should understand that Arsenal are more than a one-man team. Cesc Fabregas is, yes, the most influential player in the team, but with the likes of Vermaelen, Song, Diaby, Nasri, Rosicky, Arshavin all capable of something different, people should understand how much of a team we really are. Most of the goals we score are team goals.

Therefore of course a successfull season is still on, whether it be success in Europe or domestically. Or how about an unlikely double, that would shut people up...

1 comment:

  1. 'The spaniard is Arsenal through and through and thats shown in his passion for the club,' is a very brave statement and we'll see how that one pans out come August!

    Was good; flowed well, lucid, though if you were to use this blog as an online portfolio and referencing tool, I don't think 'hanging out my arse' is appropriate!

    Great stuff!

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