Are Arsenal out of the title race?
If you're not breaking teams down, use your head
One point against Sunderland is a lot better than no points against Sunderland, but a 1-1 draw was not the result Arsenal fans would have been looking for against the Black Cats, particularly given their slip-ups already this season. The result means that they will probably have slipped out of the European places by the conclusion of Sunday’s action.
Mathematically, of course, they can still win the title. We are only seven games into the season and there is a long way to go. But when you consider that Arsenal have lost two games (very nearly three) already this season and drawn one, it is difficult to see how they will be able to mount a title challenge.
Each time the Gunners bounce back from their latest disappointing result you think they have learnt their lesson, but on current form the next mini-disaster is never too far away. Defeat against Hull really should have been the kick up the Arsenal they needed. If it wasn’t for Cesc Fabregas header - surely the greatest indication that the kind of football you think you are playing is not working - Arsenal would have recorded another defeat yesterday. It was BBC commentator Jonathan Peace who quite rightly pointed out that the Gunners showed more urgency in the five minutes they were behind than in the other 80 minutes of the match put together. And therein lies Arsene Wenger’s problem.
His side know they are good. They know he is an astute manager who has collected some very technically gifted players and has a record of doing so. The current crop want to be Arsenal’s new Invincibles. The Invicibles were often frustrating - they could have probably scored double the amount of goals they did if they had not been so eager to walk the ball into the net and score the perfect team goal every time. They played with such a swagger and at such a tempo that opposition sides could not cope with them (and they also had Thierry Henry who would always pop up with a goal).
In trying to replicate this swagger, Arsenal’s current side have created an inherent lethargy. Why force a chance now when we have another 40 minutes to score a goal? The confidence is undermining the good work they do against so many sides. They are giving themselves far too much to do in the latter stages of the season with the constant slip-ups. Manchester United and Chelsea will not need asking a second time to open up a gap over the Gunners.
The only blessing for Wenger and Arsenal fans alike is that it looked like the penny might have dropped when Grant Leadbitter’s shot hit the back of the net yesterday.
No. At the end of today the maximum they can be behind the leaders is 4 points, 4 points isn’t a title ending gap.
I am very surprised at the lack of hunger among senior players like Gallas, Toure and Ade. They did not appear overly disturbed as the clock ran down. I think the title is gone as the players do not believe they can win it.
I think that there is a far too much emphasis placed on losses. Yes 1 point is better than 0 points, but it’s nowhere near as good as 3. Even as an Arsenal fan, the “Invincibles” was an overrated accomplishment. Both fallible Chelsea title teams had more points (including the 05-06 team which lost five times).
wait till they have injuries and we might see how they are going to cope.
No team has ever won the league in October and equally so no team has ever lost it in October. If Man U draw their game in hand they will be on less points than Arsenal - if that happens, will their title hopes be over? I dont think so. On current form, does that mean Hull will win the title? who knows. Perhaps you should wait until March before you start writing these headlines.
arsenal are not out of race theo`s ball was in fabregas is arsenal`s team king .we will be invicible .we have one big problem we have no confidence.wenger will stop the rot
What a silly headline! How can a team be out of the title race at the beginning of October? It is early days yet, whilst I agree Arsenal cannot keep dropping points to the so called lower teams and will have much stiffer challenges to come, it is far from over. All the top 4 team drop points over the course of the season in games they should win and I believe that, as in the last 4-5 seasons, the title will be decided by who gets the most points out of the top 4 mini-league.
Undoubtedly Arsenal’s challenge is over.It ended at midnight on Sep 1st when we didn’t buy a central midfield player. Yes, the table doesn’t look desperate yet but there are 2 facts that can’t be ignored :
a) - we haven’t played a single team who have a hope of finishing in the top 6 so we should have a lot more than 13 points &
b) - we just obviously don’t have a partner for Cesc who’s good enough for us to maintain a title challenge.
We had 2 seasons post-Vieira where it was obvious ths early in the campaign that we wouldn’t challenge. Last season thankfully Flamini stepped up & because of that we came close. (and with a bit more luck would have been champions)
It’s outrageous of people to say Wenger should go but it’s also outrageous of the Arsene Knows Best brigade to bury their heads in the sand & say ‘it’s early yet,keep the faith’. He has made a terrible error in not buying a partner for Cesc & as a result - even with ony 7 games gone - we simply haven’t a prayer of competing with Chelsea or Utd.In terms of the league title this season is over.
Sadly, it’s becoming clear that with the squad we’ve got we were never in the title race. We will weather the financial crisis far better than we handle the campaign. The epl is far too competitive to reward the inexperience, inconsistency and complacency of our current side.
Not yet. But we keep going like this & by December we’ll only be competing for the Carling Cup…
although arsenal need to work on consistancy ,far to early to wright off anyone,i feel wenger should play vela a few more chances becuase rvp and ade is to lack sharpness at times and look at bit more consistant,all round arsenal defended very well and song protected the defence very well, i feel atht so afr delinson is looking very good but in this game arsenal looked to be more defensive. i feel people are forgetting that arsenal still have risisky,edwardo,diaby and aurmury doown anre coping very well sso feel that arsenal just need to more consistant but the quality of term is there in amondence, its a mith that arsenal cant handle the injuries. i feel if arsenal acan in contension by jan by which time arsenal can get another midfielder plus the addition of adwardo,risisky and diaby arsenal have very strong chance of winning the title. far to early write any one off.
I agree with the article on most fronts(very rarely that happens on a rob parker one). We have always been a bit lethargic during certain times. Flamini made a change to that last season. Another thing is why Wenger chooses to field the same side with the same formation for all the games. I would love to see Walcott play in front with Bendtner with Vela on the wing and Ramsey in the centre. Wenger is a brilliant manager but one thing he flatly refuses to do is field an adventurous formation.
As for injuries, we are still operating with Rosicky, Diaby and Eduardo out. Looks like we can cope after all. But we havent played any good side till now. And Wenger please get Traore back…………
the only reason why everyone seems to be ranting about the arsenal slip is because they have got the potential to win it. Although they have a manager who is b.s. for now, in terms of giving his team that needed quality and experience they currently lack, especially in the defence, the midfield and the attack. look at spurs they are the ones that people should be writing off already after 7 games. they have not even shown the potential of a mid table club yet, at the rate they are going they will relegated by february. arsene is just an arrogant son of a bitch who thinks he’s got all the answers, if he ends up without any trophy yet again this season i think, he will have ignited the begining of his own exit.
wenger is taking the patience of the board and the fans for granted, u have been given money and u are not spending it, especially when it is obvious ur team needs strengthening. u are only calling for trouble and it will come. the patience of the board and the fans is getting thinner and thinner by the season, and it will soon run out. can any one imagine, scolari, ferguson or rafa going 4 seasons without a trophy? they will have been sacked by now.
Relax man duduabego. Long before any of the title dreams, it was Wenger who got us there. And looking at our debt, its doubtful whether Rafa, Scolari or Ferguson would choose to operate on such a budget. Regardless of what our owners say, we are still in debt. One average performance doesnt change anything. A small helping of luck (for eg, Man U’s penalty vs Bolton last week) we could have won it. And its still early days………..
I agree with ignadirshah the season is young, we have had a lot of luck, Arsenal just need that kind of luck and as soon as they string a couple of wins in a row together they will be back on track.
You need luck to win titles Arsenal haven’t had it yet.
Its a tacticle thinking that is letting Wenger down
Maybe he needs another number 2 or something
Its been there for everyone to see we cant keep playing down the middle when teams play with 10 men behind the ball it needs a wonder pass or defensive mistake more teams will be doing this we need to get wide and cross the ball from the line just like yesterdays wrongly dissalowed goal but what does wenger do after that withdraw Theo ??? does that make sense? we have the players we have the skill but do we have a manager who has lost it and being out thought?
TO duduabego: you are being harsh there. On another blog, an elderly LFC fan was ranting that before Wenger, Arsenal was the ‘ boring, boring’ side-not Chelsea. That man transformed decades-old ideologies @ arsenal, revamped the youth system, n won the premiership in this second year in charge… I think you should be grateful…Even if he’s given money, he may think that some players r not good value 4 money or that they will disrupt the team spirit… remember also that it was not very certain that flamini would leave n maybe wenger did not have time 2 get a replacement- what defensive mildfielder do you recommend him anyway? arsenal r still in a shout 4 the league… at least mathematically, if not mentally.Perhaps, there’s a little overconfidence? Anyway, wenger has not yet committed errors, the like of Houiller: he chose diouf ahead of eto’o, was outbid by a mere 2 MILLIONS 4 c.ronaldo, decided 2 sold robbie fowler when @ his peak…(have 2 admit parry was involved as well).well, decide 4 urself
Arsenal are definitely out! Playing like that thay wouldn’t even secure a place in CL next year. Them blaiming Keane for defencive tactics? Thats tactics, and Keane beat Wenger way to easily there. Wenger has only himself to blame as he uses wrong players in wrong positions and then blames the opposition for not letting Arsenal play like they want, ridiculous! Arsenal lost to two of the weakest teams, Hull and Fulham, now they can’t beat Sunderland? No games wagainst the big boys yet, and alredy lost 7 points. Last year Arsenal lost only 3 games and windend up in 4th. This year they lost 2 in 6 games, does anyone even imagine Arsenal going to be unbeaten for 30 games? HAHA. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an Arsenal fan, but seeing the team fail to score against Hull and Fulham is sickening and It’s embarrasing! Wenger needs to change things or he will see stars like Cesc leave for a team that is going to play in CL next year
When you have Chelsea, that loses only 2-3 matches per year, Arsenal already dropping two is a huge deal. They are not out of it, but if they drop another early one of two, they will struggle to make up points a Chelsea picks up 1 or three every weekend.
What a silly headline. Of course the Gunners are not out of it. There’s still a lot of football to be played, players to come back from injury, and adjustments to be made. Chelsea will struggle at times this year and Liverpool and United will as well, plus the head to head matchups will offer chances for swings.
It’s definitely a concern that the Arsenal have struggled against minnows like Fulham and Hull City, but there’s still time to get it right. Some defensive adjustments will help but they really have got to bang in the goals against the lesser opposition. Sunderland should never be able to hold Arsenal to an injury-time goal, even in the Stadium of Light. If it means bringing on some younger, perhaps hungrier players for games against lesser opposition, then I hope Arsene will do it.
i am not bein harsh i am only stating the obvious, i am not saying that arsenal are out of the league race yet either. i am only stating the possibility of arsene testing the patience of the board and the fans with constant experiment. how long is it gonna take for the fans to loose patience, i may be wrong but a couple of this kind of slips by the gooners, will see them implode as we saw last season and then they can kiss the premiership goodbye for another season. and if they are lucky they win the carling cup or the f.a. cup. for now they still in the race, why do i even care that is the problem of all gooner fans. for me its another liverpool win and we are coasting. early days but so far so good.
Many Arsenal fans are realistic on this. I have to agree with DP, Arsenal’s title chances were gone before a ball was kicked as Wenger kept his 30m in his back pocket.
It’s not a question of individual results to date….it’s about the bigger picture. When compared to Utd and Chelsea, Arsenal just lack the quality and the depth to challenge. The longer Wenger refuses to spend and lets things drift the bigger the gap becomes.
I actually think Arsenal may come under pressure for 4th place this season.
Yo bdcondell they have been under pressure for 4th place for the last 3 seasons and have even threatened to finish 5th………….