Arsenal in relegation battle
Yes, I know Arsenal have 35 games still to play and have a game in hand - RTFA and then rant 
Even pessimistic Arsenal supporters who predicted another 4th place finish this season would not have imagined the position their club has found itself in - flirting with relegation.
Defeat against Manchester United will give Arsenal their worst start in…well, in a very long time. History and stats are not always a good indicator of the future, but it’s safe to say that Arsenal are stuck in rut that has eliminated their title hopes and put their aim of qualifying for the Champions League next season in real jeopardy.
I don’t say this because I’m not an Arsenal fan - I say this because the problems facing Arsenal are far greater than a training session or proper rest to Henry could solve. Vieira’s departure, added with the Campbell, Reyes and Cole sagas of the past year have had a crippling impact on the Arsenal dressing room. Bergkamp has retired as well, and unlike United, who still have Neville, Giggs, Scholes and Solskjaer around to take leadership responsibility, the Arsenal dressing room is full of youngsters and inexperienced players who are being asked to do too much.
I have no doubt in the abilities of Rosicky, van Persie, Senderos, Toure and Fabregas to carry Arsenal in the big games. And it’s not as if you can’t win the title with kids.
But Arsenal need to have things going right for them in order to stand a chance for the Premiership title - they are struck with injuries, haven’t had a great pre-season, have morale problems and worse of all, have taken just 1 point out of two of the easiest games on their calendar (Man City and Boro).
I don’t see Arsenal winning at Old Trafford - and defeat there would really mire the side in a relegation battle (if only for a couple of games - you can’t expect Arsenal to stay in the bottom 4 for so long).
The old excuse of ‘Premiership sides defend so we can’t score’ doesn’t hold much weight anymore - contrarily, this side has been guilty of not taking advantage of scoring opportunites.
What do you think Arsene Wenger needs to do in order to turn around the team?
All the latest football headlines.
A poorly judged article which does contain a few good points.
We’re far from flirting with relegation…as you say, we’ve only played 3 games and even have games in hand on those above having only lost one game! Our neighbours have lost 3 and noone is talking about relegation for them are they?
As for morale I’ve yet to see any evidence of trouble there, on the contrary there seems to be praise and optimism amongst the players - the exception to that of course being the rantings of Cashley since he left which continues to leave a sour taste in the mouth.
As for your predictions about the game on Sunday I couldn’t agree more - though I think it will be close. More than likely a draw, possibly an odd goal defeat. As you note, our form is not actually that bad, we’re creating chances but failing to put them away. That run cannot last forever. We’re hardly leaking goals at the back either, having only conceded a goal a game (not good enough to win leagues but it is early days).
I agree primarily with two of your points: a lack of leadership and a lack of people taking responsibility in final third.
While Henry is a fantastic role model as a man and a professional, he lacks the personality and fire required of a captain on the field. I feel someone like Lehmann would be ideal in this capacity on a short term basis until Kolo can fulfill that particular role.
As for up front, to state again, you note that we’re creating chances but failing to put them away. This is down to noone taking responsibility in the final third and pulling the trigger. It’s as simple as this: you don’t shoot, you don’t score. You don’t score, you don’t win games. Rosicky showed on Weds night that we don’t have to walk the ball in the net: firing from range can be just as effective. In laymans terms we need to start making opposition goalkeepers WORK.
i think that you are right about arsenal having no chance to win the league, but lack of leaders? henry, silva, toure, ljungberg, gallas, lehmann.
injured; diaby, senderos, lauren, clichy.
also; van p, henry, toure.
left; cole, cambpell, pires, reyes, bergkamp.
thats a whole team missing!
yes utd will beat them, then everyone will make a big drama that there 13 points behind after 4 games but after that u will c a big difference, they just need some time to gel
I think arsenal are hyped up for the match, just like we were against them when they were unbeaten or chelsea last year, its going to be very tough……….
Theo! Theo!
Sherwin - agreed
ron - i doubt that henry, lehmann and ljunberg are ‘leaders’ in the dressing room. Seniority does not make you a leader (remember Ruud or Fortune?).
Sherwin -
Are you serious ? A kid who has only played 1 match and not a good one at that ?
Well Bilal,its time you accepted you were wrong about Arsenal not going to win at Old Trafford.After today’s result you should learn not to jump the gun about a team of the pedigree of Arsenal.
And just so you dont launch into any lousy explanation to the win.Let me say that we outplayed MAN U,and deserved the win.
Poor, and very poor analysis.Talking about relegation battle with just only 3 games played.
Whoops, such poor comment, not to call analysis, doesn’t need a response. Coz it’ll get stumbled by itself.