They probably wouldn't be unhappy with
a point out of this fixture.
However, their sheer existence as a top - flight outfit has suddenly come under immediate threat and they face another uphill task squeezing
points out of this fixture with an Aston Villa side who have shown mass amounts of improvement of late.
Not exact matches
When the
fixture list came
out, I thought we needed to be five
points ahead heading into the last three games
of the season if there were a chance for us to win the title exactly because
of the games like this.
Four
out of those five
fixtures, I can definitely see us dropping
points.
I concede that the Premier league is the most competive professional league in world football and every team loses a game or two they shouldnt (especially on the road) but unfortunately when you only able to secure 7
out of 24 available
points against Manure / Shitty / Spuds / Cheshit you CANT drop
points in such
fixtures.
And despite the next run
of fixtures between now and then all looking winable I predict maybe 9
points out of possible 18 on current form before we face city.
The
fixture represents a clash
of the top two, with both sides having picked up six
points out of six from their opening two games — although PSV head the table with a goal difference
of +7 compared to Ajax's +5.
One person who agrees that Campbell is a top talent, is former Gunner and current Sporting Lisbon coach Luis Boa Morte, who after the Arsenal Legends
fixture on Saturday, was keen to
point out his praises
of Joel Campbell.
The recent
fixture at West Ham was a perfect case in
point; the quality
of football was superb when we raced into a 2 - 0 lead, but our intent on attacking to add a third and fourth, plus an element
of poor understanding to not realise that West Ham were trying to find Andy Carroll with early crosses into the box from
out wide, ultimately led to our downfall.
Although the game is a dead rubber, Wenger has made it clear that he will still be playing his experienced reserves to give them a little more match fitness ahead
of our congested
fixture list in the rest
of this month, so it is certain that our front line will consist
of Wilshere, Walcott and Giroud again, although I expect Welbeck to be given a run
out as well at some
point.
We appear to be prioritising our Premier League
fixtures over the away matches in the Europa, and while winning all our home matches should put us comfortably through to the next stage, our fringe players will not be going
out tonight without the intention
of three
points.
As Wenger
pointed out in his post match comments on the Arsenal website, we have a better
fixture schedule between now and the end
of the season than the spuds.
United's failure to find the next on multiple occasions in a game has been somewhat
of a flaw for the Red Devils this season, with games against Huddersfield and Stoke standing
out as being two
fixtures which the Red Devils really should've come away with all three
points from.
The Arrogance frome some fans after a win is mind boggling, have we forgot stoke away, saints Chelsea 3
points from 12??? Have the toughest away
fixtures out of anyone??
And, even to win those enviable 24
points from a possible 33 in the next 11
fixtures, Arsenal would have to play
out of their skins to keep them within touching distance
of 3rd or 4th spots in the Premier League.
We all expected Che to drop some
points over these next
fixtures but the problem is that we get those same
fixtures at a later date, so we need to be making the very best
out of the nicer
fixtures.
We will need four more
points than our rivals from the upcoming pair
of fixtures due to their dominant goal difference, but I wouldn't be paying
out any
of my Tottenham pals just yet...
And Hughes is lucky that the
fixture list gets a little calmer from this
point on: Eight
of their next nine games come against teams outside the top eight, and the odd one
out there is Manchester United, who are having their own crisis.
Arsenal, for all the struggles they have endured in the Premier League so far, have done well to pick up 6
points out of 6 in their last two Champions League
fixtures against Galatasaray and Anderlecht.
The midweek round
of fixtures worked
out well for Arsenal with City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton all dropping
points, but Walcott, who was made captain in the absence
of Laurent Koscielny, claimed they are not looking at the table despite having just nine games to play.
In our reverse
fixture against them — also back in October — they won 1 - 0 at Second Meadow, although I'm fairly confident that our recent run that has seen us amass 41
points out of a possible 48, means it won't have escaped their notice that the Biggleswade United side they will be facing tomorrow will be a different proposition to the one they encountered last year.
Sunderland currently sit it fifteenth position with a four
point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone however with the Wearside club having not won any
of their last five Premier League
outings it is difficult to see them gaining anything from tomorrows
fixture against as Joe Hart described them, the «killing machine» that is the 2012 - 2013 Manchester United side.
It was a timely boost for the visitors, who had taken just one
point from their three previous
fixtures to slip
out of the top two, but they still have their destiny in their own hands as the season heads...
The Clarets have done remarkably well in the top flight his season, with eight
points from five games and five
of those
points have come
out on the road in
fixtures against Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool.
Perhaps we're clutching at straws somewhat, as Chelsea dropping
points in this
fixtures does look extremely unlikely, but in football anything is possible and if West Brom can interrupt the flow
of play, get right in their faces and give them something to think about with some snappy breaks
out of defence then who knows.
However a home
fixture against newly promoted Palace will be a game every United fan will expect to come
out of with all three
points.
At the start
of the year, sitting with an enormous eleven
point lead this
fixture was never considered a crucial one; instead it felt like a
fixture when the last opposition will move
out of way to Barca's La Liga triumph.
Even so, West Ham have only come away from the away
fixture with all the
points on twelve
out of fifty three attempts.
Of the two, however, it is Blackburn who enter into this fixture with the greater deal of form having earned a creditable point at home to Chelsea in their last outing, while Rovers haven't lost a home fixture in 201
Of the two, however, it is Blackburn who enter into this
fixture with the greater deal
of form having earned a creditable point at home to Chelsea in their last outing, while Rovers haven't lost a home fixture in 201
of form having earned a creditable
point at home to Chelsea in their last
outing, while Rovers haven't lost a home
fixture in 2010.
Three goals in each
of their last two games has propelled Wolves up the table,
out of the relegation places before Sunday's
fixtures burst into life, and with the team scoring goals a plenty — Steven Fletcher especially — I'm willing to take my chances on the hosts, who know a
point may not be enough whereas for Blackburn a draw should suffice.
West Brom are set to again be without loan star Daniel Sturridge and midfield pair Nacer Chadli and James Morrison KEY FACT: This is the most - played
fixture in PL history without a home win MATCH ODDS: WBA 15/8 Draw 11/5 Leicester 6/4 bet365 Pick: Leicester to win @ 6/4 ANDY SAYS: I just don't see how my old mate Alan Pardew gets
out of this, away win... 0 - 2 GRAEME SAYS: Leicester are a very good team, they should take the three
points here... 1 - 3 FOOTBALLIndex — One to follow: Jamie Vardy should be having a party in your portfolio
Even beyond that the
fixtures still look very friendly, albeit including Everton and City, but I won't list all
of them
out because I'm sure you get the
point by now.
Liverpool haven't won a league
fixture since the end
of August, when grounding
out a 1 - 0 win against West Brom at Anfield, and even then they didn't exactly deserve all three
points.
They certainly had their chances to claw a
point out of an almost impossible
fixture.
Las Palmas are sat in the relegation spots in the Spanish top flight heading into the midweek round
of action and they don't look too likely to pick up
points in this
fixture to help move themseleves
out of it either.
Alan Pardew's side have already put a four -
point gap between themselves and their closest pursuer, Stoke, but will eye this
fixture against
out of form QPR as a golden opportunity to bolster their already impressive
points tally.