Why The Premiership Title Is Beyond Arsenal

 Subscribe in a reader

I am a huge Arsenal supporter. Ever since the day Arsene Wenger walked into Highbury and went about turning the Gunners into one of the most entertaining and finest teams in world football, I have been a huge admirer of the football club both on and off the pitch. Arsenal’s approach to footballl both on the park and financially is exactly what the game should be about and it pains me that they are not rewarded with trophies.

Similarly, I am by no means against Arsene Wenger and I fully support the approach he takes to managing Arsenal Football Club. Those who claim that Arsenal would be better off without him in charge are deluded and ignorant of the fact that were it not for Arsene’s unparalleled ability to discover and bring through young talent, Arsenal would not be able to compete against the Arab riches of Manchester City, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea or Manchester United’s unlimited debt financial model.

Despite this though, I don’t believe Arsenal can win the Premiership title this season. I would love to be proved wrong but I fear that the weekends conquerers Chelsea are going to be too strong  for those in Arsenal shirts this season.

The reality is, Arsenal dominated the game of football on Sunday. They went to the home of the Champions, a club with one of the best home records in Premiership history and were the better team for the majority of the football match. The fact of the matter is though, Chelsea are more ruthless, they are more clinical and once again, they organised themselves superbly defensively and stung Arsenal on the counter attack.

As impressive as Arsenal’s attacking game is, the offensive side is only half of football and Chelsea’s ability to defend and organise is as impressive as the Gunners flowing attacking instincts. As they always do, Chelsea restricted the space and formed a compact unit in a way that (in my opinion) only they can. Arsenal may have had all of the ball and they may have had their chances, but Chelsea’s counter attacking caused the Gunners no end of problems and it was no surprise, nor co-incidence that they won the game.

It cannot be ignored that Arsenal were without key men in Thomas Vermaelen, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie and yes, had they played it could have been different. But how long can Arsenal keep using this as an excuse, for it seems they are permanently without key men in big matches?

The title is by no means beyond Arsenal and the break for the Euro 2012 qualifiers comes at a welcome time, affording the Gunners time to regroup after back to back defeats. A seven point deficit at this stage in the season is by no means impossible to make up, but it will be very tough and Arsenal need to both keep their key players fit and develop a ruthless streak if they are to mount a serious challenge for the title.

Written by Colin Hill, a sports blogger who writes about new football shirts.

Can Big Sam move beyond bludgeoning?

 Subscribe in a reader

Although Blackburn Rovers are unlikely to be a delight to watch anytime in the near future, they have a few players at their disposal who should at least be able to show a little more creativity than some of Sam Allardyce’s previous teams.

Having already managed to undo any attempt made by Paul Ince to turn Rovers into a side capable of keeping the ball on the ground and focusing upon crisp passing and moving, Allardyce would no doubt defend his decision to reverse that trend by revealing the need to play to the strengths of his current players. The latest Premier League odds suggest Blackburn will stay up, and Allardyce will no doubt see this as vindication.

However, although Allardyce often looks to build upon strengths that have to do with the physical side of the game, he has a side at Blackburn that he could (albeit with some effort required on his part) encourage to play some aesthetically pleasing football. This may sound farfetched to many Premier League fans but the likes of Chris Samba, David Dunn and the two Dioufs are more than capable, with a little coaching, of keeping the ball on the ground and playing in a style more akin to Barcelona than the old Wimbledon.

Although Allardyce may suggest that fans ultimately prioritise results over performances, the fact that Rovers continue to see their attendances drop at Ewood Park and are unable to inspire their fans to travel in large numbers to away ties, shows that even the most ardent of fans do not like the way he sets his team out. The football predictions for the weekend suggest another low crowd.

Despite this, it is unlikely that Big Sam will change his philosophy anytime soon, so his vision of fear over wonder may continue to be the battle waged at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoons.