We’ve just completed Gameweek 24 of the campaign, we’re almost two thirds of the way through the season and there’s 14 games remaining.

And Arsenal still sit at the top of the Premier League table.

Yet the majority of people who follow football, and that includes some Arsenal fans, still believe Manchester City and Chelsea have more chance of winning the league.

And that’s what the bookies would certainly have you believe.

The thing is though, why are we so negative?

Yes, Manchester City have been firing on all cylinders, and yes, Chelsea are formidable, but the fact of the matter is that we’re top after 24 games of the season.

That’s no fluke.

And it’s also a fact that for all of their superstars, their bottomless pit of money and all of the goals they keep scoring, for the majority of the season we’ve been ahead of Manchester City at the top of the league. And the same goes for Chelsea (except for the goals obviously).

I have been guilty of this as well, but why are Arsenal fans so pessimistic?

Arsenal are top by 2 clear points, and yet it’s the Manchester City and Chelsea fans who are optimistic about lifting the Premier League trophy in May. Arsenal fans however worry about the fixture list, injuries and other aspects of the team.

We’ve had a couple of blips but over the last 24 games, you have to say we’ve been sensational – and the facts back that up. Our defense has been outstanding, we score goals from almost every position and the table doesn’t like. The players obviously have the believe (and it’s coming through in their determined performances) so why aren’t the fans the same?

The simple reason is probably because we haven’t been in this position in a long time. The last time we really looked like winning the title (or at least challenging for it) was in the 2007/2008 season. Eduardo and Adebayor were on fire, Cesc, Hleb, Rosicky and Flamini were dominating games and we had a solid defensive unit. And we all know if it wasn’t for that fathful day in Birmingham, we probably would have gone on and won the league that season.

But since then we’ve been fighting for 4th place. This season however, with only really two signings (Flamini and Ozil) we’ve gone up another level.

It’s amazing to think that for Manchester City’s “scintillating” form and Chelsea’s “dogged determination” we are still above them. That is a huge testament to what the current management and playing staff have done this year.

Arsenal fans were also downbeat about the lack of signings in the transfer window. But if any man can find a way through this tough period of games over the next two months, it’s Arsene Wenger.

#COYG

Well there’s a result I wasn’t expecting.

It’s great for us as we stay 2 points clear at the top of the league and it’s also great because Manchester City have lost that “invincibility” that the media have gone nuts about over the last few months.

As Manchester City win game after game at The Etihad, the stronger and stronger they become. Now that the record has gone, they might start to lose a few more points at home.

Chelsea had a gameplan and carried it out perfectly. Everyone is raving about Chelsea today and you can see why. They dominated the strongest squad in the league by far and should have scored two or three more. While it’s hardly going to be the collapse of Manchester City at home, opposing teams will think twice now about “parking the bus” and might try and give it a go at The Etihad.

The problem both Manchester City and Chelsea have at this moment in time is not the performances against the top sides – they always up their game for the showcase matches – it’s their performances against the lesser sides. Only last week Chelsea drew against relegation candidates West Ham, and Manchester City have also stumbled to lower league opposition.

The Premier League table doesn’t lie and while our record against the “top sides” isn’t the best, we’re top of the league because we’ve been the best side over 24 games.

Manchester City will no doubt bounce back this weekend and score 50 goals against Norwich, and Chelsea should beat Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, so it’s vital we can go to Anfield in the days early kick off and get all 3 points. But with Suarez and Sturridge on form, that will be a tough ask.

As well as executing the perfect masterplan, Mourinho was also a bit mischievous in his post game interviews and press conferences. Despite now only being 2 points behind the league leaders, he insisted this season was about “transition” and his aim was purely a Top Four spot. We all know Mourimho isn’t fooling anyone and that he’s a born winner.

At the moment at least, it looks like this is turning into a three horse race, and there’s no small horse Jose.

After the disappointing result against Southampton on Tuesday, Manchester City and Chelsea had the chance to make up ground on us last night. Manchester City absolutely obliterated Tottenham Hotspur (not for the first time this season) to go top but surprisingly, Chelsea couldn’t over come West Ham United at home.

The Chelsea manager said:

“This is not the best league in the world, this is football from the 19th Century.

“The only [other] thing I could bring was a Black and Decker [tool] to destroy the wall.”

“It’s very difficult to play a football match where only one team wants to play. It’s very difficult.

“A football match is about two teams playing and this match was only one team playing and another team not playing.”

Remember, this is the man who “parked the bus” at Old Trafford against Manchester United and “parked the bus” against us at The Emirates earlier on in the season.

Hypocritical doesn’t even begin to describe the idiocy of Mourinho.

But as ridiculous as Mourinho’s criticism of West Ham was, Big Sam managed to make the situation even more hilarious with his post game comments:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH53mTdjvbc

I’m not his biggest fan, but fair play to Sam Allardyce on this occasion!

The draw at Southampton left Arsenal fans divided; some saying it was a good point while others argued that it was the start of a “downward spiral” of results, especially with the challenging fixture pile up we have over the next month or so. Our fixtures over the next 2 months, as you will probably already know, consist of the following matches:

February:

Crystal Palace (H) Sunday 2nd
Liverpool (A) Saturday 8th
Manchester United (H) Wednesday 12th
Liverpool (H) Sunday 16th
Bayern Munich (H) Wednesday 19th
Sunderland (H) Saturday 22nd

March:

Stoke City (A) Saturday 1st
Swansea City (H) Saturday 8th
Bayern Munich (A) Tuesday 11th
Tottenham Hotspur (A) Sunday 16th
Chelsea (A) Saturday 22nd
Manchester City (H) Saturday 29th

Out of the 12 matches games we have over the “crunch” period in our season, you would say that 8 of those were “blockbuster” games. Most teams are lucky to get that many massive games over an entire season, nevermind over the course of 8 weeks.

There’s no doubt that February and March is a huge period in Arsenal’s season and you can see why a lot of Arsenal fans are wary of how we’re going to do over the next 2 months.

Let’s start off with the negatives.

The first one is injuries. We have Theo Walcott out for the season, and there’s no doubt that we will miss his impact in the title run in. Aaron Ramsey is out for longer than we all thought, and Rosicky and Jack are still out with an ankle and nose problem respectively.

Mathieu Flamini is also out for 4 games now, after his stupid two-footed challenge against Southampton. Mikel Arteta is the only recognised “defensive midfielder” remaining and he’ll have to put in some exceptional performances against Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

Another problem is the striker position. Olivier Giroud is our only real good option up front – and Nicklas Bendtner the only backup. I know a lot of us have made fun of Bendtner but to be fair to him whenever he’s been called upon he’s done okay. But I just don’t think that’s enough firepower to lead Arsenal to the Premier League title.

Defensively we don’t look as solid as we used to. The back line of Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs looks excellent and really strong, but as Monreal showed against Southampton, he’s not good enough to fill in for Gibbs. Hopefully Arsene will have a slight re-shuffle and put Thomas Vermaelen at left back, as he’s a player who is desperate to play games and you know he’ll give 110%.

So now to the positives.

Our squad isn’t as strong as Manchester City’s or Chelsea’s but one area where we are well-catered for is in midfield. Even with the players mentioned out of action, we still have Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Serge Gnabry. We also have Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil, who can be used in slightly deeper positions.

With those players in the side (and others to come back), we still have a lot of guile and creativity in the team.

And another big positive is the form of Szczesny. This season he has been outstanding. Apart from a couple of terrible “clearances” from the back which almost cost us goals, he has been sensational. By far the best goalkeeper in the league this season, he has kept us in numerous games this year with some stunning saves. As the teams form has dipped in certain games, Szczesny has been consistent and excellent between the sticks.

And he’s going to have to be on top form going into our killer run in.