Does The Liverpool Game Mean We’re Not Genuine Title Contenders?

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If you read my post yesterday you would have seen that I wasn’t at all confident about the game against Liverpool. We have been sluggish recently and just about done enough against sides like Sunderland, Newcastle and Bournemouth. Liverpool at Anfield would be a completely different beast, especially with the famous Anfield crowd behind them and Jurgen Klopp’s high intensity game.

In the end it was a pulsating 3-3 draw and it’s hard to assess whether it was a good or bad result.

I had a feeling we would struggle and after 10 minutes a mistake from Theo Walcott (who has been suffering from poor form of late) gave the ball away on the edge of our box – Emre Can’s shot was pushed away by Petr Cech but Firmino – a player who has been inconsistent this season – lashed home from 6 yards out.

Arsenal’s response was positive and 4 minutes later a clever and fantastically executed slide rule pass from Joel Campbell picked out Aaron Ramsey’s run and he smashed the ball home at the near post.

Liverpool took the lead for the second time and it was Firmino once again who scored. Isn’t it just our bad luck that a player who has been struggling for Liverpool recently suddenly finds his form against us?

Again Arsenal equalised when Olivier Giroud smartly poked in an Arsenal corner and the game was 2-2 at the break.

The goals Arsenal conceded were sloppy but we did well to peg it back twice.

After the break Arsenal took the lead on 55 minutes when Olivier Giroud collected Joel Campbell’s deflected pass and minced Kolo Toure to plant the ball into the bottom corner. From then on for the first time in the game Arsenal had a lead to protect and it was a last minute goal from the Welsh Xavi that shared the points.

Probably a fair draw on the balance of play but regular readers will know I don’t care who deserves the points – all that matters in the Premier League is getting points on the board whether you deserve to win or not. Against Newcastle we were fortunate but got the 3 points, and against Liverpool after leading 3-2, surely a side that has aspirations to win the league should be seeing that out?

It was a killer blow when a win at Anfield would have been a huge confidence booster. A last minute goal conceded could be perceived as a weakness and fragility on Arsenal’s part.

So what are your thoughts on the game?

Does coming back against a tough Liverpool side show we are true title contenders?

Or does conceding a last minute goal show that we lack the experience to go on and win the Premier League this season?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Was Petr Cech To Blame For The Draw Against Liverpool?

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The draw against Liverpool last night was either encouraging or disappointing depending on your outlook, and it seemed to me that the goals we conceded were sloppy to say the least.

Petr Cech has been outstanding for us this season, easily earning Arsenal around 10 points already this season but last night he didn’t seem his reliable and dependable self.

The first goal Firmino scored was from a save that Petr Cech pushed into the path of the Liverpool striker. Was the initial shot from Emre Can that good that Cech couldn’t have pushed it wide and to safety? I’m not so sure.

The second goal from Firmino will be credited as a moment of class but was it impossible to save? Maybe I’m being harsh on Cech and have unrealistic expectations because of the fantastic form he’s been in this season but I thought he could have reached that.

Then the third goal in the last minute, scored by the famous Welsh Xavi (or Welsh Pirlo as he’s now known because of his wavy hair). Cech got down quick enough and got a hand to it but I thought he should have kept that out as well.

Maybe I’m disappointed at throwing 3 points away and being a bit harsh on Petr Cech, but I did feel he was below par yesterday.

Why Arsenal Will Lose To Liverpool At Anfield Tonight!

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Arsenal travel to Liverpool tonight as the league leaders, 7 places above the Merseysiders and a massive 12 points ahead in the table.

So tonight is a forgone conclusion isn’t it?

For some reason I’m not confident at all tonight. Last season we played out a 2-2 draw at Anfield, and the season before that last 5-1. The season before that we won 2-0 at their ground with goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla, and before that we won 2-1 with a dramatic last minute winner from Robin van Persie.

So our record isn’t terrible, bar the 5-1 hammering a couple of seasons ago.

It’s just that we seem to struggle at Anfield. Yes, Liverpool have injuries but so do we, and we generally struggle when we play against high-intensity teams. Arsenal have been sluggish recently with the packed fixture schedule and I just see a slow performance tonight which Liverpool will take advantage of.

In these type of games, with the intimidating atmosphere of the Liverpool crowd we seem to bottle it. Tonight won’t be about the talent each side can put on the pitch, but about who wants it more. And Arsenal – because of tiredness or whatever – haven’t been really putting in the fight recently.

If Liverpool run us off the park we’ll struggle. It’s not a game we can coast for large portions of the game and then nick a goal (like we’ve done against Sunderland, Newcastle and Bournemouth) – if we play like we have of late Liverpool will beat us.

It’s difficult when we’re suffering injuries to big players, I don’t deny that, but it seems to me we seem to struggle when we play on a wet, windy night which tonight will be. Our players are used to immaculate conditions so we do struggle when it’s a bit nippy out.

Hopefully my concerns are unfounded but remember the last time we went to Anfield being league leaders we ended up getting absolutely battered 5-1.

What’s your prediction for tonight? I can’t see it being anything else but a 2-1 win to Liverpool.

So Is Pep Guardiola Going To Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United or Manchester City?

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So Pep Guardiola has confirmed that his next job is in England.

And the British media are falling over themselves in excitement.

And if that wasn’t enough he hasn’t actually declared which team that is yet, and has also stated that he hasn’t signed anything with any team at this moment in time.

That has made the media speculate that his final destination could be any of the Top 4 sides in England, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Let’s go through the different options Pep is “perceived” to have:

Team: Manchester City
Chances of Arriving: 95%

This is his most likely destination, and although nothing has been signed or confirmed yet, this is most likely down to the fact that they don’t want to disrespect Manuel Pellegrini who is concentrating on trying to achieve European and domestic success this season.

Manchester City have Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain already at the club and they know Guardiola extremely well from their days at Barcelona. Everything is in place for Pep – a strong squad with talented attacking players, no shortage of money in the transfer market, excellent facilities and infrastructure – and an impressive stadium with a big capacity (yes the atmosphere can be awful but he doesn’t know that).

Of course he’s officially going to say he’s not sure where he’ll end up at the moment because there’s still 5 months of the season to go and the last thing Manchester City want is something to destabilise their season.

I would say Guardiola is a dead cert to end up at Manchester City.

Team: Manchester United
Chances of Arriving: 10%

The media are pointing to a couple of poor seasons under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal as reasons why Manchester United would be desperate to bring in the talented coach and I’m sure they would love Guardiola at the club – but I can’t see it happening myself.

Yes, they have the history and are undoubtedly one of the biggest teams in English football, but I just see Pep Guardiola looking at that squad and thinking it needs too much work. At Barcelona, he already inherited a fantastic group of players and the same thing happened at Bayern Munich. Manchester United’s squad needs a massive overhaul and with Guardiola only staying at a club for 2/3 seasons (much like Mourinho) he wouldn’t be looking for a long term project.

He would be great for United but sadly for them, it’s all pie in the sky I’m afraid.

Team: Chelsea
Chances of Arriving: 20%

For me, the only other real threat to Manchester City is Chelsea. They have the money, they have the location and they have the basis of a good squad.

Roman Abramovich would pretty much had over a blank cheque to get Pep Guardiola at Chelsea and would allow him to strengthen the squad however he wanted. Yes, the current squad is weaker than Manchester City’s and the defence needs a lot of work but it’s nothing a few big signings couldn’t fix.

In terms of location, London is a big factor in a lot of Premier League moves (as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil can testify) and there’s no doubt that Pep and his family would love the London life. But is that enough?

People are saying that Guardiola might be put off by Chelsea’s hire and fire mentality when it comes to managers but that hasn’t put off many of the biggest managerial names in the world, including Jose Mourinho, Carlo…

So you never know…

Team: Arsenal
Chance of Arriving: 5%

It seems like the perfect fit doesn’t it?

Arsenal are in London which would be great for Guardiola, and out of the 4 clubs Arsenal play the most attractive football – and would theoretically be the easiest team to implement his style of play on.

But let’s be realistic for a minute.

If it ever did happen, Guardiola would be under Arsene Wenger’s spotlight as there’s no way the Frenchman would leave the club and would most likely be moved to a Director of Football role.

There would be far too many restrictions under Pep for it to even be a possibility so unfortunately it’s a no go. And with Arsenal’s insistence on continuity and consistency then employing a manager for a 3 to 4 season stint makes no sense.

Also, the problem is the budget Guardiola has to spend. While Arsenal have a lot of money there’s no way they would authorise £150 million plus spending in a single summer. In recent times we’ve spent big (well, big for us anyway) but that’s been over a few years.

Unless Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea end up being taken away by aliens in some sort of intergalactic war and Arsenal are the only viable option remaining, then he won’t be coming to Arsenal.

Chances of Pep Guardiola Going To Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester

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So Pep Guardiola has confirmed that his next job is in England.

And the British media are falling over themselves in excitement.

And if that wasn’t enough he hasn’t actually declared which team that is yet, and has also stated that he hasn’t signed anything with any team at this moment in time.

That has made the media speculate that his final destination could be any of the Top 4 sides in England, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Let’s go through the different options Pep is “perceived” to have… [Read more >>]