Will shocking mistakes cost Arsenal the European campaign?

Having returned to the title race with the narrow win over Liverpool, the Gunners were expected to build on that result and earn at least a draw in the first leg against Porto and they would have probably managed to do so if it hadn’t been for Lukasz Fabianski, who made a couple of shocking mistakes to hand Porto the 2:1 win. As usually, Wenger blamed the referee for the defeat when instead his players were the only ones to blame.

Can Arsenal win the Premiership this season?

The majority of Arsenal fans, me included, thought this season would turn into another disappointment when Arsene Wenger failed to properly reinforce the squad last summer but the Gunners have surprised everyone with their consistency and if it hadn’t been for all the injuries, the Gunners would probably be leading the race by now. Nonetheless, the three-point advantage Chelsea have over us is nothing special and we are still very much in the title race, which is an achievement by itself. With Chelsea set to feel the consequences of the Africa Cup of Nations, next few weeks could be crucial if we are to mount a serious title challenge.

Why Arsenal should look up to Stoke?

Don’t let be fooled by the headline since I will always prefer attractive attacking football Arsenal are playing to Stoke’s hard-tackling, physical approach but the Gunners definitely need to toughen up. The games against Chelsea and Manchester City have portrayed all the weaknesses of Arsene Wenger’s side and it is high time he did something about it.

First Arshavin and then Fabregas realized team’s lack of height and strength compared to teams like Chelsea or Stoke was making life very difficult for them, with the 3:0 defeat to Chelsea being the perfect proof. Wenger probably didn’t realize he was getting rid of the only two powerful players in the squad by selling Toure and Adebayor, and he probably now regrets that decision.

Wenger finally realized what everybody knew

After the fourth trophy-less season, Arsene Wenger was expected to spend heavily in order to finally build a team capable of challenging for honours but he only signed Thomas Vermaelen, while selling Toure and Adebayor. Even though everyone expected the Gunners to struggle, they played some good stuff at the start of the season and hinted they could enter the Premiership title race. However, the 3:0 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates showed all Arsenal’s flaws and it made Wenger realize his team needed heavy rebuilding.

Can Arsenal beat Chelsea on Sunday

After the four trophyless seasons and what were thought to be poor dealings in the transfer market, nobody expected Arsenal to keep their place in the top 4 let alone mount a serious title challenge. However, Arsene Wenger have once again built an excellent team with small resources at his disposal and as a result, the Gunners had a remarkable start of the season that saw them emerge as serious title contenders by Premier League betting odds. The defeat to Sunderland was the first setback after quite a while and it came in the worst possible time, before the big derby with Chelsea. The Gunners are now eight points adrift of Chelsea, with a game in hand, and they simply have to beat the Blues in order to stay in the title race. Can they do it?

Replacing Robin Van Persie

The worst thing for a manager when his side are flying high is not the defeat that would end the winning run but rather injury to one of the key players. This is something Arsene Wenger knows too well now that Robin Van Persie has picked up ankle injury that will sideline him for six weeks and the first thing Le Boss needs to do is find him a proper replacement. The Gunners cannot afford to lose momentum because of the current situation since they have been defying Premiership betting odds so far and they are eager to continue the trend.