Club Focus – Arsenal – Gunners face another test of title credentials against high-flying Manchester City
Wednesday 05 January 2011
Come Wednesday night Arsenal will have played all three of their main title rivals within the last five games. Of the two title challengers they have already faced in that period, victory over Chelsea and defeat to Manchester United has left the Gunners with a somewhat indifferent record. Considering this and Arsenal’s position below Manchester City in the table, the midweek clash can be viewed as make or break.
Victory would place them one point clear of the Citizens and importantly, with a game in hand. And whilst a defeat would not see off Arsenal’s title tilt, it would leave the side five points adrift of Roberto Mancini’s men and give bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur the chance to draw level on 39 points. Such calculation of permutations is unthinkable in context of Arsenal’s comfortable 3-0 victory at Eastlands in October as Arsene Wenger’s side clinically finished off 10-man City to secure a handsome victory on the road. The result was rightly hailed as an impressive performance, but there was not the feeling that the Gunners had struck a major blow against one of their title rivals.
Since then defeats against Newcastle United, Tottenham and Manchester United have allowed the Citizens to slowly and quietly gather pace, sneaking under the radar to emerge as contenders. Their league position is testament to their consistency in contrast to their rivals who have suffered defeats and failed to convert draws into wins as the winter weather hit. Their lofty position can be partially attributed to having fulfilled all of their fixtures so far, yet in truth their prominence within the title race is based on attacking flair and defensive solidity. The Gunners are dearly craving the latter, but having secured a clean sheet in their last match, will hope to build on this with another shut-out against City.
It should come as no surprise that City’s heavy investment appears to be buying them success, given Chelsea’s shining example, but this is unlikely to sway Le Professeur’s thinking. Whilst City are reportedly looking to bolster their squad with the capture of Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko, Wenger has ruled out any attacking signings: “In the offensive department, [a new signing] is completely excluded.” Arsenal have an unusual wealth of options in this department with Robin van Persie returning to form and Marouane Chamakh one of the standout performers of the early campaign in addition to Nicklas Bendtner’s self-proclaimed ability.
The manager applied a similar transfer embargo to the midfield area, especially in context of Aaron Ramsey’s return. He conceded the one area he may strengthen is defence, but added the caveat that this will only be in case of injury: “At the back, it just depends on Vermaelen. I am just waiting to know more about him, and then at the end of January we will have to make a decision.” With Bolton having slapped a £20m price tag on Gary Cahill, even the potential loan of Carlos Vela to the Trotters appears insufficient to sweeten the deal.
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