Author: luke

Arsene Wenger will certainly remember his 1000th game in charge of Arsenal, but unfortunately it will be for all the wrong reasons as the Gunners crashed to a humiliating 6-0 defeat to Chelsea.

Travelling to Stamford Bridge to play league leaders Chelsea was a difficult prospect for title chasing Arsenal, but the capitulation is devastating for the fans and for the club´s season. It now looks unlikely that the team will lift the Premier League trophy, with Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool all now above Arsenal in the league.

Some will argue that the game could have been different if Kieran Gibbs had not been wrongly sent off in the 15^th minute. However, the sad and worrying truth is Chelsea was much the better team before that (leading 2-0) and were romping to victory anyway. The Blues opened the scoring in the 5^th minute through Samuel Eto´o and then doubled the advantage thanks to Andre Schurrle in the 7^th minute.

The defining decision of the game arrived in the 15^th minute when Edin Hazard´s goal bound shot was pushed wide by the hand of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It was a stone wall penalty but inexplicably referee Andrew Mariner sent off Kieran Gibbs on accident. It was an astonishing mistake by the official, but nevertheless Arsenal were rightly down to 10 men.

Hazard slotted the penalty passed a disappointing Wojciech Szczesny and Chelsea never looked back, adding another before half time and another two goals in the second half. The Gunners still have a chance to win the Premier League, but the team will now have to be wary in an attempt to secure 4^th place. While the title is still in sight, it seems unlikely considering the players seem unable to beat a direct title rival. It is worrying that Arsenal has lost 5-1 to Liverpool and 6-0 to Chelsea in recent weeks, suggesting a lack of quality in the squad. With Man City still to come, that will now be the next defining game for the club.

Arsenal makes the short journey across London to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend. This huge match is not just a London Derby between two of the best teams in England, it is also a clash that could help to decide who wins the Premier League this season.

Chelsea currently leads the pack in first place, but victory for Arsenal at the Bridge will put the Gunners within two points with a game in hand. However, if the team slips to defeat against a functional Chelsea then winning the Premier League this season may be beyond the team. The question is can Arsenal travel to Chelsea and claim the three points?

Recent poor form suggests the going could get tough for the Gunners today, but Chelsea has had a few slips lately too, such as last week´s defeat by Aston Villa. There is no love lost between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho and both would love to secure what could be a defining win. The truth is though that both managers would likely settle for a draw.

Wenger will be tempted to stick with the same eleven that picked up a resilient win over Spurs last week. Resilience will certainly be needed against a well oiled Chelsea team, but the Blues remain without a potent striker and Arsenal will be looking to exploit that fact.

The Arsenal fans though want to get the three points that will once again prove the club´s title credentials this season, and what a fitting occasion it will be. The match will be Wenger´s 1000^th in charge of Arsenal and the plaudits have been flooding in from across the football world for what is an amazing achievement.

The Arsenal faithful may question Wenger´s motives in recent years, but they also acknowledge his immense influence on the club as a whole. A win against Chelsea today would be the perfect way to celebrate Wenger´s millennium celebrations.

Since Arsenal last won a trophy (the FA Cup in 2005) the club has gone close on several occasions, but as they say, close but no cigar. Over the last few seasons each trophy charge by the Gunners has typically ended with the team slipping at the last hurdle due to pressure and lack of quality. The team´s mental strength has been questioned regularly over the years, as has Arsene Wenger´s.

However, as we have been saying on these pages, there is a difference in the Arsenal players this season, and in the way the team is approaching the campaign. There is definitely a renewed mental strength present (in fact the team has always finished the season strongly, but the critics ignore this). So the question becomes if Arsenal´s mental strength has improved (it has) then why are the team still in a similar position as the one they find themselves in at this time of the year most seasons (out of the Champions League and trailing in the Premier League)?

Well, according to Arsene Wenger it is because of unfavorable injuries. Speaking to The Guardian the Frenchman said.

“If you look at our overall injury list going into such a decisive part of the season, we have no Wilshere, Ozil, Ramsey and we went to Bayern without Gibbs and Monreal.

“It’s very difficult to find an obvious reason why.”

Yes, all teams do have injuries, but Arsenal´s seem to happen to key players at critical parts of the season. Aaron Ramsey was a driving force to the Gunners reaching the top of the league earlier in the campaign, but now the Welsh midfielder has been missing for months. Theo Walcott returned from injury and was in the goals, so much so that Wenger held off buying a striker in January. Unfortunately Walcott got injured and now sits out the season.

Add these two long term absentees to consistent niggles to the likes of Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere then it is easy to see why the team is faltering of late. However, with a better squad and a stronger mentality, Arsenal is now poised to win the FA Cup, anything less would be a disaster.

So if you are looking for some reason as to why the Premier League charge is stuttering then look no further than the injury table.

Arsenal´s Champions League adventure came to an end at the hands of Bayern Munich for the second year in succession. However, the Gunners managed to crash out with pride and dignity very much intact after leaving the Allianz arena with a 1-1 draw. That was not quite enough to secure progress as the 2-0 first leg in Bayern´s favour proved to be the difference between the clubs.

While the score line managed to keep Arsenal´s confidence intact there is little doubt that the German and current European champions were the better team. The hosts put Arsenal against a wall of passing and invention during the first half from which the North London club could not escape. However, Bayern´s obvious quality did not produce a goal and Arsene Wenger´s men went in at half time with a slim chance.

Wenger had named five across midfield to match Bayern, but the likes of Mesut Ozil and the inform Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were stifled by the Munich carousel. As was Oliver Giroud, recalled to the starting lineup after a brace on the weekend. The Frenchman found chances few and far between and was left a spectator for much of the game as Bayern continued to press the Arsenal goal.

Any hopes of the tie being within reach after halftime were quickly dashed as Bastian Schweinsteiger swept a Frank Ribery cross into the Arsenal goal on the 55^th minute. The Gunners of old would have crumbled under such adversity, but this Arsenal team has shown a renewed mental strength this season. It took the players just two minutes to respond when Lukas Podolski fired in an equalizer in the 57^th minute.

With Arsenal finally scoring a goal in this tie the dedicated fans that had travelled to Germany may have thought it would drive the team on. That may well have been the case, but this Munich team is simply too good at the moment and the Germans continued to dominate the game. The home team could have snatched a winner when Laurent Koscielny fouled Arjen Robben in the box and a penalty was awarded. Luckily stand-in keeper Lukas Fabianski saved Thomas Muller´s penalty to allow Arsenal to leave with a 1-1 draw.