It has been a poor few weeks for Arsenal, but the team will look to get its Premier League title charge back on track today when Manchester City visit the Emirates Stadium.
After losing 6-0 to Chelsea last week and drawing to Swansea midweek, there are many who now think the Gunners are out of the title race. Even we fans are realistic enough to know the setbacks of recent weeks have really hampered the club´s Premier League ambitions. However, it was nice to see Arsene Wenger come out on Friday and say the club is still focused on winning the league and that fourth place was just a minimum requirement.
Of course, the visit of Manchester City gives Arsenal a chance to defeat one of their key rivals in the chase for the title, and a win would put the team back amongst the challengers. That is a simple equation on paper, but beating Man City in practice will be easier said than done as the team is currently in a rich vein of form. City are coming off a moral boosting 3-0 win over rivals Man United in the Manchester Derby and the club is favourite to win the league with games in hand.
There is little doubt that the Arsenal players will have to be at their very best, and Wenger will need to work hard to get the team ready mentally. It is a sad fact that Arsenal has already conceded 6 to Man City this season, 6 to Chelsea, and 5 to Liverpool. Wenger will be expecting the players to acquit themselves better against a title rival this time, especially as this looks like the last roll of the dice.
The Gunners will buoyed by the fact that Man City will likely be without Sergio Aguero, but Wenger faces the more pressing issue of getting his midfield to supply striker Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman has been left woefully short of support in recent outings and Wenger will be calling on the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to give Giroud more help in attack.