English Premiership – Always A Two-Horse Race!

 By Chuka Izuegbuna

WHY ARSENAL WERE NEVER IN CONTENTION

 

Without a doubt, the English Premiership is the most exciting league in the world. The recent happenings go on to accentuate this fact.

A few weeks ago it was difficult to stick ones neck out for any team ending up the season as winners. That was because there were three teams in contention for the title, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

One was always of the belief that it would be a straight battle between defending champions Manchester United and Chelsea. This belief has always stemmed from many years of watching football and in those years, I have come to learn that every championship-winning team always has an out and out striker. A striker that would play at least 20 of the 38 game season. A striker that can deliver a minimum of 20 league goals. While Manchester United has Wayne Rooney and Chelsea, Didier Drogba-  two phenomenal strikers, Arsenal have had to rely on Robin van Persie.

While Rooney and Drogba have remained consistent in delivering what they are paid to do, van Persie has remained consistent in his visits to the clinic and has never managed to stay fit. Without a doubt, he has the talent to make things happen but keeping fit is a prerequisite to making that be and it somehow has managed to elude him.

Three weeks ago, Arsenal was in a position to be considered serious contenders but the fixtures ahead of them were some of the tightest fixtures lined up for any team in the Premiership : Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and it would have amounted to a miracle of sorts if they had navigated this terrain successfully.

Arsenal are currently nine points behind Chelsea, but their worry now will not be about winning the league but how to remain in the top four, especially as Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham are breathing down their necks seriously.

This capitulation has only given credence to my long held belief that it was always a two-horse race. Didier Drogba’s  two goals against Arsenal also ensures that the battle will not only be for the league winner but also for the top scorer award.

This is the point in the season where Manchester United are strongest and they are already showing that with the form they’ve shown in recent weeks; but Chelsea is a team of seasoned veterans who have the ability to keep their nerve especially when it matters the most. The depth in the squad means that they can prosecute all tournaments they are competing in, a luxury United does not have.

Chelsea have been without Drogba, Kalou, Mikel and Michael Essien and survived the storm. One wonders how United would fare without Rooney. The battle is set to go to the wire and one can be sure that at the winner would either be wearing red or blue.

 RESULTS

Liverpool                            1 – 0       Everton

Bolton                                   0 – 0       Fulham

Burnley                                2 – 1       West Ham

Hull City                              2 – 1       Manchester City

Manchester United         5 – 0       Portsmouth

Stoke City                            3 – 0       Blackburn Rovers

Sunderland                         1 – 1       Wigan Athletic

Tottenham Hotspur        0 – 0       Aston Villa

Birmingham                        2 – 1       Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea                                  2 – 0       Arsenal

TABLE

                                 P             W           D             L              F              A             GD          Pts

Chelsea                 25           18           4              3              60           20           40           58

Man United        25           18           2              5              61           20           41           56

Arsenal                 25           15           4              6              60           30           30           49

Liverpool             25           13           5              7              43           26           17           44

Tottenham         25           12           7              6              45           25           20           43

Man City              23           11           8              4              45           32           13           41

Aston Villa           24           11           8              5              31           18           13           41

Birmingham        24           10           7              7              24           24           0              37

Everton                24           8              8              8              33           35           -2            32

Fulham                 25           8              7              10           27           28           -1            31

Stoke City            23           7              8              8              22           26           -4            29

Blackburn            25           7              7              11           25           43           -18          28

Sunderland         24           6              7              11           31           41           -10          25

Hull City                25           5              9              11           25           50           -25          24

Burnley                 24           6              5              13           25           47           -22          23

Wigan Athletic   23           6              5              12           25           48           -23          23

Bolton                   23           5              7              11           29           44           -15          22

West Ham           24           4              9              11           30           40           -10          21

Wolves                 24           5              6              13           20           42           -22          21

Portsmouth        24           4              3              17           19           41           -22          15

TOPSCORERS

Wayne Rooney                 Manchester United        21

Jermain Defoe                  Tottenham Hotspur        15

Didier Drogba                    Chelsea                                17

Darren Bent                       Sunderland                         14

Fernando Torres              Liverpool                            12

Carlos Tevez                       Manchester City              12

Louis Saha                           Everton                               11

Cesc Fábregas                   Arsenal                                 11

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Tags: arsenal, aston villa, chelsea, didier drogba, english premiership, liverpool, manchester united. tottenham, robin van persie, wayne rooney