Poll: Have Arsenal blown title chances?

Have Arsene Wenger's side blown their chances of winning the Premier League? The defeat by Chelsea at the weekend certainly makes the task supremely difficult for a team that lead the division for so long.

Now third, they trail Manchester United by six points and Chelsea by one, and the momentum appears to be firmly with their rivals as the title race draws to a conclusion. For Arsenal have won only once in eight games, but the increasingly formidable United six times, and Chelsea five.

Each side have seven games left so there is time to close the gap, particularly as both Chelsea and Arsenal have still play to United, but nothing about the latter's form suggests they are up to the challenge. After outplaying everybody for months, the game is lost for them. Right?

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Comments

[Michael Akpoyibo]

Arsene Wenger has to resign to give Arsenal a competitive position next season.
Arsenal as a club has a formidable team that needs to be balanced with flair and maturity.
Arsenal needs some matured players and a new manager.
The 11 points dropped in the last 5 matches is due to technical error rather than playing ability.

[Michael Akpoyibo]

Arsene Wenger has to resign as the team's 11 points dropped from 5 matches was due to tactical error from the manager.
The squad is inadequate to remain at the top till the end of the season. The club has to balance youthfullness with maturity in the acquisition of players.
Manager's change for the club is the answer.

[Dave]

Alex: When you say "To conclude, Arsenal don't win when they play badly. Chelsea and especially Man U can play badly every game and still win. End of story.", you sum it up perfectly. As other posters have said, it's a variety of factors such as lack of quality depth in the squad, insufficient mental toughness when the going gets tough, and failure by Arsene to make the purchase or two that would put them over the top (central defender, proven striker).

A good side with plenty of potential, but not mentally strong enough and insufficient quality in depth to win the EPL unfortunately.

[Jonny Turk]

Yet again Arsene Wenger has spent too much time gloating when he wins and whingeing when he loses. He should spend more time motivating his team and developing innovative tactics.

His tactical repartee is "walk the ball into the net, keep the passing game going at all costs." Fine when you have Henry or bergkamp to finish it for you but shallow and one dimensional when you only have Adebayor.

The team needs to get a better mix of experience and is in desperate need of world class striking. Only with this will Arsene be able to hide his lack of motivational skills, depth and appreciation of the best football league in the world.

He came when France had a world cup team, he bought French players and thought that was enough. IT ISN'T!

[tunde taiwo]

It is almost impossible for Arsenal to win the league this season,they have blown it so wide there is really no need trying,from 5 points ahead,they are now 6 points behind,they lost the league at Birmingham with Gael Clichy's last minute professional incompetence, painful as it is they must learn a big lesson from it if they are to succeed in future.

[LES]

Few would have given Arsenal a chance of leading the Premier League by 5 points, with 12 games to go, as was the case at one point, so this evolving side has done fantastically well. The chance has now gone but they can still influence the outcome. Adebayor has done really well but they still lack a reliable world-class goalscorer. The goals contribution from mid-field started well then dried up. Gallas now looks to be a weak link, especially in the air, and so will provide a dilemma for Wenger, as he has excellent qualities otherwise. Unfortunately, all the great football and the effort of an entire season can count for nothing. History is written by the victors and no one remembers who comes second. It surely makes sense for Wenger to perhaps go against his instincts and buy some experienced quality players. It is no surprise that the two most expensively assembled teams are fighting it out for the Premier League and the increased revenue from the new stadium is pointless if the team on the pitch cannot realistically challenge for the title. Perhaps what is needed is not a single blockbuster signing but some judicious medium-priced players who could provide the much-needed strength-in-depth.

[Syed]

1. CHELSEA (EPLChampions/Champions League)
2. MANCHESTER UNITED (EPL Runners-Up/Champions League)
3. ARSENAL (Champions League)
4. EVERTON (Champions League)
5. LIVERPOOL (UEFA Cup)
6. PORTSMOUTH (UEFA Cup)
7. MANCHESTER CITY (UEFA Cup)
18. READING (Championship)
19. FULHAM (Championship)
20. DERBY (Championship)

[del]

If anything costs Arsenal the title this season it can be summed up in one word: depth. Despite having arguably the fittest squad of players, the 18 or so players Wenger has used this season are beginnig to look tired.

In comparison Man Utd have used roughly 22/23 players in their charge for the championship. Chelsea also have used a similar number of players and has begun to bear fruit over the last ten games.

Ultimately, among other reasons the size and quality in depth can tell in the run-in and Arsenal have floundered here. It of course was a key characteristic in the teams who have won the league over the last 3 years.

[Peter Koeb]

I'm going to borrow an infamous expression by Paul Keating, the abrasive, former Australian politician, when referring to the leader of the opposition: "Can a soufflé rise twice?"

Arsenal's season has totally come off the rails.

[John Laight]

Start of the season everyone wrote off Arsenal for even a Champions League spot. The young guns will have learnt from this season's adventure in the league and will no doubt be back a little older and a little wiser next year. No doubt Arsenal are breeding for Premiership dominance, and let's not forget they're still in the Champions League and my money is on Arsenal to finally win the trophy Wenger craves for the most.

[Tom Lannon]

Looks like Arsenal will be relying on their Ladies team for silverware again this year, perhaps Arsene can send his supply of Silvo over to WHL where it can be put to good use before it passes its sell by date!

[David]

i think this again proves how important the squad is these days, arsenal and liverpool clearly have weaker squads which is why liverpool struggle when rafa tries to rotate. arsenal just look tired and are running out of confidence and with no one on the bench with enough quality to come in and make the difference they are not going to come back into the title race.

[Karker]

I see that M. Wenger is being clever by half, with the tons of cash he is on top he has to discard the stupid policy of nurturing the team. He needs to break the bank and buy somebody to strike for goals. To me Arsenal are just being penny wise. Further as a team they lack drive and motivation, they always don't seem to have a fighting spirit and hunger for success. I am afraid that with this frame of mind I can't see Arsenal succeeding in anything they will always end up in tears and as 3rd/4th best.

[Jini Sebakunzi]

I believe Arsenal have made it tougher for themselves to win the league. THey had a great lead and now they find themselves having to count on other teams to lose points.

As a Chelsea fan, this weekend's results were partly (thanks to useless LFC).But there are 7 more games to go. Every weekend has brought surprises, so who knows what next is coming.

Had anyone said around christmas that Arsenal would be 3rd around end of March, nobody would have taken a bet.

No matter what, this promises to be some title race!!

[bob]

Big time

[JUAN L SANCHEZ]

arsenal is going to lose everything in this season and the only responsable of this is mr wenger i think he is working for save money for the club and in this way he is going to lose all .
mr wenger is over a change must be necesary for the arsenal fans .

bye mr wenger you are a person lack of ambition

[vincent otieno]

Wenger needs to invest in a quality striker like Torres , a clown like Adebayor needs so many chances to score 1 goal . Arsenals squad also lack depth , thats why a recovering striker like van Persie has to be fielded even when he is clearly not at his best .Wenger should stop defending his team even when they are lacking in efficiency and seriousness in their approach

[Roy]

I do not think so. There are still 21 points to play for. Their biggest problem is that they have lost the momentum and I think the return to champions league fooball might give them a much needed break. I firmly believe that united will win it.

[Rhys Jaggar]

RE HAVE ARSENAL BLOWN TITLE CHANCES?

Well, they've certainly dropped 3 shots at Amen Corner, haven't they? Two behind, seven to play.

I suggested to Arsene Wenger's scribe Myles Palmer a while back to dig out Sandy Lyle's Masters Victory of 1988 to see how to recover from blowing a good lead and still going on to win.

My view is that they now need pretty much 7 wins, no draws and no losses to have any serious chance. They'll still need Chelsea to draw with Utd, Utd to have one other slip up or for Chelsea to beat Utd and draw one other game with Utd slipping up again as well.

Van Persie is still rusty, Adebayor's lost his scoring boots and unfortunately Rosicky has a mystery ailment. Fabregas isn't scoring any more, Gallas and Toure suddenly look a bit wobbly at the back and Gilberto's been discarded, seemingly for good.

So it doesn't look great does it?

What do they have left?

Games they REALLY SHOULD WIN: Derby away, Sunderland away, Reading Home.

Games they HAVE TO WIN TO BE CHAMPIONS ANY SEASON: Bolton away, Everton home.

Games they HAVE TO WIN TO HAVE ANY CHANCE THIS SEASON: Liverpool home, Man Utd away.

They might as well play without fear now though. Unless they win the next three they have no chance.

Next three? Bolton, Liverpool, Man Utd.

No point in even hoping until there's 76 pts on the board after 34 games.

I think Wenger needs to hum and haw about how much that old tough back four of Adams et al allowed the beauty of Bergkamp, Henry et al to thrive.

Where's that backbone of steel right now, eh?

It's in there somewhere.

It's M. Wenger's job to bring it out.

RIGHT NOW.

[Farai Everett Magagula]

They have blown it. They need a few big name players to be more competitive. Adebayor wont win you the league title. You need more quality.

[alex]

They most probably have. Of the top 3 teams Arsenal are by far the worst at recovering form, look at the end of their winter campaign; for over a month they played poorly. Man U and Chelsea take two games (tops) to recover from any slip, and usually come out blazing when they do.
Arsenal on the other hand: their main goal outlet (Adebayor) is no longer hitting the back of the net, in fact no-one is with any consistency. Plus they are a very young squad, we have seen their mental fragility for the past two years and I can't see why it would be any different.

Arsene's claims, which have being coming from Ashburton Grove for the last few weeks, that they are still title contenders smacks of a manager who is trying it instil some confidence in a team that is gradually losing their way.

However, if they get knocked out the Champions League then that might serve as the wake up call these youngsters need. They were completely outplayed on Saturday. Chelsea defended with 8 men and attacked with at least six almost every time. The Gunners were just meandering at half pace around the pitch all day. Wenger, for all his coaching genius, lacks any real motivational skills.

To conclude, Arsenal don't win when they play badly. Chelsea and especially Man U can play badly every game and still win. End of story.