I'll start by saying that, as will be obvious to those who don't know me from the original title of the blog 'Let's Talk Arsenal' made by my 15 year-old self, I am an Arsenal fan. In fact, that's probably understating it. I am mad about all things Arsenal- every win puts a gleaming smile on my face, every defeat ruins my week. And, as is often the case with Arsenal, I could discuss what's gone wrong at the football club this year endlessly. But I don't want to do that.
Most years, I would have no problem doing it, particularly when the alternative is discussing Chelsea walking to the title under Mourinho, or United winning it under Ferguson, as has been the case in recent years. But the same old problems are coming to the surface yet again in North London, and it feels about as counter-productive discussing them as bringing Mathieu Flamini on in a big Champions League game against the best team in the world.
What I will say is this: I am strongly against the huge criticisms levied at Arsene Wenger in recent weeks. Whilst I don't agree with every decision the man makes, he has done a huge amount of good for Arsenal, and I still firmly believe he is the best man for the job. Much of the criticism that Wenger gets is something along the lines of 'He should've signed a striker in the summer'.
Firstly, what Arsenal fans and fans of other clubs often don't consider, is that perhaps the player to improve what you already have just isn't out there and available. If you are listing strikers who are better than what we have (Giroud) you will likely list players in the ilk of Cavani, Benzema, Kane and so on. But why would PSG, Real Madrid or Tottenham sell these players to us? Secondly, I think Arsenal fans in particular can be very naive in believing all the media 'hype' about how much money Wenger is given to spend. How often when it comes to the end of a season, near to season-ticket renewal date, will you see a headine in a newspaper reading something like:
"WENGER TO BE GIVEN £70 MILLION TRANSFER KITTY TO SPLASH CASH IN SUMMER"
Sadly, I think this is often far from the truth. I cannot buy that a man as intelligent as Wenger is given these ludicrous sums of money to spend every summer, and rarely spends a penny (in net terms). Whatever is going on behind the scenes, I think you'd find that Wenger is far more restricted in what he can and can't do in the transfer market than people give him credit for.
Anyway, enough of that. Far too depressing. Given we're heading into the home straight in the title race, I thought i'd give my predictions and analysis of what might be to come, starting with the dark horses* themselves...
ARSENAL (Current Points: 55)
WATFORD (H) WIN
WEST HAM (A) DRAW
CRYSTAL PALACE (H) WIN
WEST BROM (H) WIN
SUNDERLAND (A) WIN
NORWICH (H) WIN
MAN CITY (A) DRAW
ASTON VILLA (H) WIN
PREDICTED POINTS: 75
SPURS (Current Points: 61)
LIVERPOOL (A) DRAW
MAN UNITED (H) WIN
STOKE (A) DRAW
WBA (H) WIN
CHELSEA (A) LOSE
SOUTHAMPTON (H) WIN
NEWCASTLE (A) DRAW
PREDICTED POINTS: 73
LEICESTER (Current Points: 66)
SOUTHAMPTON (H) WIN
SUNDERLAND (A) DRAW
WEST HAM (H) DRAW
SWANSEA (H) WIN
MAN UNITED (A) DRAW
EVERTON (H) WIN
CHELSEA (A) LOSE
PREDICTED POINTS: 78
My final top three therefore reads:
1. Leicester (78)
2. Arsenal (75)
3. Spurs (73)
A brief word on this, then. The first thing to note is that, despite being pretty harsh on Leicester, if anything (draws away at Sunderland and home to West Ham particularly) they still come out on top. Many are touting this as a two-horse race, but, when you look at it, it really is Leicester's to lose now. And if the pressure does get too much for them, I certainly don't see it as a given that Spurs will be the team to capitalise. Not only have Spurs got a really tough looking fixture list, it's also worth bearing in mind that Spurs always do find a way of finishing below Arsenal (at the time of writing it's been 7627 days since the unthinkable last happened).
Finally, here are my other key predictions for the final league standings:
4th place: West Ham- they are in magnificent form, and with some very winnable home games to come against Swansea, Palace and Watford, I see them sneaking into the Champions League before moving to the Olympic Stadium. Watch this space.
Bottom 3: Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Villa. Firstly, I see Sunderland making a relatively early exit, with one or two games to spare: for me, their squad severely lacks the quality that will be needed. The final place is a toss-up between Palace and Newcastle, but because I see Benitez getting some decent results in his return to English football, I am going for a bit of a shock exit from the top division for Alan Pardew's men.
That's all for today- hopefully not for the next three years though!
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