Three very crucial games that will make or break Arsenal’s season
For all of Arsenal’s gut-wrenching plodding this season, for all of the toxicity of Unai Emery’s tenure, the Xhaka saga, irregular refereeing decisions, the disgustingly slow and vapid football on display, for all of the defensive howlers, the midfield drift and stuttering attack, Arsenal are only a handful of regular wins from a Champions League spot.
Apart from the league leaders and Leceister City, the football elsewhere hasn’t been very good or consistent. It’s as though all the big clubs were playing a game of Top 4 is lava. Chelsea has been unconvincing. Manchester United are a laughing meme. Tottenham have been rotten. The opportunity to climb up the table is clear and straightforward.
Here are the fixtures for the next three matchdays
Matchday 25
Burnley vs Arsenal
Spurs vs City
United vs Wolves
Leicester vs Chelsea
Palace vs Sheffield
Southampton vs Liverpool
**Winter break**
Matchday 26:
Arsenal vs Newcastle
Wolves vs Leicester
Chelsea vs United
Villa vs Spurs
Matchday 27
Arsenal vs Everton
Leicester vs City
Chelsea vs Spurs
United vs Watford
Of course, we could very well drop points in some of these games. When you notice that we’ve only had two wins in the last 16 games and six wins overall for the season, it doesn’t inspire much confidence. But if anything, it looks like it is time for Arteta’s Arsenal to start having results that match with their performances and if that happens within the next three games, the club might catapult up the table.
We are currently four points off Spurs/United/Wolves and ten off Chelsea. Everyone above us is playing each other at least once over the next three games. We have three relatively winnable fixtures against teams below us (Burnley away is the most daunting). No one is in good form. three wins put us right in the mix for fourth.
No one is saying it is a sure thing. Everyone is in bad form and within the mess of that, there is an opportunity present to challenge for that crucial Champions League spot. We have seen more improbable things occur in football, this wouldn’t be the first. But then the opportunity has to be taken.
An article by Agboola Israel
We must win and expect the results to go our way
True, Shakir, and we will. I am confident that our boys are now awake to the job they have to do before the season ends. The hunger is there, the quality is there, and all we need is a bit of luck to go our way.
And that luck has not been our way for a long long long long time.Its all with Liverpool now.😂Even the last game they could have lost but they drew….
But still i believe in our boys.
COYG
If we can find a way to keep the vanishing wizard away from the first team, we definitely can win and surely will win all three. Let us not be bothered about others if they win/lose/draw, we should be bothered about us winning at all costs, not just playing to entertain. Football is not a drama or ballet dance, it is about winning trophies and accolades and honors. We got obsessed with this so called “its OK to loose, but we played an entertaining game” attitude, and see where we have reached. An ugly 1-0 win takes you higher up the table or wins you honors. If you can win by playing “entertaining” football- great, if you cannot then play to win.
What does it mean for them to “…match the results with their performances…” IMHO, the results exactly match the performances to date, because the performances have been pathetic. The best football I have seen from this team this season was against Bournemouth on Monday. There were some other games recetly, under the tutelage of Mikel Arteta, noteably against Chelsea with 10 men, that they showed fighting spirit, but together the football has not impressed. All that changed on Monday, and without Özil.
Ok, admittedly, Bournemouth is not the benchmark, but THOSE are the performances we need and the football we want to see. Then the results will follow.