Arsenal desperately need to beat Chelsea now – but the Gods are against us….

The congested Christmas schedule has been tough for Arsenal with four draws out of our last six games culminating in in the controversial last-minute penalty given to West Brom yesterday. The points dropped mean we are failing to catch all our Top Four rivals and now sit 3 points below Liverpool in Fourth place while Chelsea have leapfrogged Man United into second place.

Arsenal could not have picked a worse time to face Antonio Conte’s side, who easily beat Swansea 5-0 two days ago while resting Eden Hazard, and who have only conceded one goal in their last 5 League games as they moved up to be Man City’s closest challengers , albeit 14 points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.

Another reason to be fearful is our escalating injury problems. Yesterday Saed Kolasinac had to be replaced with an ankle problem in the first half, and then Laurent Koscielny limped off the field in the second. Wenger also revealed afterwards that Mesut Ozil had missed the game with a knee injury and may not be able to face Chelsea. Add this to Nacho Monreal, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud being in the treatment room already and we could have half our first team missing on Wednesday.

The Gunners that did play yesterday are only going to have a couple more days to recover for the game, and even while Wenger was ranting about Mike Dean yesterday, he also remembered that Chelsea have an another advantage. “There are two things that are not normal in the Premier League, the schedule and the referees. Maybe we haven’t played well enough, that is down for you to judge, but with those two things you cannot have West Brom with five days to prepare while we have three.

“I am ready to play every day as long as our opponent has had the same recovery time over Christmas, it’s not normal. We have the same problem against Chelsea, they played yesterday, we played today. They have one day more.”

Liverpool and Man United both play today, while Tottenham can go 2 points ahead of us in 5th if they beat Swansea on Tuesday. If they all pick up points then the pressure will really be on us when we face Chelsea at the Emirates on Wednesday evening…

Darren N

30 Comments

    1. We do sometimes, like in FA Cup last year but this time we wont be happy after the game. There was no confidence in the team last night. and Belerin and Iwobi shoud skip Chelsea game. and Xhaka for sure… and we did see how life without Ozil can look like.

  1. Arsenal could beat Chelsea, as long as the players still have the motivation (we didn’t see this in the last game). Chelsea players have longer rest time, but we know that they would play with 3-4-2-1 formation, so Arsenal could use the same formation to man-mark their players.

    If Arsenal use 3-4-2-1, there should be many penetrations from the wingbacks and the attacking midfielders, which we didn’t see from Kolasinac, Bellerin, Sanchez, Iwobi and Ozil. Therefore Arsenal should use players that are not afraid to dribble, like Maitland-Niles, Nelson and Welbeck, accompanied by creative players like Sanchez and Wilshere.

  2. The way chelsea are playing they will kill us.

    I honestly dont think we will get top 4 this season guys.
    i watched the liverpool vs leicester game and there is no way we get top 4 above liverpool who are our main competitors fpr the fourth position.

    1.mancity
    2.chelsea
    3.manutd
    4.liverpool or spurs

    if you look at all these 5 teams except manutd they are playing better football than us and the same man utd isnt exactly losing many games..they just draw alot.
    so it will be very difficult to get into these positions.

    ON THE BRIGHT SIDE I THINK IF WE MISS TOP 4 WENGER WILL GO.
    This season goal is top 4 he misses it and he is gone.

    1. Agree, Arsenal would have a very slim chance in reaching a top four position, if they keep playing with the faux tiki taka. I know Manchester United would have a problem since they were beaten by Real Madrid in the European Super Cup, because they rely too much on their physicalities.

      And I also agree with the bright side of not reaching a top four position. The board seem to be preparing for Wenger’s descent at the end of the season, and a trophiless season plus the sixth of seventh position would make sure Wenger’s dethronement.

      1. If you think the Wenger will sack Wenger, you need a reality check.
        Even if they sack him, we will probably end up with another loser manager. They are not going to get a simeone-like manager who will antagonise them

  3. Can we all stop being negative for a while and congratulate Sir Arsene Wenger for breaking Sir Alex’s record of 810 games, it was a great day for us only to be ruined by Mike Dean,
    Wishing AW and the team all the best for 2018 for the treble, FA cup, League Cup and UEFA cup

    1. Gunner 22. I want to take you to task over your thinking that getting Wenger out is negative. It is precisely the opposite thing and is the most practical and POSITIVE key step to turning our fortunes around. Yes, the Mike Dean error was an irritation but will soon be forgotten when it becomes clear that the extra two points we lost will not make any key difference to finishing fourth for us. I far prefer to finish as low as possible in order to get Wenger out, sacked (or asked to resign, which is the same thing) this May, which I am convinced will happen. Others on here say the same as me and we are the positive ones. The ones, like you who wish to “congratulate ” obstinate failure and retain the man who is responsible for it, are truly the NEGATIVE ones. Remember please you heard it here first, when by end of Feb, at very latest, the Wengout campaign will be at its most strident with banners and chants saying the very same. To me that seems inevitable, thinking a few weeks ahead , with the total shambles we are now in, in contrast to our direct rivals.

  4. I really cannot see, even wearing a heart over head hat, so to speak, Arsenal finishing above 6 th this season. I also think we will be far more points outside 4th place than we currently are, factoring in all the latest news for all top six clubs. Liverpool are only getting stronger and they will finish fourth , i believe, behind the two Mancs and Chelsea(who I think will be second, sadly). I really believe by end of Feb at latest the Wenger out banners and chants will be in full cry and i welcome that. If it takes us to finish way behind even the fourth spot, as i believe we will, to get Wenger sacked, as i also believe will happen in May, then it is something I would sign up for in a heartbeat. After all what use is it being fourth , if it means yet another dismal year of Wenger and his obstinate stupidity and failure?

    1. Good opinion about the fourth position. If it would only make Wenger stay longer, then it is not good.

      But if finishing outside the top four would dethrone Wenger, I will be very happy because I am bored with his methods. I want to see other ideas from other managers and I will be happy with any result, as long as Arsenal show entertaining football shows again.

        1. Pires, I will tell you what IS disgraceful; it is the inability to face the clubs reality, which is that Wenger is taking us further away fom the top clubs, every year. The club is “run” like a basket case, as most comments on this and other Gooner forums regularly tell us. We realistic fans, which excludes you and your dwindling band of AKB’s, have known for ages, that removing Wenger is overwhelmingly important, to improve us. You totally refuse to see, in Wenger style, what is right in front of your nose. And that , my deluded friend, is really DISGRACEFUL. Wake up and smell the coffee!

  5. I think that Wenger should be congratulated for his long stay at Arsenal.However he should be looking at the number of trophies he has won in the 800 games he has been manager and compare that with what Ferguson won in that period.He should then honestly do some soul searching.Does he really think that he is the man to take Arsenal forward

  6. Darren N, I don’t want you worrying too much on if Asenal are going to beat Chelsea in the PL at the Ems on Wednessday night or not. For, I can assure you with confidence to say, Arsenal will beat Chelsea despite the arrays of top quality talents they parade in the rank and file of their 1st team squad whom they’ve planned unlease on Arsenal during the match in an attempt by Antonio Conte, the Blues manager to see that his Blues team collects all points in the match.

    But notwothstanding, Conte attempting to use his Blues team to collect all the 3 points at stake in the match will fail Because the Gunners will block the Chelsea’s match application and render it inapplicable in the game. Thus, making the application obsolete in the match The Gunners have installed for them by Le Boss a superior match winning game application which the Gunners will activate during the match and put Chelsea to the sword in the match by 3 goals to nil at full-time plus addef time.

    1. Samuel, Why do you not have the thought to work out the most likely scenarios, which are opposite to the sheer fantasies you have come up with? I CANNOT TAKE YOUR POSTS SERIOUSLY ,since you are clearly not a thinking man , but just a one eyed type and blinkered to reality man. I mean “I can assure you with confidence …” etc. Oh really ? How exactly? Put your brain into gear man.

  7. We are slightly above half way the season and some people have already given up on Arsenal finishing in the top four! This is extremely ridiculous! What kind of pessimism is this? If you look at the way we have been playing it has been bad at all despite the mounting injuries. This season is still a long way off for all teams even for pacesetter Man City. There is still all to play for especially the top four. I will not talk about the daylight robbery by our usual nemesis Mike Dean yesterday. We shall overcome that blip and roll on. This is the time for Arsenal to show both class and character.

    1. Correction: It should read ” If you look at the way we have been playing it hasn’t been bad at all.”

  8. Rubbish people writing all nonsensical tirade about their team very negative, no one has even criticised the players last night for shocking performance on average 90k a week you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink, the players need to take a good look at themselves

    1. You can lead the likes of Iwobi bellerin xhaka welbeck giroud chambers Walcott elneny Ramsey wherever you want but they will never be anything other than average footballers … Add to that those whose better days are behind them .. Kos mert Monreal chech … And you have over half our squad …The fact that they regularly put on an arsenal shirt is thanks to the manager who brought them in and all you need to know about our season ahead ..

  9. really comparing horses to manager, that is really thick man. in football you must make sure the horse drink the water or you get the sack. if I’m lying, ask mourihno and acelloti. they could persuade the horses to drink the water so they pay the consequences.

  10. This man has had this group of players for more than two years ,with a couple of recent additions ,so to all who believe the team is getting better ,could you please give me ,your reasons for believing and show me how have we improved from last season ?oh and just to help you out ah little , please take into consideration ,that deep lying midfielder who can play through the lines, has not been available for over a year,because if the man who has assembled this group of players can’t improve them ,then is it the players or the manager ? and please stop this constant need to defend a manager who ,has proved for many years to be more than capable at finding excuses to deflect from the real problem with the team
    Which as most of us know ,but to many are to coward to admit . WENGER OUT.

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