The top four race has been blown wide open.
Following the 4-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday, Arsenal got another useful result in the Premier League last night as Manchester United won 2-0 away to Chelsea.
While the Blues remain in fourth place for now, their grip on that final Champions League qualification spot is weakening, and it now looks wide open for Arsenal to swoop in there late on this season, provided we can continue to improve as we have done in recent games.
With 12 matches left to play, Chelsea are now only seven points ahead of Arsenal, and they’re not looking at all convincing under Frank Lampard, with yesterday’s defeat their ninth of the season in the league.
Between now and the end of the season, Chelsea have to play Tottenham and Manchester City at home, and Liverpool away – that leaves plenty of room for more dropped points in the months ahead.
And while United looked good at Stamford Bridge last night, they’ve been inconsistent as well and often tend to do better in these big games than against so-called lesser sides such as Burnley, Bournemouth and the rest.
The fact is, we remain in 10th for now and have to look at ourselves before anyone else. Still, a glance at the table should also serve as motivation for these players – the season is far from over and it’s up to this team to rise to the challenge.