It could have been so much better for Arsenal at the weekend, but there are still plenty of Premier League points to play for and there are still good reasons for the Gunners to believe that the title race is not quite done and dusted yet this season.
Chelsea were lucky, after scoring two early goals they took their foot off the gas and Hull drew level before looking the most likely to win. But Chelsea survived and grabbed a fortunate late winner. The three points obviously increased their chances of securing the title. It was hardly an emphatic result though and the fact they lost Diego Costa to a muscle injury during the game suggests that Chelsea might just drop some more points after the international break.
Perhaps that is why the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud are now starting to sound a bit more hopeful that Arsenal could just cause a big upset. The big Frenchman has got plenty of reason to be feeling confident after another two goals on Saturday and he will surely have to keep that up if we are to challenge Chelsea, which a Daily Mail report shows him targeting.
Giroud said, “We need to win every game and that’s what we want to do — step by step. You never know if City or Chelsea will miss one of these steps. We’ve got to be here with great belief and faith.”
Another big player that Arsenal will need to have any chance is Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman has been superb since his return and rally gives the team a great balance as well as the goal threat and creativity we know he can bring. Ramsey sounded pretty positive after we held firm in Newcastle, as a report in The Mirror shows.
He said, ““We just have to focus on ourselves and believe other teams around us will be on the end of upsets. We just have to try and win every game until the end of the season.
“In this division teams can lose against anyone. We have just got to be switched on and make sure it doesn’t happen to us and maintain this run.”
Even Arsene Wenger did not completely rule out a title charge although he did suggest that Chelsea were too far ahead. But we have seen bigger leads eroded in recent years and it would not be the first time that an end of season threw up a few shocks.
As Ramsey said, “Stranger things have happened.”
One thing is for sure though, if we beat Liverpool in two weeks and Chelsea are without the injured Costa, there will be some real nerves when they play Stoke later that day. Do you still believe Gooners?