I think most Arsenal fans would rather have seen a drawn game between Manchester United and Man City at the weekend and I know for sure that we were all gutted when former Gunner Cesc Fabregas scored in the last couple of minutes to give Chelsea a vital three points away to a QPR side that deserved at least a point.
In a way, however, the United win could still be good news for Arsenal. For one thing it has dealt a big blow to Manuel Pellegrini and the City players who are now looking back over their shoulders and look unlikely to challenge the top three.
That is good news for the Gunners, as we will be in the Champions League and will avoid the extra two play-off games that fourth place brings.
It still remains to be seen if Chelsea will continue to wobble but their performance at Loftus Road was anything but convincing. Also, Jose Mourinho will not have his star striker Diego Costa back until the start of May. So their next three games could be crucial for Arsenal´s slim title hopes.
And that is how Man United can do the Gunners a big favour this weekend. By beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge it will increase the nerves and decrease the confidence of the leaders and set us up perfectly to further damage them and bring more doubts to the surface.
So beating Chelsea at the Emirates next weekend could potentially see Arsenal just four points behind them with the same games played and with five left to play. Then we would really see how well they can hold their nerve. Of course we would still need to win all of our games, including a tricky trip to Old Trafford, but for now we should be happy that Man United are in good form as they head to Chelsea.
we must definetly finish in top 2 this season .. winning 16 of 18 games is not an easy task ..afc deserves a top 2 finish
Id prefer a draw
if United win, we go to 3rd place
If draw, then we stay second and Chelsea still fail to get two points. Must secure 2nd first.
And I know we have a game in hand but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will win the game in hand. Is rather us be 2nd place with a game in hand.
A united win is far more important, whether we finish 2nd or 3rd there is no real benefit. But having chelsea get even 1 less point throws open the doubts in their minds. Phsycology really plays a part and with us still to play, they could yet suffer melt down.
And what about when we are playing Manchester United at Old Trafford, will it not be equally much a boost for them having beaten Chelsea before meeting us? I see your point with Chelsea being the #1 team to wish for dropping points, but Manchester United are still someone we’re playing, and theyre only a point behind.
Only good thing about finishing 4th is you get another 2 opportunities to see arsenal play. It highly unlikely we’ll win the league at this point. If we get to the last couple of games of the season and were guaranteed 2nd or even 3rd place & Chelsea are already champions then I’d stick Diaby in the team. If Wenger is considering giving him any kind of contract then give him a big test if he gets injured then at least it’s not in the new season. I’d really like him to remain injury free but history tells me it won’t happen. Whatever tho new contract or not it’s not like we’re in a position where were relying on him anymore we’ve got plenty of great midfield players.
why do we need any favors?! lets get real we can’t have one good half of a season and make case for the title.
I agree with what is written and that ManU is bolstered by the result against City. If they beat Chelsea they do us a huge favour. Also City’s loss may give Liverpool some hope of making it to the top 4. They will need to beat Chelsea. All we need to do is win all our games.
So best for us is for Liverpool to beat Newcastle tonight and set these wheels in motion.
Shitty
bought alot of our players
and so have become 4th
like we use to be,funny how
life is,but not withstanding
we could still finish 4th if
not careful
Disalusioned springs to mind!!
We are not going to catch Chelsea, the damage was done for us early season when we suffered injuries and the lack of a Coqulein type player.
I’d prefer a draw or Chelsea to demolish MU. MU are on the up and are putting significant pressure on us above them.
If we cant win the PL this year, (which we wont) I’m determined that we finish 2nd and above all above MU.
If we were going to finish 3rd I’d prefer City were above us that the Reds who I despise.
Keep winning our games, finish 2nd and lift the FA cup will be a great season in my eyes.
It would also mean for the first time in a while we dont have to qualify for the CL, bonus!
@thedrax.
Exactly we could still finish 4th, well said!
I’m not taking anything for granted when it comes to my beloved Arsenal as we’ve seen before one bad showing/result and we could go to pot.
I’d prefer that from now onwards Liverpool, Spurs and Southampton drop as many points as possible to ensure we’ve got 4th at least secured as early as possible. We can then focus on looking upwards in the table without getting nervy come the last few games.
Off topic hafiz rahman must be really gutted his team (spuds) lost to villa loool
Where were you on Saturday?
Joe was watching Spuds
Man Utd win or draw against Chelsea isnt doing us any good or bad. The team should capitalize on winning our remaining fixtures and it is then we are doing ourselves good. Like Wenger said, we care about our result and finishing the season strong by focusing on our game because any favourable results besides Arsenal win is a plus and added advantage to us. For the title race, its too little, too late, hope we start next season like house on fire.. God bless Arsenal
I hope Chelsea win cause Arsenal finishing second will only help the club’s reputation as a good motivating period for the team and i can’t see any more than loss for Man utd which will help the gunners get 2nd and trophy to boot, all the media will focus on the Manchester area and Liverpool with their futures on the balance. The bonus arsenal get is that if arsenal lift the trophy not only will start talking about Wenger on being the most successful manager in F.A cup but will really knock the stuffing off Owen,Neville,Scholes.
Wat people don’t understand here is dat if we hav a chance of winning d title den so does man utd ! Dey are only 1 point behind us remember!! Also dey hav been better den us against d big teams.! D best result in man vs Chelsea wud b a draw and not a utd win!! Yes we can win d title but don’t get carried away by d hype, we can finish lower den 2nd as well!!
You can’t tell me that it isn’t more difficult to type that badly.
@Sacrificial_Pizza
Yeh, innit, checkit! 🙂
People are behaving as if Chelsea or MU will roll over. We have to face both of them and shouldnt get carried away. We should consider ourselves lucky we didnt get to play this MU side. Let us stay grounded and finish as high as possible.
I personally would prefer a draw so we get a little space from Utd. In the grand scheme a Chelsea draw is not a big deal – 2 Chelsea draws instead of a loss and a draw is. Because they have the odd point on us (7 points instead of 6) we still have to win that extra game on them. In reality 8 points compared to 7 is not a huge difference with this low number of games. If they draw with utd and then we beat them it’ll be 5 points to Chelsea and level with Utd if they win their extra game. I’d prefer not to play utd while below them in the league to be honest. A win at Utd then gives us a 3 point gap to Utd or a loss means we can get back above them by winning our game in hand (and having better goal diff). Chelsea would still have to drop 2 games to lose the title, Utd only have to beat us and Chelsea to be virtually guaranteed second though. Draw is the best result.