Opinion – We can beat Chelsea and still fight for Top Four

Let us show the Blues we are kings of the capital by Lagos Gooner

When Tammy Abraham scored the winning goal against Arsenal the last time we played Chelsea, I was heartbroken. I felt really bad because up until the second half of that game, we had virtually boxed Chelsea into a corner. We had the momentum and we were inspired to win the game. How and why we lost the game, still baffles me. That was our last league game of last year and what I wished for was for us to end the year on a high, but Chelsea spoilt the fun for me. My brothers, who are Chelsea fans, tormented me until I left town….

This Tuesday we will be going to the home of Chelsea to get revenge. This Tuesday, we are going to their home to score goals and inflict a home defeat on them. This Tuesday, we are going to show Chelsea that we are a different team in 2020 to what we were in 2019. Chelsea will realize who are kings of London after we beat them on Tuesday. Our game against Sheffield has come and gone and our focus now is on beating Chelsea, and we will..

Chelsea are currently ahead of us with 11 points and they are occupying the last Champion’s league position. Beating them will reduce the points gap between us and move us closer to the top four. I am of the opinion that we will still end the season in the top four, and we are shaking Chelsea off the top four spot. However, we need to show our intent by beating them and beating them well on Tuesday.

This is the type of game where we will need our top scorer, Aubameyang. But in his absence, I believe Martinelli, Lacazette and Pepe will do the magic.

We are tired of being known as also rans; we need to start pulling our weight and start bullying both the smaller and the bigger teams. Anything other than a victory against Chelsea in their ground will not be acceptable.

Another trend i would like us to put a stop to, is the trend of allowing one player have an easy ride over us whenever we meet. Tammy scored against us in the reverse leg; he is actually on a scoring run against us. Before him, Dider Drogba was our nemesis, now that Drogba is gone, Tammy looks like the Chelsea play most likely to break our hearts. Our defenders and midfielders must be on the alert through out the game for anything Chelsea throws at us; and we must be ready to take advantage of their defensive flaws and score as many goals as possible.

We are Arsenal and we are proud.

Sylvester Kwentua

41 Comments

  1. Top four is mathematically possible. But it will be highly unlikely, if we see our form, our player quality and our immature system

    Arteta usually has no plan B in the second half. This was exposed in several EPL games already, including the one against Lampard

    We could win at Stamford Bridge, because the players’ motivation will increase due to the prestige of the big game. But consistency is still a big issue

  2. I’m nervous already!! Apart from Auba and Martinelli, where exactly do our goals come from?? 30 goals in 23 games!! Sheesh!

    Stamford Bridge hasn’t been a great place for us in recent years.. but there’s always hope (unless the ref/var have other ideas – Attwell and Tierney)
    Come on Arsenal, let’s do this. Luiz to score 😜 It’s on BT, no doubt I’ll be watching from behind my sofa!
    And I hope the women smash them later too!! COYG!
    Sylvester, if we do win, I hope you give your brothers, and everyone else a load of grief 😀 (Top 4 has gone, imo)

    1. Morning sue how’s you ?. anyway we need to beat the blues to make the top 4 for sure as they or as bad as us anyway off the topic I fancy swapping lacazette for lamer +10 million as lemar as got youth on his side and in the summer get a good CB and a big strong Defensive midfielder and a RB we av a good front 3 for lamer pra pepe not bad

      1. Hi TK, not bad thanks, how about you?
        Tbh, I’m not sure if I fancy Lemar, I do like Laca, but agree we do need a CB (Mings!)…12 days to go…what’s the betting we’ll have to wait till the summer!!

        1. Am fine thanks I think mikel will get the best out off lemar and put gabriel up front with pea we will be fine for next season with a good CB who’s big and strong and a strong defensive midfielder and a RB we will av a good crack at 3 rd spot next season

          1. You’re right, Mikel could work wonders with him, he has with all of our team!!
            Don’t get me wrong, when we put that massive bid in for him, I was buzzing, then it all went pete tong and that was that! I didn’t expect us to go back in for him…
            I think my problem is, I’m put off by age, or how they’ve done (or not done) and he hasn’t exactly set La Liga alight! Maybe I need to give the benefit of the doubt 😂👍

        2. Hi Sue, I hope we don’t buy anyone in this window we know quality won’t be available n if it is then asking price is sky high. We would probably end up with poor below avg or old, declining player. Who will then become a burden on our wage structure as well as forigen players restriction.

          1. Hiya Mohsan, I don’t want to end up with another Lichtsteiner!! 😳😂
            So, we make do with what we have? And go all out in the summer?
            The only thing that worries me is, yes top 4 is out of reach, but we still have a chance in the EL & FA Cup (unless of course Mike Dean officiates)…. have we got enough depth to cover?

    2. Hope it won’t be dean whatever we did to these guys!! I have lost count he just almost every time rules against us.

  3. Beating the chavs? I just dont see us doing it. Its the rwality, we cant seem to score more than one goal. Expecting our dsfsnse to protect such a slender lead over 90 mins is unrealistic. Give ceballos the number 10 role for this match theres zero creativity ATM.

  4. I thought Arsenal played well v SU and deserved to win.
    We should have got the second via the penalty spot.
    Every one had a decent game no one played badly and but for the late equalizer
    we would be talking about how we are on the up.
    Agree we can beat Chelsea but we can also lose to Chelsea who will be hurting bad
    after their sucker punch 94th min loss to Newcastle via Isac Hayden.
    Arsenal getting 4th place in the league will require a big improvement in results.
    Right now we are one of nine sides between 28 and 34 points trying to make next season’s EL.
    This years EL is how we can make CL because league form is irrelevant
    and on paper with Pepe Martinelli Luiz Bellerin + Ceballos we have a stronger squad
    than Emery’s squad who made the final last season.
    Then we have the FA cup as well so all sorts of possibilities await.

  5. Chelsea are 10 points ahead, not 11 points. Fans need to stop deluding themselves about the top 4. The way we’re playing, not even the top 6 is looking likely!

    The top 3 is done, so that means a lot of teams fighting it out for the remaining Champions League position. Even if we pull off a miracle and beat Chelsea away, we’re still 7 points adrift. We need to then go on a winning run to put ourselves into real contention, something like 5/6 games in a row, yet I cannot see us even winning back-to-back games. On top of that, we need Chelsea, and another 5 teams in and around us to all start slipping up. It’s not impossible, but a miracle is needed, and it’s not in our hands.

    Given our lengthy injury list, lack squad depth, and quality, Arteta would be best advised to start resting his best players in the league, and go all out for the Europa League. Europe is our most realistic chance of getting in the Champions League, so we need to focus on that.

    1. I wish we would all stop talking about top 4. My main worry is relegation. It only takes a surge from the bottom teams and we are in the quagmire. Does anyone think our players have the balls to put up a fight. I dont.

  6. The gunners better get used to being without cl and even europa soccer for some time. Until the defence is improved things will get worze bf they get better.

  7. Top 4 has gone, everyone needs to accept it. Top 6 will be almost impossible to get.
    Our first choice full backs have been missing for ages and that won’t change soon. Although Saka and AMN aren’t doing a bad job, they are playing out of position where they could possible be better utilised on the wing and midfield. It looks like Kurzawa won’t now be coming as Tuchel wants him to stay at PSG. Central defence is ok for the rest of the season as all three are playing ok. It’s in midfield where we are severely lacking with no bite, creativity or drive. The transition from defence to attack is slow and deliberate allowing the opposition to stifle us going forward.
    Our main aim for this season is not top 4 but to avoid relegation and any other success, be it in the Europa league or FA cup a bonus. Let’s get this terrible season over with and regroup for next season.

  8. The sad thing about our last match is that honestly speaking,our midfielders and defence work their socks up but still pepe waste all of our counters, didnt deliver a single successful cross into the opposition box and lacazette is not just good enough.

    1. Not just him. I think it was 2 or 3 times Ozil could have played a player through with a fairly easy pass, and kept over hitting them.

      1. Ozil played 2 uncustomary weighty passes to martinelli. Who obviiusly wasn’t on the same wave-length to run in behind rather than come to feet. Ozil did well second half thought he could of taken a pop at goal in other players. Also I agree with the other comment above that Pepe has slowed down our counters as he’s taken to many touches on the ball rather then ripping it in first time.

  9. I think 1st and 2nd place is currently out of question,no chance for any team.

    But the 3rd and 4th spots can be very gettable if we start on playing better.Our performances are way better than under emery.And MA has influenced the team in a very good way.If not for VAR we should have easily won 4 out of those 5 games under him.
    Specially the chelsea game we had them in the box for like 80mins.And those 2 goals tbey scored is not through their gameplan but from our own mistakes.Even against newcastle yesterday they were not effective in the final 3rd.They lack creativity there and their defence is a huge question mark.We can win
    The results will come.
    Why?There was a time,a few months ago all the gooners wished for is to see their team fight,they wanted to see commitment and they wanted laziness and ego out of their team and as now they are starting to see it, they want more.Thats natural and now we can start working on our results.

    And leicester city’s results and performances have been not very good in the last 2,3 games.If they lose today they will be under heavy pressure.They still have got very tough fixtures left in their campaign.

    And we have to play leicester,chelsea and spurs still so many things to be positive about.

    Just keep on believing and support the team.

    Appreciate this article👏

    COYG

    1. 👍👍👍@shakir anything can happen btn now and may we can be in relagation but then hey we gotta be positive top 4 is achievable.

    2. Shakir, You are the silliest and worst sort of self fooling fantasist on this site. Why are you so afraid of the plain truth that you need to constantly write nonsense? No serious mature, and considered Gooner gives us a hope in hell even of top six. That is based on EVIDENCE, not blind childish nonsense. Yet you, alone, DO think we might top three. My sincere advice is to start growing up and do it fast! IF YOU GO THROUGH LIFE DENYING PLAIN TRUTHS YOU WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING. FACE THE TRUTH, ALWAYS, WHETHER FOR GOOD OR ILL AND YOU HAVE AT LEAST AN EVEN CHANCE OF A DECENT LIFE.

  10. A deluded article most likely driven by reading The Hobbit. Good will always win in the end in fantasy novels. Sadly life is not about being the last man standing after destroying Sauron or even being the family’s lone Arsenal supporter. We are empirically poor. We have a poor squad, and other teams are better. Our choice of CBs over a few years suggests our choices we’re made by a lunatic who really was secretly working for Tottenham. With Ramsey, Wilshire and Cazorla gone we are creatively ground to the ground. Players are being lauded and praised who cannot concentrate for 90 mins and have little ability. The reality is we need BETTER players. They need to be spotted, they cost money. We are in a mess and without financial resources, this season is OVER and we will be empirically lucky to get in the top 11. Poor Arteta. He was chosen because the Kroenkes do not want to spend and he will accept that. Other than that he is a good manager.

    1. Shut your hands Bru with all that ignorant negative vibe you type.. I don’t think you are a fan and I am positive you know nothing about how a football business is run.. this site is for fans not for haters critique constructively not with shallow assumptions I know people who wanted Mourinho over here but looking at the way the spuds are playing now I say we dodged a bullet all this ignorant talk about Arteta coming in because kroenke doesn’t want to spend is the most stupid thing ever.. first it was Arteta is not experienced now that he has put that to rest its something else we know where the problem of the team lies talk about the performance and shut up about things you will never know.

      1. QUINCY, I SUGGEST YOU READ MY REPLY TO SHAKIR, ABOVE . MY COMMENTS TO HIM APPLY EQUALLY TO YOU AND IN THE SAME WAY. YOU ARE FOOLING YOURSELF AND NEED TO START GROWING UP FAST.

  11. Hello Gunners.. well what can I say we are getting the performance right but the results have not been going our way.. due to bad luck, poor refs, VAR and injuries but I can’t give these boys sticks because they leave it out on the pitch which is the essential ingredient for growth.. I also do believe if we had our full quality we would have picked up a couple wins in the last few games but not withstanding I never thought they had fight left in this squad but Arteta has done it.. hopefully we will get a proper left back back from injury because Saka clearly is struggling to fill the spot like AMN when he first started playing RB. Hats off to the team they need to keep fighting until the result starts coming.. I do believe that if Sok had played in place of Mustaphi and Kola in place of Saka we would have won yesterday.. Saka limited Xhaka options by almost always coming too deep for me right now the team is balanced Arteta needs to work on Arsenals goal scoring tactics that is the only thing left.

    1. You are deluded. I have been a fan, who lives close to both Highbury and the Emirates and I support Arsenal. I do not live in a deluded, emotionally driven fantasy world. We are poor. A poor team. I have been a supporter for a long, long time and always will be a more honest supporter than you. Bru.

  12. Unless there is a remarkable upturn in our form,which I cannot foresee,there is absolutely no chance of a top four position.As fans we have to accept that Arteta has inherited a squad with few outstanding players and some glaring weaknesses which cannot be overcome without quality additions in the summer window.We have a number of very promising youngsters in particular Saka and Martinelli and with Saliba and Tierney they can form a young nucleus for the future.As it is we lack quality at centre back and midfield and we will have to accept mid table mediocrity until that situation changes and our weaknesses are eradicated which may take some time .A very good point made earlier concerning the failure of Pepe to cross the ball effectively,well this will never happen if he continues to play on the right wing but will if he is switched to the left.He can barely control a simple pass with his right foot let alone cross a ball.

  13. my worry is substitution, MA takes too long to make substitution when its clearly we need fresh blood

  14. Any Gooner who thinks our moderate true midtable side has even a one percent chance of making top four is on another planet. I constantly call myself a realist and that is because I AM. I do not, EVER,EVER,EVER, play the childish and self indulgent game of kidding myself that the impossible is a possibility or even, as some freaks do, consider it a likelihood. What planet are these silly fans on for goodness sake? We will do amazingly well to finish 8th this season and I think we will stay 10th or at best 9th, leapfrogging Palace. All evidence and sober analysis of our current situation points to the fact that we are precisely where we deserve to be. I expect a narrow defeat at Chelsea and as a realist that is the most likely outcome.

    I am a huge fan of how MA has tightened our defending and we are not letting in loads of goals since he came. But neither are we scoring much or even making many chances. Why do people routinely ignore this fact when making silly predictions? We have a moderate side with many key injuries and at leat 6 regular player who would NEVER be considered even as squad members by all the teams above us, bar Sheff Utd, Palace and possibly Wolves. Liverpoool and Man City would choose no more than one or two at most in THEIR squads and probably none as starters, not even Auba. That is realism my friends and sets out PRECISELY where we are right now. I do expect much improvement next year with SOME(not enough though) of the deadwood being sold or moved out this summer and with the youngsters coming through, things could and should look better this time next season, esp given the fact we have the marvellous MA. But right now we are true midtable and to deny that is plain ridiculous. Bear in mind we have the ongoing enormous handicap of our owner. I choose, as a realist, not to ever forget that awful fact!

    1. Well said Jon. Some empirical realism. We are where we are based on lack of quality and experience. IF the Kroenkes address these issues…next season could be better. This season we may get in the top half of the table.

      1. Sean, It is so good to see that some on here are still realists. I see most of the fantasists on here denying the plain truth to themselves and wondering what will they even become in their own private lives. If they have not the character to face the truth, even when it is far from ideal, HOW ON EARTH will they ever handle lifes personal crisies that we all have to face at times. This comment transends mere football. Their immature view of fandom is that you pretend all is well when it plainly is not and pretend problems do not exist. That is childish and in fact many of these foolish fans are little more than children, mentally or even in age, which(AGE) would at least be some excuse!

        I have been going though our players and asking myself which,if any, would be of ANY serious interest to our traditional top rivals. Depressingly few,is the sad realism! But very many of their players would vastly improve our team and we realists know that only too well. Because we do not kid ourselves and we have the character and maturity to face the truth head on and state it fearlessly. Because we are true ADULTS!

      2. I dread that if we can’t make it to champions League some how this season (UEFA cup best shot) we will suffer more next season. We will be more cash strap n as our club earnings declining at rapid pace we might not be able to stump up the cash to buy quality players. As a result we will suffer with poor avg players year after year. The way I see it is there are three ways to achieve success in football 1) either you buy world-class players at high price eg Madrid, city, PSG. 2) you have a really good scouting system that can get you world-class players who have flopped or not given enough opportunity at one club but the quality is there to succeed at other eg Liverpool. 3) You have an excellent academy structure that keep producing talented n world-class crop of players on which you can relay to achieve success. ….. Unfortunately we are poor in all three departments.

  15. I had to look up empirical! I’m in agreement with your assessment of Jon’s post.
    In my deluded moments I still think there is a teeny weeny possibility of winning a cup this year but top 6 finish is very unlikely.

    1. SueP I think we have good chance of winning one of the cups either FA cup or UEFA cup. If it was me I would put all the effort in winning UEFA cup, it will be our route back into champions League n is a bigger trophy then FA cup.

  16. We’ll gun Chelsea down if we get to start the right players for each halves.

    From all have been reading and seeing so far, ion see anything wrong with Bellerin any longer.
    He should start ahead of AMN then maybe substituted if not playing fine.
    Any of the CBs we’ve got would be acceptable but we’ve got to move Luiz in DM with Torriera and Ceballos in front roaming the Mid section field and behind Ozil to receive and interchange link passes especially with Ceballos always and whenever like Cazorla and Wilshere always did. Ozil will be substituted for Xhaka then comes the reverse.

    Laca as CF for he needs no benching.
    Martinelli’ as RWF.
    Pepe as LWF.

    And please someone should remind the team of Shooting outside the Box, it is now very necessary.

    IMO.

  17. We can beat Chelsea I would stop at that, we are not making top four this season that is a fact. Being optimistic is good but not all the time, sometimes you need to look at the facts n judge what is logically possible.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors