Arsenal have to bridge gap

ARSENAL HAVE been here before, though life never feels any easier when reality bites. Manchester United had followed Chelsea’s lead by rampaging to comfortable victory at the Emirates on Sunday leaving Arsene Wenger dumbfounded and his players utterly deflated. The defiant talk that was mustered in the aftermath came laced with an acceptance of failure. “We are still there, definitely,” said Cesc Fabregas as he surveyed the title race. “But I’m not going to lie to myself: Chelsea were better than us, United have been better than us.”

That was a brutally frank admission yet, by the time Wenger’s side depart the turf at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening, they could be back at square one. The league leaders had swept into an 11-point advantage over their London rivals with their 3-0 success at the Emirates in November, and that margin could be re-established with defeat this weekend. Arsenal’s 10-match unbeaten league sequence between collisions with Chelsea and United feels less impressive in that context, a mere dismissal of also-rans, with long-term ambitions undermined by the propensity to implode in the games that really count.

Perhaps the manager had guessed as much. In his programme notes on Sunday he had sought encouragement from United’s relative toils against the big four last season, when six games yielded five points but did not derail a successful defence of the Premier League title. “I always felt that the games against the rest of the top four would determine the league, but last year Manchester United proved me wrong on that,” wrote Wenger.

Statistically, that achievement was relatively unusual – seven times in the last 10 seasons the club who have achieved better results against the other members of that elite group have claimed the title – even if it constitutes a crumb of comfort to Arsenal, who have lost twice to United and once to Chelsea this season. Yet the idea this team could recover an 11-point gap from the leaders twice in the same campaign seems unlikely.

Rather, Arsenal appear to have one final opportunity to stamp some authority on the Premier League pursuit and pep belief in the process: by winning at Stamford Bridge this weekend. “We have to beat them to stay in the title race,” said Fabregas.

“It’s never a good time to play Chelsea, whether you are nine points clear or nine points behind. They are a strong side and have been playing together for a long time. But we have to be positive, strong and together more than ever. It’s up to us to show what we can do.”

The worry is Chelsea will know what to expect. They plundered on the break at the Emirates, as United did on Sunday, but will attempt to impose themselves at home on the forthcoming derby. Above all, though, Didier Drogba’s shadow looms ominously over this fixture. The Ivory Coast international has scored 10 goals in 11 appearances against Arsenal since moving to England in 2004. His presence appears to inflict psychological damage; the visitors were relieved in his absence when they won 2-1 in south-west London last season.

A defence that wilted against United must summon better resolve and greater concentration to prevail this time around in the knowledge Wenger’s side must conjure victory in this fixture if the answers to all the familiar questions rearing again are not to become undeniable.

Are Arsenal weakened by the lack of a focal point to their forward line? Will Wenger’s inability to add to his squad during the midwinter transfer window cost him this term? Does the goalkeeper’s vulnerability leave them prone at key moments? Can a team of youthful promise sustain a title challenge, or is the manager’s faith in their ability misplaced? The clash at Stamford Bridge might appear ominous, but it must be considered as one final opportunity to fulfil potential.

GuardianService