Malaysian Gooner

With Arsenal title chase back on track, Malaysian Gooner looks to the fixture list to forecast how the Gunners will fair in what might prove to be an important month in one of the most closely contested title races since the Premier League’s inception.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd all have relatively easy matches in March but potential babana skin matches lie towards the end of the month for all three clubs. Besides the second leg Champions League tie against Porto (9th March), the Gunners will play at home to Burnley(6th March) and West Ham(20th March) while travelling away to Hull City(13th March) ; all within the space of 14 days. It wouldn’t be unrealistic though to expect 4 wins out of 4 as our home record has been good and while our away form has been mixed, we have passed more difficult tests than Hull. The potential banana skin match though comes on the 27th, when we play Birmingham at St. Andrews. Birmingham played out a 0-0 draw against Chelsea and held Man Utd to a 1-1 scoreline already this season at St. Andrews; the Gunners will definitely not be expecting an easy day out.

Chelsea play Stoke(7th March) , West Ham(13th March) and Inter Milan(16th March) at home before travelling to Blackburn(20th March) and Portmouth(24th March). Not many would bet against 4 wins out of 4 for Chelsea in the league but a tough 2nd leg against Inter Milan may not leave much in the tank for when they visit Ewood Park 4 days later. Blackburn though, have had a mixed season and is definitely not Chelsea’s potential banana skin for the month of March. That award falls to Aston Villa, who visit Stamford Bridge on the 27th. Aston Villa’s away record against the top 3 this season has been mixed, managing a 1-0 win at Old Trafford before getting smashed 3-0 by the Gunners.

Man Utd will look at their two away games in March as relatively straight forward, beginning the month by visiting Wolves (6th March) and ending it at Bolton(27th March). But their three home game between those matches are anything but straight forward. AC Milan(10th March), Fulham(14th March) and Liverpool(21st March) will all visit Old Trafford in the space of 11 days. Fulham have proven tough competition for the top 3 this season. Arsenal somehow escaped with a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage thanks to a 5 star Vito Mannone performance before Man Utd were stuffed 3-0. Even away from home, Fulham led at Stamford Bridge before Chelsea struck twice on 73 and 75. If playing Fulham wasn’t hard enough, a Liverpool side chasing the 4th Champions League spot worth €40m come to town a week later. And the fixture list doesn’t get any easier for United, if there ever was a month of death on the Manchester United footballing calendar, April is definitely it. United play Man City, Chelsea and Spurs in what will be a decisive month for the Red Devils.

In a season filled with surprises, anything can still happen in this title race. The title is still Chelsea’s to lose but suddenly that title seems a lot easier to lose for the Blues. Arsenal look to do what has been done to them so many times before, pick up form at the right time of the season and grab the Emirates first piece of silverware!

Well mathematically, it’s impossible to win the title in February but Arsenal’s next 4 Premiership games in the space of 15 days will play a very important role in deciding if the Emirates Stadium will see it’s first Premiership trophy. Away to Villa, at home to Man Utd, away to Chelsea, at home to Liverpool. 4 games that look daunting but at closer inspection, the Gunners should fancy their chances. In my opinion, 10 points out of 12 from these matches and Gooners can start dreaming of a title again. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to dream.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal (27/1/2010)

Aston Villa have proven over the past few seasons that they are no pushovers and this will certainly be a tight match. Cesc Fabregas’ 27 minute cameo was the difference between the two sides at the Emirates and Arsenal win need another performance of that sort from captain fantastic in order to secure the points at Villa Park. Villa have not been in the best of form but you can never right them off and their players will be motivated to impress Martin O’Neill as Villa head to Wembley  at the end of this month in the League Cup finals. A win would be sensational but a draw seems reasonable.

Arsenal vs Manchester United (31/1/2010)

2-1 at Old Trafford without Cesc Fabregas in a game that we deserved not just something out of the game, but a win. We gifted Man Utd 2 goals after an Arshavin stunner put us in front. Since that game, we’ve improved as a team and with Cesc back pulling the strings in the middle of the park, Man Utd will have their hands full. While we’ve improved, some might argue Man Utd have not. I have never seen a Man Utd team so inconsistent and it may come down to the fact that games that Man Utd used to win narrowly thanks to magical moments from CR7 are now mere draws or worse, loses. With the possible return of Alex Song (Cameroon play favourites Egypt on the 25th, which all Gooners hope they’ll lose), I expect Arsenal to play well and send out a signal to our rivals that we are very much in this title race with 3 points.

Chelsea vs Arsenal (7/2/2010)

A full 7 days after the match at the Emirates we will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on a Chelsea team that will be welcoming back their African contingent of stars from the African Cup of Nations. One man that will not be in that lineup is Michael Essien who will miss the game through injury. Worryingly though, the man that tormented Arsenal at the Emirates, Didier Drogba will definitely be available if fit. I know its unsporting to say so, but I hope Drogba’s run with the Côte d’Ivoire team results in him picking up an injury. A Drogba-less Chelsea may have beaten Sunderland 7-2 but it is nowhere near as good as a Chelsea team containing Drogba. If Arsenal can keep Drogba quiet, we may just nick a win at Stamford Bridge but that act is easier said than done.

Arsenal vs Liverpool (10/2/2010)

Liverpool have been having so many problems both on and off the pitch this season that the club can’t even afford to sack their underachieving manager. Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have both been ruled out by injuries and unless Arsenal pick up injuries to key players; this should be 3 points in the bag against a Liverpool defence that is nowhere as good as it used to be.

Besides a few tricky away matches at Birmingham (27/3/2010) and Spurs (10/4/2010), most of our ‘tough’ opponents will visit the Emirates where we will always have the upper hand with the large pitch, carpet grass and crowd support. If Arsenal can stay within touching distance of the leaders after this 15 day period, we’ll be in for a very interesting title race.

Of course anything can change in 15 days. In fact, everything can change in 24 hours as the transfer window is still open. Please post your views and thoughts in the comments section below.