Pages

Check out my new blog, Markas' Michigan Sports, at this link: https://markasmichigansports.blogspot.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

A bit too late: Arsenal's late push for the title may not be enough

Alexis Sanchez (red, middle) score against Beskitas in
in the Champions League group stage (CNN International)
Arsenal has been in the best form in the Premier League as of late, winning in their last eight games.That is followed closely by Manchester United winning 8 of 9 EPL games with 1 draw. Alexis Sanchez appears to be on the way to a possible Player of the Year award, proving that a 51.7 million dollar transfer fee was worth it for Arsenal. Goalkeeper David Ospina has been playing great, conceding only 9 goals in 16 games since overtaking Wojciech Szczesny for the starting role in January. I think this was the right move for Arsene Wenger, as Szczesny had been close to awful in goal and had been caught smoking in the showers after his last Premier League game against Southampton.

As it stands, Arsenal is 7 points shy of first place Chelsea. Chelsea does have an extra game in hand though against Leicester. Arsenal has a date with Chelsea next week, which with a win, could really make the season finish more exciting. This week against Reading, it would be smart to rest players in the FA Cup semifinal. Arsenal fans will be pulling for Manchester United to come out on top against Chelsea this coming weekend.

Although we set in second place, it appears that Chelsea will probably win the title. I would still consider second place a good finish for Arsenal, having been ravaged by injuries early on and setting in 5th as late as December.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Markas,
    I really enjoyed reading this post. I agree that Arsene Wenger did the right thing by starting Ospina. There were definitely some game we lost because of the poor goalkeeping by Szczesny. I also would be okay with a second place finish but a chance at the title is still in reach. With the way Arsenal is playing right now I would not be surprised if it is a close finish. It should be a win against Sunderland this Saturday, so we will see what happens. What are your early predictions for next season?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Markas,
    I really do feel bad for Wojciech Szczesny. Last season, he was very good for Arsenal, but this season he has been replaced by David Ospina, due to some poor performances. I hope Szczesny can earn back more playing time, and play good. I was glad to see Szczesny play against Reading in the FA Cup Semifinal. If Manchester United would have beat Chelsea on Saturday, April 18th, that would have been very good for Arsenal. Arsenal play Chelsea on the 26th, and If Arsenal continue to win, and Chelsea loses a couple more games, I think Arsenal could have a really good shot at winning the league.

    ReplyDelete