Wobbling Arsenal meet woeful Chelsea on Tuesday night before Man City face a West Ham side who caved at the weekend. Also: Man Utd and Liverpool push for Europe, while Napoli can end a 33-year wait…
Game to watch – Arsenal v Chelsea
Tuesday night brings a meeting of two sides who’ve hit the skids. One is still going in the right direction, the other heading f*** knows where.
For Arsenal, it might be too late to arrest their slide given the initiative at the top of the Premier League now belongs to Manchester City. Last Wednesday, Arsenal were tucked up and sung a lullaby by the reigning champions in the latest of four games for the Gunners without a win. Three points from 12 available is the clearest evidence of a decline that is likely to prove terminal for their title hopes.
In the short term, Arsenal need a reset. In recent weeks they’ve looked bereft of energy and composure. The second part we can largely put down to their inexperience, certainly compared to City, when the stakes are so high. But you don’t need to have been there and done it already to know that the situation called for calmer heads than Arsenal have exhibited in recent weeks.
How does Mikel Arteta facilitate that reset? The Gunners’ boss is wholly reluctant to make changes either in personnel or shape. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ has been Arteta’s approach to team selection, which has carried them far. But now Arsenal are malfunctioning so something has got to give.
Still, it could be worse, they could be Chelsea. They really are broken, certainly beyond repair for Frank Lampard. Since he returned to Stamford Bridge to instil some confidence and rejuvenate a shambolically-assembled squad, the Blues have lost five in a row, scoring a single goal.
Chelsea’s problems aren’t Lampard’s fault, but he damn sure hasn’t applied any fixes. Which is a problem when all of the current top four are among their opponents for the last six games of a sorry, sorry season. Just how bad might it get?
Read more: Ranking Todd Boehly mistakes at Chelsea: Lampard fourth as daft new contracts make the cut
Team to watch – Manchester United
United need three wins from their remaining six games to seal their return to the Champions League. It would take a spectacular slump for the Red Devils to choke now, especially with five out of their six opponents currently between 10th and 15th. So, on paper, their toughest remaining test comes on Thursday when they go to…
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