And Then There Were Three

Your Weekly Premier League Update

By Jonathan Gault

Though you can’t definitively say anything about this year’s Premier League, this weekend seemed to be the one where the most wide-open title race of the Premier League era morphed into a three-way battle between Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea. Just two points separate those three, and they’re six points up on fourth-place Liverpool, who was lucky to escape with a draw at home to Aston Villa on Saturday.

Liverpool isn’t totally out of it. Daniel Sturridge has seamlessly returned to the team—all five of its remaining games against the top six are at Anfield, and Luis Suarez might actually be a superhero. But overhauling three teams will require Liverpool to play near-perfect football, home and away, while hoping that its rivals slip up. It’s just not happening.

One thing worth paying attention to with regard to the title race: the Champions League. The top three all progressed to the knockout rounds, but because of their mistakes in the group stage, Arsenal and City must deal with Bayern Munich and Barcelona, respectively (Chelsea plays Galatasaray). There is a silver lining here, though. If Arsenal and City fall in the round of 16, they save themselves from playing a potential four extra games, including two midweek trips to Europe and back (the final will be played two weeks after the Premier League concludes).

This line of thinking would upset Manuel Pellegrini, who stated that he wants to win four trophies in his first season in Manchester. But for Arsene Wenger and silverware-starved Gunners fans (their drought is at nine years), an early exit in Europe might be a blessing in disguise. Arsenal have a large stable of attacking players, but Theo Walcott is out for the season and Aaron Ramsey, Nacho Monreal, Tomas Rosicky and Olivier Giroud have all been banged up in recent weeks. Holding midfielder Mikel Arteta has missed the last two games and captain Thomas Vermaelen has been out for most of the season. Arsenal need time to rest up, but it’s hard to do that when you’re playing two games a week.

Now a few thoughts on this weekend’s games:

·       Spurs beat Swansea 3-1 on Sunday and might feel insulted that I mentioned Liverpool as an outside threat for the title and not them. It’s a fair criticism, since the two are level on points. But as well as Tim Sherwood has done in charge (16 of a possible 18 points), I think that comes to an end very soon. Spurs’ next three are Man City, Hull away, Everton and Newcastle away. After that, they get two Europa League games against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (managed by old friend Juande Ramos), a distraction Liverpool don’t have to endure. The re-emergence of Emmanuel Adebayor has helped solve some of Tottenham’s scoring problems, but Liverpool still has a much higher upside than this bunch.

·       It’s been repeated by pretty much everyone who follows the Premier League, but Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Chelsea showed it: Manchester United simply don’t have the quality to contend for the title this year. United’s only legitimate stars are Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, and both have missed chunks of the season, starting just seven games together. Without them, the Red Devils generally rely on Adnan Januzaj to generate chances, and while he’s performing at a level that belies his 18 years of age, Januzaj alone is not enough against a superior defensive team such as Chelsea. Danny Welbeck deserves credit, too, for scoring some fantastic goals of late, but the rest of the squad can be exposed (and have been).

·       Crystal Palace climbed off the bottom as Tony Pulis put one over on former club Stoke with a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park. Pulis’ squads are rarely pretty, but he deserves a ton of credit for turning Palace around this year. The club looked hopeless when it parted ways with Ian Holloway on October 23, but Pulis has the Eagles performing better on both ends. If you only counted games after Holloway’s departure, Palace would be tied for ninth right now. That’s a great, great coaching job.

Out Here Grindin

By Jonathan Gault

December is a busy month for Premier League teams. The just-concluded first full week included two games for each team, while this one brings midweek Champions League and Europa League games and a full slate of Premier League games at the weekend. And of course, there are the traditional Boxing Day games later in the month, which will lead to every team playing three games in a seven-to-nine day span.

Matt Dunham/AP

When the games start coming this quickly, teams can’t afford to dwell on what might have been. That late equalizer you surrendered on Saturday? Move on, there’s another game Tuesday. It’s a grind for every club. September and October are the months for attacking displays of skill; once the weather turns cold and the skies turn dark around 4:30, the grinding begins. Don’t worry about the process – just get a result and move onto the next game.

No two teams have been better at that this season than Arsenal and Everton, and it’s fitting that the two played out a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. I’ll give credit where it’s due though – this match was exciting. Both teams played entertaining attacking football, and Olivier Giroud almost grabbed a winner in stoppage time when his strike hit the bar.

But my point stands – both teams took a shot, and though neither had enough to win, each came away from the match with a point, a valuable commodity in a league where spots two through seven are separated by four points.

Everton has played some exciting games recently – after a 3-3 draw with Liverpool on Nov. 23, the Toffees beat Stoke 4-0 the next week – but they’ve also drawn seven times this year (most of anyone in the Premier League), including four 0-0 results. That Stoke win was their only one this season by more than a goal, and even the historic win at Old Trafford on Wednesday could have gone the other way were it not for a few hit posts and Bryan Oviedo’s late winner. But they’ve lost just once (fewest in the league) and new manager Roberto Martinez deserves credit for rejuvenating a side that had stalled in recent years under David Moyes.

No Toffees fan wanted to lose Marouane Fellaini, but his departure has freed a couple of his fellow Belgians (Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas) to assume a greater role in the attack. Add to that the emergence of 19-year-old Spaniard Gerard Deulofeu, who’s now scored twice in the last three weeks, and Everton have a nice cadre of attacking talent. The Toffees have a relatively easy remainder of the month (Fulham, at Swansea, Sunderland, Southampton) and if they can keep on grinding, they’ll have a great chance to extend their eight-game unbeaten run into 2014.

Arsenal began the year on fire, going unbeaten in 12 games across all competitions (including 10 wins) after dropping their season opener to Aston Villa. They’ve understandably slowed recently, and though they’ve notched a signature win (the 2-0 win over Liverpool on Nov. 2), Arsenal’s recent Premier League efforts haven’t been overpowering. The Gunners’ last four matches include wins over Hull, Cardiff and Southampton, but none of them have been brilliant start-to-finish performances. Arsenal did dominate possession against Hull and came out deserved winners. But two late goals in the Cardiff match turned a 1-0 game into a 3-0 win, and Arsenal actually lost the possession battle against Southampton. The Southampton game was far closer than the 2-0 scoreline suggested, as the Gunners’ first goal was due to an error by Saints goalkeeper Artur Boruc and the second came from the penalty spot.

If I sounded harsh on Arsenal in the previous paragraph, I apologize. With all the attacking talent in that squad, Arsenal’s 80 percent is still better than a lot of squad’s 100, and Arsene Wenger’s side have still played impressive football over the last month. It’s just that we haven’t seen a Man City-style 7-0 decimation out of this Gunners team yet, and it’s clear that Arsenal are capable of such a display.

Instead, we’ve seen measured excellence. Arsenal has produced a string of good performances, rather than one great one, and that’s the way to win the Premier League. For so many years, Manchester United would take care of business while watching its rivals falter. Last year, United dropped 16 points to teams in the top six, but nine to the remaining 14 teams. The Gunners are following a similar blueprint this season – they’ve drawn with Everton and lost to Man United, but have won 11 of their remaining 13 games to take a five-point lead at the top of the league.

Wenger has rotated his forwards and midfielders to preserve his depth, which will only improve now that Theo Walcott is back and Lukas Podolski expected to join him in a week or two. They’ll need them; Arsenal’s next two are as tough as they come – a visit to the Etihad Stadium, where Man City has been near-impossible to beat, and home to Chelsea on Dec. 23. Oh, and before they begin that stretch, they have to travel to Napoli on Wednesday in the Champions League. But, as it does for Everton, the plan remains the same: play well enough to win every week and get at least a point from every game. 

Keep on grinding.

Arsenal Extend Lead at Top of Premier League with Convincing 2-0 Win Over Liverpool

By Jonathan Gault

Last week in this space, I wondered if anyone could stop Liverpool’s dynamic strike partnership of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez. After 90 minutes on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium, we have an answer: Yes. In a matchup of the top two teams in the Premier League table, Arsenal limited Liverpool’s chances while creating several of their own through their impressive stable of attacking players. Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey scored the goals in the 2-0 win and while both were well-taken efforts, Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Tomas Rosicky were all dangerous moving forward as well.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta helped engineer the victory from the midfield, completing 100 of his 106 passes on the day and leading all players in successful tackles (seven), per FourFourTwo’s Stats Zone. Ramsey’s goal was particularly impressive as the Welshman took his time to collect a bouncing ball on the edge of the penalty area before firing a beautiful swerving shot over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. The 22-year-old Ramsey has always shown potential, but he’s reached another level in 2013-14 and has been among the very best in the Premier League through 10 games.

There were a lot of exciting fixtures this weekend, so let’s take a quick lap around the league and examine the goings-on.

Newcastle 2  Chelsea 0 – This year’s Premier League has been about parity, and no club better exemplifies that than Newcastle over the past two weeks. After losing to then-winless Sunderland last Sunday, Newcastle turned around and beat second-place Chelsea on Saturday at St. James’ Park. The Magpies’ second goal came courtesy of French forward Loic Remy, who has been one of the Premier League’s best new additions this season. Remy, currently on loan from Queens Park Rangers, scored for the sixth time on Saturday and helped move Newcastle into ninth place with the win.

Fulham 1  Manchester United 3 – Don’t look now, but heavily criticized Manchester United have won three of their last four and are just three points out of second at the season reaches the quarter pole. They played arguably their best game of the season on Saturday, going 3-0 up within 22 minutes at Craven Cottage to hand Fulham their sixth loss in nine matches. Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie – who are right with Sturridge and Suarez when it comes to attacking duos – both scored in the contest as Fulham sank to 16th with the loss.

Manchester City 7  Norwich 0 – Blues boss Manuel Pelligrini benched starting goalkeeper Joe Hart in favor of Costel Pantilimon, but we’ll have to wait until at least midweek to see if the decision was worthwhile. Pantilimon faced just one shot on target as seven different City players scored in a rout at the Etihad Stadium. City have now won all five home games and have scored 28 goals on the season – six more than the next team, Arsenal. But until City’s defense and away form (they’ve taken just four of a possible 15 points on the road) improve, they’ll struggle to make up ground on leaders Arsenal.

Everton 0  Tottenham 0 – The winner of this match could have moved up to second in the league table, but neither team seized the opportunity in a rather disappointing fixture.

Cardiff 1  Swansea 0 – In a frenzied atmosphere at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff won the first-ever Premier League version of the South Wales derby behind a header from captain Steven Caulker. Swansea had the better of possession, 55% to Cardiff’s 45%, but the home side were able to limit Swansea to just three shots on target by clamping down in the final third. Caulker outleaped Chico Flores for the only goal off a corner in the 62nd minute, and though both sides had a few other chances, neither could add to the scoring. The match ended on a sour note, as Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm was sent off after leaping at substitute Fraizer Campbell in the first minute of stoppage time. Having used all three substitutes, the Swans had to put defender Angel Rangel in goal for the final minutes. Rangel did well to save the ensuing free kick but was not tested further as Cardiff spent most of stoppage time in the corners as they closed out a much-needed win.

Off-Week Overview in the Premier League

Arsenal and Liverpool are a Surprise

By Chris Battiloro

Photo from Yahoo Sports

It’s only seven weeks in, but some definition has begun to form in the Premier League table, and it doesn’t look much like it has for the past few years. 

While it is still early, nearly nobody would have predicted Arsenal and Liverpool atop the league with Man U, Man City, and Tottenham all residing out of the top four. 

With no games taking place this week we can look at the season thus far, and why the tides may be changing.

Arsenal has found its way so 

far this season. They seem to finally have found a system that works, and a majority of it is due to the play of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsay. Ozil is the league-leader in assists, while Ramsay currently is tied for third-most goals in the league. 

Their play has been a constant highlight in Arsenal games thus far. They faltered a bit last week, only getting a draw against West Brom. However, I expect Arsenal to keep up the form; this just may be their year!

Liverpool, too, has is playing unlike it has in recent years. Much of the credit is attributed to recent play of striker combo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, who leads Premier league with six goals. However, I am still not convinced they can keep this form up. They had a good 1-0 win over a struggling Man U, but other than that, I feel they have yet to prove they are the team to beat this season. As of now, I am looking ahead to week 10, where Liverpool plays Arsenal. That game is likely to be a statement game, considering the two currently reside at the top of the league.

I’m not sure what I want to say about Manchester United’s season to this point. Part of me wants to say “well, of course the Red Devils would not be the same without Sir Alex Ferguson behind the wheel.” Yet on the other hand, they have so much talent; it could easily be argued that a coaching change couldn’t possibly hurt them this much. 

Well, it might not be new coach David Moyes’ fault. I mean, Wayne Rooney seems like a whole new player compared to his performance and attitude last year. Robin Van Persie missed some time early, but returned swiftly and made quick contributions.

Offense has been there for the most part; the problem seems to be the failing defense to keep its shape, especially during transition. This could just be an adjustment issue from Ferguson’s system to Moyes’. Moyes knows he doesn’t have a lot of room for error. He has to get the team back to top form, and fast, before his era in Manchester ends with a bus ticket.                                          

North London Rising

By Jonathan Gault

It’s probably too early to tell for sure, but through six games in the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season, it appears that the balance of power has shifted from Manchester to North London. There was perhaps no better example of this theory than Saturday, when Manchester United and Manchester City lost in the Premier League on the same day for the first time in five years. North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs took advantage, with Arsenal going top following an impressive 2-1 win and Swansea and Spurs moving into third after a 1-1 draw with fourth-place Chelsea.

Since the opening day of the season, Arsenal and Spurs have combined to lose just one game – Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sept. 1. City and United have lost five times in that span, and though one of those was United’s 4-1 loss to City last weekend, losses to Aston Villa and Cardiff (City) and West Brom (United) are tough to swallow given the teams’ 1-2 finish last year.

Masashi Hara/Getty Images

While United’s struggles are the biggest story of the season so far – they’re in 12th place right now – Arsenal’s resurgence has been perhaps the most fun storyline to follow. Since their defeat to Aston Villa on the first day of the season – a match in which everything that could have gone wrong for the Gunners did – Arsenal has won eight of nine in all competitions, with the lone draw coming in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday against West Brom. And even then, Arsenal was able to win on penalties (while playing with a weakened side).

Most fans didn’t expect this, given that Arsenal barely edged Tottenham for the last Champions League spot last year and did little to improve their squad over the summer. But on the final day of the transfer window, Arsenal managed to snag the coveted Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid, and they’ve been unstoppable since then. Ozil has been fantastic making attacking plays for Arsenal, but he hasn’t done it alone. Aaron Ramsey has scored eight times in his last eight games and Olivier Giroud has continued his form from last season.

The Gunners looked transcendent at times against Swansea on Saturday, stringing together beautiful touch after beautiful touch around the Swans’ penalty area. Arsenal’s first goal saw eight touches by five players in seven seconds, resulting in an open Serge Gnabry firing a shot from the right side of the area past Swans’ keeper Michel Vorm. Their second was arguably better, as Giroud, Ramsey and Jack Wilshere linked up on the left side to tear apart a befuddled Swansea defense. The move ended with Ramsey taking two touches in the box to freeze Vorm before shooting into the top of the net.

It was brilliant stuff from Arsenal, though Swansea’s goal was also full of class, with Wilfried Bony playing a perfect chip behind Per Mertesacker to set up Ben Davies’ finish. Still, there was no doubting that Arsenal was the superior team on the day, and they’ll look for that fine form to carry over to Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Napoli at the Emirates Stadium.

Again, it’s only been six games, and things can change in a heartbeat in the Premier League. But right now, the road to the title runs through North London.