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Arsenal‘s title hopes hit another roadblock when they lost 1-0, courtesy a penalty, to Stoke City at the unforgiving Britannia Stadium. The Gunner’s defense put in a spirited performance, but the rest of the team let them down. Stoke are quite a physical team and are tough to beat at home Arsenal needed to be more lively in order to win the game. The usually good midfield was dreary yesterday and failed to provide the strikers with enough chances. The loss comes as a major setback to Arsenal who were seen as genuine title contenders before January. It won’t be a surprise if a rival team successful snatches the Premier League trophy right under Arsenal’s nose.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger drastically diminished his team’s title chances when he failed to sign an effective striker in January, opting to go for an aging injured midfielder instead. Podolski and Giroud are just not good enough to fire Arsenal to a title by themselves. The only thing left to do is to buy a striker who is more prolific and can be relied upon in the big games. Once a new striker arrives and the midfielders regain their brilliant form Arsenal will be much better off.
Giroud has scored 16 times in 35 games and has certainly improved since his debut season but has been used in almost every match this season which has left him overburdened. Yaya Sanogo looks promising but it will take some time for him to find his feet in the Premier League. The 21-year-old, who is a FIFA U-20 World Cup winner, had a good debut against Liverpool followed by a strong performance against Bayern Munich in the Champions League but will take some time to find his footing in the Arsenal first team. The Frenchman was thrown into the deep end in the middle of the season and has understandably taken some time to cope with the perils of the Premier League.
The only shining light in the Arsenal squad right now is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The 20-year-old is undoubtedly Arsenal’s most dangerous player this season since returning from injury and should be one of the players starting for England in the World Cup this year. Jack Wilshere surprisingly under-performed but the number 10 will surely be back to his best soon.
Arsenal now sit third in the Premier League with Liverpool and Chelsea ahead of them. The Gunners have some tricky games against Everton, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City in the Premier League along with a pending Champions League game against Bayern Munich. Arsenal are bound to drop points against these big teams and will most likely drop to 4th place. Manchester United are currently fighting for a 4th placed finish and will be out for blood leaving Arsenal in a difficult position.
The Gunners have repeatedly proven their doubters wrong and may do it again but from the look of things right now they can bid goodbye to the Premier League trophy that has eluded them since 2004.
