Wenger Paints an Honest Picture as Ancelotti Refuses to Give Up

Half Time at Upton Park yesterday and Arsenal and Chelsea will have been licking their lips at the slight prospect of Man Utd dropping points in the title race. Had Man Utd dropped all three points yesterday and Arsenal had beaten Blackburn, the title would have been out of Man Utd's hands. Instead however, Sir Alex's men find themselves seven points clear at the top of the table following Chelsea and Arsenal's dire displays yesterday.

A picture is worth a thousand words...Arsenal's mustered up 511 successful passes yesterday, but not one goal. Photo: Guardian Chalkboards.

Arsene Wenger for once painted a very honest and brutal picture following Arsenal's 0-0 draw against Blackburn at the Emirates Stadium. The Frenchman summarised his sides performance by saying "We had no change of pace, no penetration, our rhythm of passing was too slow - exactly how we don't want to play." I must admit it is refreshing to see Wenger slating his Arsenal side who have certainly underperformed for a lot of the season, despite still sitting second in the Premier League table. The fact that Arsenal remain second however just highlights the fact that they are some distance from winning a Premier League title that continues to evade them in recent years. 

The picture above highlights the fact that Arsenal made 511 successful passes yesterday at the Emirates, this compared to Blackburn's 196! Yet, for all of this possession (which Arsenal are very good at), their remained no end product. It is difficult to see how many Arsenal fans or even Football fans can suggest that Arsene Wenger is the best option now. Perhaps in the current state of the Premier League some new ideas are what is really needed. If Wenger is the man at the helm next season, he will simply HAVE TO spend some money. For all of Arsenal's attractice football and sumptuous passing, it remains another season devoid of any Silverware. 

On the other side of London, Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea side are left wondering how Man Utd have opened up at 11 point gap over them. With the £50m arrival of Fernando Torres amongst a sea of talent, Chelsea have themselves fallen short on so many fronts. On paper they have a side that is more than capable of winning the Premier League, but nothing is won on paper. Ancelotti yesterday refused to give up on the title this season. Such an attitude is certainly what the Chelsea fans will want to see, but it is simply too late! 11 points behind with eight games remaining is an almost impossible task. 

Chelsea has 29 attempts at goal against Stoke, 4 of which were on target!

I honestly believe that this title, if won by Man Utd will be deserved. Amongst inconsistent performances from Arsenal and Chelsea, United have retained some level of consistency. Wayne Rooney's hat trick against West Ham shows that he still has goals in him despite an up and down season. Dimitar Berbatov has been scoring all season and Javier Hernandez always retains his eye for goal. 

The picture above shows that Chelsea had 29 attempts at goal yesterday. This with the likes of Torres, Drogba and Anelka on the field at some stage. Four of these 29 attempts managed to hit the target; showing exactly where they have fallen short this season. Something just has not clicked at Stamford Bridge, which has allowed United to demonstrate why they are worthy of winning the title. 

Chelsea will now be looking over their shoulder at Roberto Mancini's Man City side, who are only two points behind them (at least until this afternoon, when they could go above them). Arsenal will look to put some form of pressure of Man Utd, but given the way they are playing I don't think this will happen. The run-in may not be as exciting as we all thought it would be, but it will be entertaining to see how Chelsea and Arsenal recover from another weekend of disappointing results. 

DH