A twist in the tale?

Arsenal’s position in the league is at risk, with injury woes plaguing Arsene Wenger’s side once again. We take a look at a few teams

By Brandon Era

It’s a weakness in the Arsenal camp that hasn’t been dealt with for years – the ability to reach the top of the table, and to stay there.

This has to be remedied quickly, with other clubs nipping at its heels.

Something’s Missing

It’s not too much of a stretch to say that Arsenal probably has one of the strongest midfields in the English Premier League at the moment. With the likes of Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, (and the list goes on), it’s surprising that they have not been able to perform against top-tier teams.

In the match against Cardiff, Arsenal had to rely on two late goals from substitute Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott to seal the game at home.

An under-firing striker such as Bendtner had to step up to ensure that Arsenal had their noses ahead by a fraction, and, at what cost? A sprained ankle for the Danish international.

It’s a problem that has yet to be addressed by “The Professor”, Manager Arsene Wenger. The lack of depth of the Arsenal squad, especially on the attacking front, is causing issues for the team. This will have to be addressed come the January transfer window.

Arsenal come into the New Year still topping the table but it is just a fraction ahead of London rivals Chelsea as well as the unstoppable force of Manchester City.

The club will travel to Villa Park on Monday to take on Aston Villa, in the hope of securing three points and lengthening their stint at the top of the table.

A Surging Tide

Manchester City has been looking devastating in front of goal, and the points racked up in recent weeks prove the mettle of the team.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men have a staggering 3.80 average of goals scored at home and have a goal difference of 34, currently the highest in the league.

Manchester City is a mere point behind the Gunners but is ahead in goal difference by 13 goals. The strike rate of City only seems to improve, even with the recent injury to Argentinean striker Sergio Aguero.

City travels to the Toon on Sunday to face Newcastle and will be looking to carry their home form into their away games.

A United Headache

I mentioned in a prior article that this has been the worst start to a season for the Red Devils in years but Manchester United’s woes continue with recent defeats at home to Tottenham in the league and Swansea in the FA Cup.

The shoes David Moyes have to fill have proven to be too big for him so far. Moyes had been unable to strengthen his squad in the previous transfer window but will be looking to do so this time, over the following weeks.

The biggest blow they’ve suffered so far has to be the defeat at the hands of struggling Swansea, at Old Trafford. This ended the hope of at least an FA Cup triumph.

With rumours going round about Chelsea’s interest in Wayne Rooney, as well as an injured van Persie, one can’t help but wonder how much longer Moyes has.

Nonetheless, Manchester United has the opportunity for payback come Saturday, as it meets Swansea in the league this time, at Old Trafford once again. Here’s to the hope that the defending champs will be able to say that revenge is sweet.

However the teams fare this weekend, this season has undoubtedly proven to be the most exciting in years.