It’s amazing how things can change so quickly in football. Just about a week ago, I was actually betting on Arsenal breaking their own record of ending the season with no defeat. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he is happy with his side’s position at the top of the Premier League, though the fact that their lead was actually cut to a point was regretting after Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough on Sunday.
This season will surely be a big battle for the title. United has had nine home games and seven away, while Arsenal played eight each, giving them a fat chance of winning the league. Arsenal’s performance can actually be considered their poorest so far. Stewart Downing’s penalty put Boro ahead after Jeremie Aliadiere was fouled by Kolo Toure. Boro had with him a strategy as Arsenal struggled. Arsenal was forced into mistakes by Boro’s defending the goal through some work ethic.
Arsenal really lacked power of gifted players. Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini, and Van persie can hold the ball, pass it and shoot to score. Arsenal is quite unfortunate not to have these players available all at the same time. The substitutes are not as good compared to that of Middlesbrough. To sum it all up, the better team won.
But is loss really such a bad thing? Arsenal has won game after game. The loss only brought disappointment to fickle minded fans, but loss has to be taken into perspective. After all, the title race is far from over.
