Arsanal

[Dubaimancityfan]

This form started in the 2nd half of last season and is continuing and that was without Ozil !! They were always strong at the Emirates but the difference now is that they are winning their away matches (something we are not doing !). The comfortable win at Cardiff is a big example. Walcott is back and Ox and Podolski are very close to returning, so that gives them depth. They still need another striker which they might well get in Jan (Dzeko ??).
If our away form doesn't get fixed, I don't see how we can catch them.

[nottsblue]

This form started in the 2nd half of last season and is continuing and that was without Ozil !! They were always strong at the Emirates but the difference now is that they are winning their away matches (something we are not doing !). The comfortable win at Cardiff is a big example. Walcott is back and Ox and Podolski are very close to returning, so that gives them depth. They still need another striker which they might well get in Jan (Dzeko ??).
If our away form doesn't get fixed, I don't see how we can catch them.

Very true. Its a nonsense that because they haven't won it for ages the players will crumble. We'd not won it for 44 years! A league table for the last 30 games would be interesting. Not in any way conclusive as its not like for like with the fixtures, but a guideline nontheless. Dippers would be doing ok on this benchmark as well

[Spurge]

I think they'll win the league. Like City they've made a great summer signing (Ozil/Negredo) and have a player playing the best football of his career (Ramsey/Aguero) but they've only had one daft result, at home to Villa, and have won away where City lost. City need at least four points from the next two away matches or Arsenal will be running away with it.

Not enough depth for me to win the league. I would like to see how they progress in the winter/Xmas time when it's games thick and fast and they get a few injuries. I just can't see them wining the league.

Don't forget there is another transfer window in January.

Arsenal are now an attractive proposition for top european players. The signing of Ozil made a huge statement and was the catalyst for their performances this season. They are in the last 16 of the champs league and are likely to be top of the tree at the turn of the year which equates to a team going in the right direction - that has to be something to tempt more quality of the calibre of Ozil.

I know where you are coming from but the lack of depth (and it's largely around their striking options) has actually been key to their success to date. They have continuity and understanding as pretty much the same players are getting game time week in and week out.

That said they have had key players out with injury and suspension at times this season, Wilshire, Arteta, Flamini, Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski (the latter is still to come back), so 1 more key signing in January may be all they need.

I certainly wouldn't back against them to win the title this season.

[dazby]

I think they'll win the league. Like City they've made a great summer signing (Ozil/Negredo) and have a player playing the best football of his career (Ramsey/Aguero) but they've only had one daft result, at home to Villa, and have won away where City lost. City need at least four points from the next two away matches or Arsenal will be running away with it.

Not enough depth for me to win the league. I would like to see how they progress in the winter/Xmas time when it's games thick and fast and they get a few injuries. I just can't see them wining the league.

Don't forget there is another transfer window in January.

Arsenal are now an attractive proposition for top european players. The signing of Ozil made a huge statement and was the catalyst for their performances this season. They are in the last 16 of the champs league and are likely to be top of the tree at the turn of the year which equates to a team going in the right direction - that has to be something to tempt more quality of the calibre of Ozil.

I know where you are coming from but the lack of depth (and it's largely around their striking options) has actually been key to their success to date. They have continuity and understanding as pretty much the same players are getting game time week in and week out.

That said they have had key players out with injury and suspension at times this season, Wilshire, Arteta, Flamini, Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski (the latter is still to come back), so 1 more key signing in January may be all they need.

I certainly wouldn't back against them to win the title this season.

63% of fans on here would disagree.

[Nigels Tackle]

i'll make my decision at 3pm on 14th december

[Breks]

After their next game against Hull they play Everton, Us and Chelski. If their still top after that then they will have to be taken seriously as title contenders.

[dario2739]

After their next game against Hull they play Everton, Us and Chelski. If their still top after that then they will have to be taken seriously as title contenders.

Way i see it now they are six points ahead of us (providing we beat Swansea) - we still have to play them home and away... If those shite cnuts from stretford can beat them, so can we... Six points to us, we're top on gd!

[Spurge]

I think they'll win the league. Like City they've made a great summer signing (Ozil/Negredo) and have a player playing the best football of his career (Ramsey/Aguero) but they've only had one daft result, at home to Villa, and have won away where City lost. City need at least four points from the next two away matches or Arsenal will be running away with it.

Not enough depth for me to win the league. I would like to see how they progress in the winter/Xmas time when it's games thick and fast and they get a few injuries. I just can't see them wining the league.

Don't forget there is another transfer window in January.

Arsenal are now an attractive proposition for top european players. The signing of Ozil made a huge statement and was the catalyst for their performances this season. They are in the last 16 of the champs league and are likely to be top of the tree at the turn of the year which equates to a team going in the right direction - that has to be something to tempt more quality of the calibre of Ozil.

I know where you are coming from but the lack of depth (and it's largely around their striking options) has actually been key to their success to date. They have continuity and understanding as pretty much the same players are getting game time week in and week out.

That said they have had key players out with injury and suspension at times this season, Wilshire, Arteta, Flamini, Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski (the latter is still to come back), so 1 more key signing in January may be all they need.

I certainly wouldn't back against them to win the title this season.

63% of fans on here would disagree.

Oh right - disregard everything I said then......

[Ted Hughes]

Plenty of people on here were saying exactly the same last season & indeed about Spurs this season. Long, long, long way to go.

[Tim777]

Way i see it now they are six points ahead of us (providing we beat Swansea) - we still have to play them home and away... If those shite cnuts from stretford can beat them, so can we... Six points to us, we're top on gd!

That's if we don't lose or draw any of our away games before then. Here's hoping though.

[Beefymcfc]

I honestly think Arsenal/Wenger's pulled a blinder here. Over the last few years he's not been able to compete on a financial level with the likes of the Rags, Chavski and ourselves due to their decision to get the new stadium and then when it looks their will be a bit of disarray with the changeover of managers then he decides to spend.

People are saying they haven't got the squad to do it, and especially after them offloading a lot of players, but when you actually look at their squad they only seem short up-top.

If they're anywhere near the top come January youcan guarantee he'll be out there looking for a top striker to push on in the New Year. If he doesn't then the time to strike will have gone and he'll be left rueing the decision.

They're 7 points clear at the moment and will still be 4 if other teams win. That means that they have to lose 2 just to be caught and there's no guarantee that others would take advantage of it. The question is, will they do their usual crumble come early spring or have they got what it takes to push through?

[Ted Hughes]

I honestly think Arsenal/Wenger's pulled a blinder here. Over the last few years he's not been able to compete on a financial level with the likes of the Rags, Chavski and ourselves due to their decision to get the new stadium and then when it looks their will be a bit of disarray with the changeover of managers then he decides to spend.

People are saying they haven't got the squad to do it, and especially after them offloading a lot of players, but when you actually look at their squad they only seem short up-top.

If they're anywhere near the top come January youcan guarantee he'll be out there looking for a top striker to push on in the New Year. If he doesn't then the time to strike will have gone and he'll be left rueing the decision.

They're 7 points clear at the moment and will still be 4 if other teams win. That means that they have to lose 2 just to be caught and there's no guarantee that others would take advantage of it. The question is, will they do their usual crumble come early spring or have they got what it takes to push through?

Have a look at Arsenal's fixtures so far find me one result which you would have been surprised about if it had occurred 2 years ago.

The only ones which are any surprise are the home defeat to Villa & the away victory v Dortmund. All of the others are no different to what you would expect Arsenal to do, in any season for the past 10, including losing to rags & Chelsea.

There is no evidence yet to suggest Arsenal are any different. Just that City & Utd have dropped points.

[Beefymcfc]

I honestly think Arsenal/Wenger's pulled a blinder here. Over the last few years he's not been able to compete on a financial level with the likes of the Rags, Chavski and ourselves due to their decision to get the new stadium and then when it looks their will be a bit of disarray with the changeover of managers then he decides to spend.

People are saying they haven't got the squad to do it, and especially after them offloading a lot of players, but when you actually look at their squad they only seem short up-top.

If they're anywhere near the top come January youcan guarantee he'll be out there looking for a top striker to push on in the New Year. If he doesn't then the time to strike will have gone and he'll be left rueing the decision.

They're 7 points clear at the moment and will still be 4 if other teams win. That means that they have to lose 2 just to be caught and there's no guarantee that others would take advantage of it. The question is, will they do their usual crumble come early spring or have they got what it takes to push through?

Have a look at Arsenal's fixtures so far find me one result which you would have been surprised about if it had occurred 2 years ago.

The only ones which are any surprise are the home defeat to Villa & the away victory v Dortmund. All of the others are no different to what you would expect Arsenal to do, in any season for the past 10, including losing to rags & Chelsea.

There is no evidence yet to suggest Arsenal are any different. Just that City & Utd have dropped points.

Eh? We're not at the beginning of the season now, we're 13 games in. Let's look at the Rags and see how they're doing compared to previous years; I've got few minutes.

At this stage last season the Rags were top of the league on 30 points having already played Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs. This season they are already 8 points down with the Everton game to come this week. We were actually a point behind at this stage also having played similar teams. Arsenal, on the other hand, were on 20 points having played similar teams to what they've done this year, giving them an 11 point turn around.

Now, I know this ain't rocket science and the figures can be seen how people want to portray them but looking at Arsenals record over the end of last season and the start of this then I'd say they are doing very well. Also, what has to be factored in is the fear factor they will instill into every team they play, including the top sides. The more they go on winning, the less likely for the lesser teams to have a go and the more likely they will get their confidence up. That can't be underestimated.

This is not the Arsenal team of old and they do have strength in depth. People can dismiss them all they want but until they start losing and teams like ours actually prove themselves away from home then the ball is firmly in their court. I mentioned at the start of the season that they'd come out strong due to their limited disruption with players and that Wnger will go all out to get a decent start. It's proved to be true and we'll now see how they get on in a difficult month. The thing is though, even if we win every game this month they can actually afford to lose a couple of games and still be on the same points.

I'm not saying they will win it as there's no guarantees in football, but what I am saying is that Wenger has taken the chance and he's firmly got a foot in the door. The more they win, the confidence grows and it's up to us to keep the pressure on.

I'm not even too sure about our game on the 18th. Although we're great at home we do have 3 away fixtures on the trot beofre we meet them. They have 2 homes and a trip to Napoli. Personnally, I'd like Pellers to play the second team and save the best for the weekend. Why go out of our to try and beat them 4-0 to top the group, it's a tough task just to get a win, nevermind beating them by 4 goals.

[Spurge]

I honestly think Arsenal/Wenger's pulled a blinder here. Over the last few years he's not been able to compete on a financial level with the likes of the Rags, Chavski and ourselves due to their decision to get the new stadium and then when it looks their will be a bit of disarray with the changeover of managers then he decides to spend.

People are saying they haven't got the squad to do it, and especially after them offloading a lot of players, but when you actually look at their squad they only seem short up-top.

If they're anywhere near the top come January youcan guarantee he'll be out there looking for a top striker to push on in the New Year. If he doesn't then the time to strike will have gone and he'll be left rueing the decision.

They're 7 points clear at the moment and will still be 4 if other teams win. That means that they have to lose 2 just to be caught and there's no guarantee that others would take advantage of it. The question is, will they do their usual crumble come early spring or have they got what it takes to push through?

Have a look at Arsenal's fixtures so far find me one result which you would have been surprised about if it had occurred 2 years ago.

The only ones which are any surprise are the home defeat to Villa & the away victory v Dortmund. All of the others are no different to what you would expect Arsenal to do, in any season for the past 10, including losing to rags & Chelsea.

There is no evidence yet to suggest Arsenal are any different. Just that City & Utd have dropped points.

Eh? We're not at the beginning of the season now, we're 13 games in. Let's look at the Rags and see how they're doing compared to previous years; I've got few minutes.

At this stage last season the Rags were top of the league on 30 points having already played Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs. This season they are already 8 points down with the Everton game to come this week. We were actually a point behind at this stage also having played similar teams. Arsenal, on the other hand, were on 20 points having played similar teams to what they've done this year, giving them an 11 point turn around.

Now, I know this ain't rocket science and the figures can be seen how people want to portray them but looking at Arsenals record over the end of last season and the start of this then I'd say they are doing very well. Also, what has to be factored in is the fear factor they will instill into every team they play, including the top sides. The more they go on winning, the less likely for the lesser teams to have a go and the more likely they will get their confidence up. That can't be underestimated.

This is not the Arsenal team of old and they do have strength in depth. People can dismiss them all they want but until they start losing and teams like ours actually prove themselves away from home then the ball is firmly in their court. I mentioned at the start of the season that they'd come out strong due to their limited disruption with players and that Wnger will go all out to get a decent start. It's proved to be true and we'll now see how they get on in a difficult month. The thing is though, even if we win every game this month they can actually afford to lose a couple of games and still be on the same points.

I'm not saying they will win it as there's no guarantees in football, but what I am saying is that Wenger has taken the chance and he's firmly got a foot in the door. The more they win, the confidence grows and it's up to us to keep the pressure on.

I'm not even too sure about our game on the 18th. Although we're great at home we do have 3 away fixtures on the trot beofre we meet them. They have 2 homes and a trip to Napoli. Personnally, I'd like Pellers to play the second team and save the best for the weekend. Why go out of our to try and beat them 4-0 to top the group, it's a tough task just to get a win, nevermind beating them by 4 goals.

Agree Beefy - you don't have to start looking at previous seasons, they are totally irrelevant. Arsenal have to be taken seriously simple as.

However Ted as you want to go down the last season comparison route the there are some significant differences that instantly spring to mind

1) Ozil - the marquee signing they didn't make last season. His quality has made a difference.
2) Ramsey - he didn't play anything like as good as this last season - helped I'm sure by Ozil's influence
3) Giroud is scoring goals this season again probably linked in with both of the abovementioned points

So Beefy, we appear to be in the 37% that, according to Dazby, are the minority that think Arsenal might be the team we have to beat. No idea where that somewhat meaningless stat came from.

[Beefymcfc]

Agree Beefy - you don't have to start looking at previous seasons, they are totally irrelevant. Arsenal have to be taken seriously simple as.

However Ted as you want to go down the last season comparison route the there are some significant differences that instantly spring to mind

1) Ozil - the marquee signing they didn't make last season. His quality has made a difference.
2) Ramsey - he didn't play anything like as good as this last season - helped I'm sure by Ozil's influence
3) Giroud is scoring goals this season again probably linked in with both of the abovementioned points

So Beefy, we appear to be in the 37% that, according to Dazby, are the minority that think Arsenal might be the team we have to beat. No idea where that somewhat meaningless stat came from.

Ha ha ha, 1 of the 37. I 72% agree with that 8-)

[everyonehatesus]

It seems crazy that anyone would think anything other than them being there or there abouts at the end. They keep week after week doing what they need to, and look very good while they do so. Yes IF we can sort out our away form we COULD push them hard enough to see a few cracks develop. But along with this we need others to help and right now there aren't many teams that look like theyy are upto the task. Chelski are dragging victory from the jaws of defeat on a few occasions, and to me seem like a team that may struggle after christmas if they have a couple of bad games on the bounce. Thats when we will see their gobshite of a manager for what he is, and thats a bloody chancer done good.
Its still way to early to both right teams off and make bold statements about who will win, but one things for sure and thats this season for the nutural will be one of the best to stand back and watch it all unfold over the last 2 or 3 weeks of the season.

[Blue Since 76]

I think we'll beat Arsenal in a couple of weeks and I can see them struggling against some of the better teams, especially away. However, if they keep winning the other games, it may not matter. The rags won the league a few years back without beating any of the rest of the top 4 and Arsenal could do the same.

If we can at least match their results in the next two games, which probably means winning both and then beat them, we'll learn a lot more about how good Arsenal are when there's pressure on them. However, over the last few seasons, they've started badly and then finished well to grab a top 4 spot. If they do improve, they may be too good to catch.

That said, I had a free £10 bet at 14:1 on Arsenal to win the league and Bayern to win the CL, so I wouldn't be too upset...

[Tesl]

For me Arsenal have only moved from CL candidates to Title candidates only just now, but they aren't the favourites for me, even with a 4/6 point lead.

They have won more points than anybody else though in 2013, so for sure they are capable of doing it.

[Slim]

I think we'll beat Arsenal in a couple of weeks and I can see them struggling against some of the better teams, especially away. However, if they keep winning the other games, it may not matter. The rags won the league a few years back without beating any of the rest of the top 4 and Arsenal could do the same.

If we can at least match their results in the next two games, which probably means winning both and then beat them, we'll learn a lot more about how good Arsenal are when there's pressure on them. However, over the last few seasons, they've started badly and then finished well to grab a top 4 spot. If they do improve, they may be too good to catch.

That said, I had a free £10 bet at 14:1 on Arsenal to win the league and Bayern to win the CL, so I wouldn't be too upset...

If City failed to win the title on the last day of the season and lost the champions league final the following week, all it takes is £140 to make you okay with it?

[Blue Since 76]

If City failed to win the title on the last day of the season and lost the champions league final the following week, all it takes is £140 to make you okay with it?

In that scenario, the £140 might be spent on vodka.