Are Arsenal still in the title race?

Arsenal travel to Everton for their thirty third premier league fixture of the season, but after their usual February/Spring implosion, the Gunners have fallen to a measly fourth place and sit seven points off of the league leaders Liverpool.

Of course, this season has been completely unpredictable and we’ve seen many a crazy result. So, given the way the season has gone, anything could happen. It’s still mathematically possible for the Gunners and with top of the table Liverpool still to play Chelsea and City, it makes a good opportunity for Arsenal to capitalise on dropped points.

Now, we have to stay in touch with reality. The likelihood of this happening and Arsenal suddenly finding a spring in their step to win the league is highly unlikely. Wenger has been known to fire up his players for the crucial final games, though. Last season Arsenal started April with 56 points and they managed to secure fourth place by finishing in May on 73 points. Just two points behind third-placed Chelsea.

Although the trio of Liverpool, Chelsea and City are all in much better form that Arsenal, Arsenal have the easiest remaining games. Unlike the top three, they don’t have to face one of their rivals (bar Everton on Sunday) for the rest of the season. That’s got to be motivation to kick on. Arsenal’s remaining six games from Sunday are West Ham (H), Hull (A), Newcastle (H), West Brom (H) and Norwich (A). All of those games should be a stroll in park for the Gunners. If Arsenal can take away the maximum 15 points from those games, coupled with a point or three against Everton and Arsenal will surely be back in the run in for the title.

Apart from the unlikelihood of City, Chelsea and Liverpool all dropping the amount of points necessary for Arsenal to win the league, the Gunners just simply haven’t got the squad to compete for the whole season. Key players getting injured at key times. Ramsey on Boxing Day for three months, Walcott throughout January until the end of the season, Ozil just before the business end of the season.

For every season’s run in, every manager obviously wants his best squad available. Wenger missing key players like Ramsey since Boxing Day and Walcott for the vast majority of the season, has dealt a huge blow to Arsenal’s title charge. Walcott and Ramsey provided the pace and the runs that the £42 million man - Ozil excels with. The losses of both Ramsey and Walcott has left Wenger with quite a severe drought of goals and has exposed Giroud’s inability to finish chances, even more so.

All in all, I feel that Arsenal have simply missed too many key players when it mattered the most and that has left them incredibly damaged and thin. That coupled with Giroud’s inability to consistently and reliably bury chances has left Arsenal with a severe drought of goals. Plus, given the start we had against Villa back in September, I would take the FA Cup and a push for third place. It’s not ideal given that we were top of the league going into January but Wenger’s reluctance to sign a striker on loan like Vucinic or Morata along with him fumbling with the transfer of Draxler has ultimately cost Arsenal.