Race for CL spots: Bale pulls along Spurs, Arsenal shall face no more ‘B’s

From being considered to be a 4 horse race at the top for many a season, the English Premier League has now evolved to a level where there is almost a fair competition for the top 6 spots.

Though many may argue that Liverpool has never won an EPL title in its history and Arsenal is, well Arsenal; the fact remains that on their day, any one of the top 6 teams is capable of beating their rivals in that group.

The talk of the town right now is the emergence of Spurs, whose mere mention used to bring a mental image of a puffed up Harry. The Lilywhites had initially struggled to find their feet in a completely new regime under AVB, but have now steadily been pulled up the table by a certain Welsh wizard Gareth Bale. And with the rise of talents like Holtby, Caulker and Tom Carrol, Spurs can only push on from here.

Another notable mention must go to Chelsea here, who after all the promise in pre-season and initially under Di Matteo, are now slowing slipping down the wilderness.

The current situation sees the Red side of Manchester as the clear champions. Though City overturned an 8 point gap last year, 15 points looks too much this time around even with a Manchester derby left.

The actual battle begins just below 2^nd placed City. With 4 Champions League places to play for, 3 teams from London are neck and neck in battle for a berth. Currently, Spurs lead the pile on 51 points with Chelsea and Arsenal catching up at 49 and 47 points respectively. More interestingly, all 3 of them are still active in competitions around Europe, though Arsenal might just have been put out of their misery by the scintillating Bayern.

The fact that makes the race all the more interesting is clearly visible. Matchups between Spurs and Arsenal as well as Spurs and Chelsea are yet to come, and these will certainly be season deciders. With the Spurs Arsenal rivalry to be ignited as soon as this Sunday, Spurs seem to have the more daunting task of facing Liverpool and Man City apart from Chelsea in the weeks to come.

Chelsea also lies in a similar position as Rafa’s men are set to face Liverpool and Man United apart from Spurs. In this regard, Arsenal only have Man United as a ‘big club’ rival after this Sunday’s North London derby.

Individuals set to leave a mark in the final lap

Tottenham: Bale and Holtby

AVB has already declared Gareth Bale as the Player of the season; and under immense speculation of a move to Madrid, Bale was developed a golden knack of scoring goals from all sorts of improbable angles. With wonder goals against Lyon and West Ham to name a few, the Welshman has singlehandedly drawn Tottenham to 3^rd place.

Where Defoe had been influential in the early part of the season for Spurs, no one apart from Bale has stood up from this year’s onset. But with his honeymoon period coming to an end, Lewis Holtby seems to be bursting from his cocoon. Holtby has been one of the front 3 with Bale and Dempsey and his composure and passing have indeed been critically acclaimed. Playing in the No.10 role, the German is the perfect foil for Bale to cut into the centre. Daniel Levy’s insistence on bringing in the ex-Schalke captain in the winter itself, now seems to be a shrewd move.

Chelsea: Frank Lampard one final time, and maybe Rafa Benitez

When the chant ‘One Roberto di Matteo’ still rings out throughout Stamford Bridge in the 16^th minute of every game, the relationship between the fans and the manager becomes pretty evident.

With the one whom they are now calling ‘The Waiter’ on the brink of a not-so-cozy interview with Roman, the Chelsea board still does not seem to see right on the Frank Lampard issue. If not for Hart’s heroics, Lampard would have had his 200^th goal for the club. Scoring in all of the last 4 encounters in the EPL, Chelsea’s mini revival in the league is down to the Englishman’s natural drive that has revived recently.

Speaking about experience coming to the fore, club captain’s case touches similar issues. Reports have suggested rifts between JT and Rafa that have kept a fit again Terry away from the starting XI. Chelsea need to sort out such familiar but niggling internal issues quickly and pick up the pace on a seemingly easier set of 5 games.

Arsenal: (the return of) Kieran Gibbs

Arsenal are currently overloaded with quality in the attacking 3^rd of midfield, with the likes of Cazorla, Podolski and Walcott all chipping in with valuable goals. And with the prowess of Wilshere and Arteta along with Diaby and Ramsey to some extent in deeper positions, goals don’t seem to be difficulty on paper.

But again Wenger’s Arsenal is lacking a familiar weapon, a game-changer who can turn around a drooling display. As much as Olivier Giroud is good in his positioning and hold-up play, the Frenchman is never going to be a potent poacher, atleast not this season.

The Arsenal defence is again showing their perennial problems this season, and one position that has gone haywire is the full back role. With Vermaelen playing there in the CL and Nacho Monreal in the EPL, this position seems to be the most gullible one for opposition attacks.

The first part of the season had Gibbs and Podolski relishing on this flank, and their understanding developed a good attack-defence balance. But with the loss of Gibbs to his usual quota of injuries and Podolski being phased out in recent weeks, the combination of Monreal and Cazorla has been used here.

The return of Gibbs now seems to be an important call for Wenger, also keeping in mind the 2^nd leg in Munich. Monreal will definitely take time to settle into this team, and his surges are nowhere as good as Gibbs yet.

The ghosts of the Bottom half

In a similar analysis last season, the results of the final few weeks were predicted on the basis of big team clashes. An important issue that was overlooked at that time was the resurgence of some of the lower teams from the cusps of relegation. Clubs such as Wigan, QPR and Aston Villa are currently languishing close to the drop zone and with managers like Martinez and Redknapp at the realms at these clubs, their matches against the top 5 will become all the more gruelling.

Looking at the list, some possible surprise packages seem to be Chelsea’s visit to Villa Park on the penultimate day, Arsenal’s 36^th day visit to Loftus Road and Spurs away at Wigan. The reverse fixture of some of these games might have been a clear cut bashing, but final week dramas can never be pre-written.