The idea that, for some, Arsenal are not in the title race is a strange one when you look at the league table. The gap to Chelsea is obvious, and with a crunch game coming up against the leaders in February, there's a chance to close the difference.

In the meantime, though, pundits have written this season off as more of the same from Arsene Wenger's team, which is slightly unfair at this stage.

Firstly, nobody expected Chelsea to go on a 13-game win streak after losing 3-0 to the Gunners back in September. It was a run that almost equalled the record held by Arsenal -- 14 games across two seasons from February to August 2002.

That shows just what an extraordinary sequence of results it was for Antonio Conte's team, and by comparison everything else looks worse. On top of that, two successive away defeats for Arsenal -- to Everton and Manchester City -- certainly changed the perception of their campaign from one that was going well with just one defeat to one heading down a familiar, well-worn path.

And yet, look at the table. Tottenham and Liverpool, two squads being held up as genuine title challengers, lie just a single point ahead of Arsenal. In terms of pure numbers, if those teams are in the race, then so too are the Gunners.

If they've had disappointing defeats, then so have Jurgen Klopp's team, who were beaten by Bournemouth and Burnley this season. Defensively, the Reds have conceded more goals than Arsenal and scored just one more.

Spurs look good at the moment, but earlier in the campaign they went through a spell of just one win in nine games across all competitions, showing they're not quite as perfect as some would have you believe.

Of course, people will say you're only as good as your last game and there's no arguing against the fact that in recent weeks Arsenal have not been as convincing as they should have been. That will always raise doubts, but to dismiss them so completely this season feels premature.

However, as the Premier League heads towards a crunch period, Wenger's team have one key area to focus on if they are to win the league. Generally speaking, their results against the so-called "lesser lights" of the season have been solid. It's when they face direct title rivals that they drop the points that leave them with too much to do.

For example, in the 2003-04 season when Arsenal went unbeaten, there were disappointing draws with the likes of Bolton, Charlton and Leicester City. The difference was that the Gunners took lots of points off the big boys.

Although there were two draws with Manchester United, Arsenal won home and away against Liverpool and Chelsea that campaign and beat Spurs at home too. A draw at White Hart Lane was enough to clinch the title despite the belief of some Tottenham players that Robbie Keane's late penalty was enough to prevent it from happening.

It would be fair to point out that it was a much less competitive league back then. Arsenal finished champions, 30 points clear of Liverpool in fourth position, and there's simply no chance that kind of gap will open up this time around. But a match against Liverpool is always a big game and a tough encounter, so their successes in those games helped open up that gap.

Between now and the end of the season, Arsenal have to go to Stamford Bridge, Anfield and White Hart Lane, as well as hosting Manchester United and Manchester City. It's what they do in those matches that will decide whether or not they remain challengers for the title.

Given that these fixtures have proved Arsenal's Achilles' heel so often, it's understandable that there's a measure of scepticism about their chances, but if they can improve their record and pull off some results, there's no reason to believe they can't scrap for the title come May.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Andrew Mangan

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