Sunday 10 April 2016

Arsenal to ring the changes to finish second?

After the disappointment of dropping points at West Ham, Arsene Wenger is highly likely to bring Cech and Mertesacker back into the fray against Crystal Palace next weekend.

Ospina looked a little shaky at times, despite making a couple of good saves. Cech seems certain to replace him.

Meanwhile, Gabriel had a tough time trying to marshall the Hammers hat trick hero Andy Carroll. However, I'm not sure Arsenal have any defensive personnel currently who can deal with that kind of centre forward.

If the Gunners had a Martin Keown type in their squad, perhaps they would have been able to put up a better fight defensively. 'Fight' is the operative word here, as this Arsenal team has been accused of lacking steel.

Nevertheless, to come back after going 3-2 down in a roller coaster of a game suggests that Arsenal do have the team spirit to keep going until the end of the season.

Wenger has been in this position before. He keeps cool under pressure. Will the Leicester and Tottenham bosses be able to do the same as the pressure mounts? You'd certainly expect one of them to remain calm and clinch the title.

However, second place may still be up for grabs. The only remaining fixture that looks un-winnable for Arsenal is Man City away.

Spurs, meanwhile, could drop points against Man Utd and Chelsea. Given Tottenham's vastly superior goal difference, Arsenal need Spurs to drop at least 4 points between now and the end of the season and be able to capitalise by picking up maximum returns themselves. Therefore, it's likely to go right to the wire or at least until the penultimate day of the season.

Sent from my iPhone

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