Arsenal once again unable to capitalize on opportunity

Arsenal dropped more points at home to Chelsea, leaving them in a sticky situation leading into the FA cup weekend. The long break before Premier League action returns is a daunting one, considering the number of points dropped over the Christmas period.

With the Christmas and New Year fixtures over, Arsenal will be kicking themselves over missed opportunities to capitalize on dropped points from other teams and claw their way into the top four. Draws to Liverpool, West Brom and Chelsea have put the Gunners at the back of the pack, in sixth place, with a five-point gap to Liverpool in fourth position.

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From seven Premier League fixtures, the Gunners won two and drew five. Draws to Southampton and West Ham would be followed up by a 1-0 win to Newcastle and then a 3-3 draw to Liverpool. The Liverpool was especially disappointing, having had a second-half lead, and playing at the Emirates. But poor defending would ultimately split the points between the two rivals. A win in the Liverpool game would have been vital considering Chelsea and Man United both dropped points that fixture.

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Next, was a hard fought 3-2 away victory against Crystal Palace, in which Arsene Wenger’s side had gained some points back on Manchester United. But a draw at West Brom a few days later would halt the progress again. Sensing a theme?

Whilst there was a controversial 89th-minute penalty awarded to West Brom that pegged the North London outfit back, at the end of the day, they should have put the game to bed, especially considering that they were playing against a team that were winless in 18 Premier League games prior to the draw. Again, frustratingly, both Manchester clubs would fail to win. In the race for the top four, those two points could yet prove to be invaluable.

So leading up to Chelsea, the North Londoner’s were sitting sixth in the table. Consequently, this was a must-win game. They did not win, again squandering a lead. Thanks to a thumping Jack Wilshere shot, Arsenal took a second-half advantage. Within 15 minutes, they were 2-1 down, and if not for an injury-time Hector Bellerin volley, would have been staring at another defeat to top-six opposition.

Currently, Tottenham Hotspur are one point above Arsenal, with a game in hand. And if Spurs are to gain maximum points out of their game with West Ham, which they are certainly expected to do, then they would extend their advantage over their North London rivals to four points. Suddenly, that is looking like a gap that will somewhat difficult to surmount.

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There may be many more games left to play. But the margin of error has been whittled away. Suddenly, Arsenal cannot afford to drop any more points. Otherwise, they will fail to finish in the top-four for the second consecutive season.