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England Premier League

Will Arsenal and Chelsea have to Battle it out for Fourth this Season?

Samrin Hasib, January 1 2012,
Arsenal sits fourth in the table with 36 points while Chelsea lies fifth on 34 points.
Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal
Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal
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Arsenal started the season poorly but recovered with a series of wins and an unbeaten run and now sits fourth. Chelsea started the season well but a winless run saw the distance between themselves and the top sides increase.

The two London clubs played each other in West London recently and Arsenal came away with all three points. The game, as entertaining as it was, proved that both sides were defensively vulnerable. Arsenal has been defensively vulnerable for many seasons. Chelsea however is known for their defensive stability and it is rather unusual to see them concede 24 goals at this stage of the season.

And by now, we all know that goals win games but defences win titles.

Arsenal took on QPR this weekend and put on a dazzling display. The 1-0 score-line did not do justice to Arsenal. As has often happened, Arsenal created tonnes of chances but only converted once. The failure to take advantage of chances cost them two valuable points against Wolves last week.

Chelsea lost to Aston Villa this weekend at Stamford Bridge. While Aston Villa is not easy to beat, their away record is poor. This was only their second away win of the campaign.

The Manchester clubs have been suffering from blips recently. Unfortunately, very rarely has either Chelsea or Arsenal taken advantage of those blips. Usually, Arsenal and Chelsea would be sitting pretty in third and fourth- this has not occurred due to the surprise emergence of another contender in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur.

Statistically, Arsenal finishing fourth would not be a surprise at all. Since 2004-05 when they finished second, Arsenal has finished fourth in every campaign barring just two when they finished third.

Chelsea has finished in the top two each and every season in the same time period barring just one occasion when they finished third. However, Chelsea has not looked convincing this season on more than one occasion.

Due to their inconsistencies, both sides will be looking to grab the final Champions League spot on show and hope that Tottenham slips up. Tottenham finished in the top four in 2010 and thus, they have what it takes to grab one of the Champions League berths.

Arsenal’s home form is what ultimately might see them across the line to fourth. Chelsea has lost three matches at Stamford Bridge while Arsenal has lost just once (to Liverpool). Arsenal drew two games at home (against Fulham and Wolves). Chelsea drew 1-1 with Fulham at home as well.

As far as the away record is concerned, both teams have four wins to their name. Arsenal has lost four games while Chelsea has lost twice. Arsenal has drawn one game while Chelsea has drawn three games. Chelsea has a slightly better away record and this is what they might have to rely on to finish fourth.

They are both in the Champions League and thus have harder matches ahead than the Manchester sides and Spurs.

At their current form, the best the two sides can achieve is a third place finish. However, due to Tottenham’s strong form, both teams cannot expect to overtake Spurs and will seemingly have to fight it out for the fourth and final Champions League spot in the Premier League.

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