The Premier League title race has probably never been this close. Yes, in the 2011/12
season Manchester City won the league on the last day of the season, with that memorable goal from Sergio Aguero. But as we are still in the middle of January and six teams still have a chance to claim the tittle, the race at the top has never been more competitive.
When writing this article, Arsenal are sitting pretty at the top of the league. Even if it is only by one point. They have kept grinding out results which is what a good team does, yet I believe they won't win the league for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Arsene Wenger still hasn't signed anyone in the January transfer window. Every football fan can see that Arsenal need another striker to help Olivier Giroud. So far, Giroud has scored nine goals this season. This is not a bad return, but when you look at strikers from the other teams challenging for the Premier League, Luis Suarez has scored 21 goals and Aguero and Negredo have scored 23 goals combined.
Names have been mentioned throughout the transfer window with the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Diego Costa, Julian Draxler and Mirko Vucinic to name a few. However, Arsenal still haven't signed anyone. I'm surprised Arsene Wenger didn't sign Thierry Henry on loan as he was spotted at the training ground for several weeks. Even if he didn't play, he would be a good option to have on the bench.
It's not like Arsenal have no other options upfront as Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, Lukas Podolski and Yaya Sanogo are other strikers in Arsenal's squad. However, Walcott is out for the rest of the season and both Bendtner and Sanogo are injured. Furthermore, Podolski has just comeback from a long-term injury, so it may take him a couple of weeks to get back to full match fitness.
This topic brings me to my next reason why Arsenal won't win the Premier League. Injuries.
Arsenal seem to have the worst luck when it comes to injuries. Thomas Vermaelen, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla and Podolski have all either been or still are injured this season. It's fair to say they have dealt with these injuries quiet well, but Arsenal could technically still win the treble (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League). As they are still in all three competitions, this means it's highly likely that the squad will pick up more injuries with the amount of games they have to play as the season progresses. Maybe they should invest in some new fitness coaches!
My final reason is the fixtures Arsenal face in the coming weeks. I'm not saying Arsenal can't win these fixtures. Any team can beat anyone on their day. However, I struggle to see Arsenal winning a lot of them. Bayern Munich are the best team in the world right now, so it's hard to see them not progressing through to the next round of the Champions League. Furthermore, Arsenal still have to play Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton all away from home. All of these teams have great home records this season.
Fixtures Arsenal face throughout February and March:
Liverpool (A)
Manchester United (H)
Bayern Munich (H)
Bayern Munich (A)
Tottenham (A)
Chelsea (A)
Manchester City (H)
Everton (A)
Yes, both Manchester City and Chelsea will face similar problems, but both teams have much bigger squads than Arsenal, meaning they're probably in a better position to deal with the packed fixture schedule.
These are the reasons why I think Arsenal won't win the 2013/14 Premier League title. Even Patrick Vieira said Arsenal won't win the league in December. I think the Premier League will be won by the blue half of Manchester - Manchester City. It's hard to look past a team that has scored over 100 goals already this season, even if there defence is leaky.
However, now is the time for Arsenal to prove there doubters, including me, wrong.
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