Weekend in Review

Sorry Arsenal

HIGHLIGHTS

It's been a taxing several weeks for Arsenal. They've seen their bids for silverware squashed in three different competitions, and now they're five points off the pace in the English Premier League after only managing a point at West Brom on Saturday.

While the Gunners' mental strength has been tested with recent disappointments, their physical strength has also taken a beating thanks to a multitude of injuries over a busy fixture list. And missing the likes of Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas in midfield didn't help matters for Saturday's matchup at The Hawthorne's. Denilson turned in another pathetic performance in Song's spot and was substituted at halftime, while Aaron Ramsey looked off the pace in his first EPL appearance since breaking his leg late last season and was ineffective for the 60 minutes that he featured.

West Brom had the better of play in the first half, as they kept the Arsenal backline busy while the Gunners were unable to keep control of possession. The Baggies opened up the scoring in just the third minute, as Chris Brunt's corner was won in the air by Steven Reid in front of goal, and he did well to head in the opener.

Arsenal looked sluggish, but nearly equalized in the 26th when a Robin Van Persie header looped over Scott Carson but hit the crossbar, and then fell to Ramsey at close range, but the Welshman's attempt lacked composure and a charging Carson made the stop.

The second half saw Arsenal's struggles continue, and Chris Brunt should have tapped home for 2-0 early in the second half but missed wide.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was to blame on West Brom's second goal of the match in the 58th. In a moment of madness, the Spaniard emerged off his line early to try and collect a long ball, but his decision was terribly miscalculated, as he got caught in no-mans land 25-yards from goal and left Peter Odimwingie with an open net as he beat the keeper and Sebastien Squillaci to the loose ball and finished easily.

The Gunners' reaction to the 2-0 deficit wasn't especially encouraging, but a moment of brilliance from Andrei Arshavin, and a bit of fortune on the equalizer saw them draw even with ten minutes to go.

The diminutive Russian took a pass from Marouane Chamakh in stride on his right before burying home with his weak foot in the 70th minute.

Then, Nicklas Bendtner won a cross from Arshavin at the far post and flicked back across goal, where Abdoulaye Meite was unable to clear. A desperate Van Persie got his foot to the rebound, and it squeezed between the legs Meite and slowly rolled over the goal line.

Despite losing the lead, West Brom were still looking dangerous. Substitute Marc-Antoine Fortune nearly put them back on top in the 82nd, cutting between Laurent Koscielny and Samir Nasri in the box only to see his shot blocked heroically by Squillaci.

It was too little, too late from Arsenal when they finally began to take the game to their opponents, forcing several corner kicks and subsequent goalmouth scrambles that were eventually cleared in the final minutes.

In the end, Arsenal will be able to live with the single point after playing so poorly. But it might have been a different story if not for Almunia's disastrous miscue in the second half (more on him later). The mistake knocked the stuffing out of the Gunners, but Arshavin's quality and a fortuitous bounce from Van Persie's effort helped square the match.

United Escape

HIGHLIGHTS

The EPL leaders were in action at Old Trafford, and Manchester United were in for a test against a Bolton side that had won full points in six of their last eight matches.

The lone goal would come off of an error from goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, but to United's credit, they always looked the more likely to take full points, even after going down to ten men when Jonny Evans was sent off in the 74th.

Javier Hernandez uncharacteristically missed a pair of chances in the first half as United controlled possession. Then, Dimitar Berbatov came close early in the second 45 with a one-time blast from the top of the box.

United's dominance continued after Evans was banished for leaving his feet while challenging for a 50-50 ball against Stuart Holden, who was stretchered off as a result of the tackle.

Nani had a decent effort pushed away by Jaaskelainen with the clock running down. But the goalkeepers' strong day was ruined in the 87th miunte, when he spilled a harmless shot from Nani, and Berbatov pounced quickly to knock home the winner.

Jaaskelainen's mistake aside, the win is yet another testament to United mental strengh, as they kept the pressure on and didn't panic over the second half.

While Arsenal have been known to lose their composure this season with the result in doubt, United have flourished in such situations, and that is what has created the separation between the top two sides in England.

Winning a trophy over 38 games means you have to get full points on days when you aren't at your best. United have mastered that this season, and they did it again at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Goalkeeping Gaffes at Arsenal

If you've seen Manuel Almunia play before, this seemingly inexplicable error on his part shouldn't surprise you, as his mistakes late last season also helped to kill off Arsenal's title chances.

Interestingly, we might see Arsene Wenger turn to 41-year old Jens Lehmann for their next match, who retired from football last summer but signed a short term contract with Arsenal to backup Almunia after injuries to the squad's top two goalkeepers.

Turning to a netminder that just came out of retirement and has been known to make a few callous errors of his own may seem rash. But Wenger probably doesn't have a choice. Almunia has been absolutely diabolical during the past two seasons at Arsenal, single-handedly costing Arsenal points on multiple occasions.

Last year, a ridiculous botched punch against Birmingham essentially knocked the Gunners out of the title race. He also gave up a crucial goal against Manchester United, putting a cross from Nani into the back oh his own net. Arsenal probably weren't good enough to catch Chelsea and win the title last year, but who knows what would have happened if not for a plethora of crucial errors from Alumina and Lukasz Fabianski (who to his credit, was much better this season before injuring his shoulder in January).

In the end, the goalkeepeing in the 2009/10 season removed any chance of winning the league. But those problems looked to be fixed this year with the better form of Fabianski, and the fantastic play of 20-year old starlet Wojciech Szczesny (it speaks volumes that Wenger would choose an EPL rookie over Almunia in the first place after Fabianski's injury). But injuries to both have forced Almunia back into action, and now Arsenal appear to be back to square one in between the pipes.

If you would have told me that Arsenal's season may hinge on Lehmann months ago, I would have insisted you were crazier than "Mad Jens" himself. But after another horrific error from Almunia lead the way to Saturday's disappointment, he may be the Gunners' only hope in goal.

Chelsea's Chances

HIGHLIGHTS

There has been a revival of sorts at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have turned their season back around with a string of fine results. Just a month ago, you'd expect the Blues to be out of the title race at this point, but they've given themselves a chance (albeit a small one) to make a run at the summit when the stretch run begins in two weeks.

With nine matches left, they sit nine points adrift of Man U with a match in hand. Add in the fact that they face the Red Devils one more time this season, and perhaps they can make a late push for the title.

Last weekend, their fine form continued in a dominant 2-0 victory over Manchester City (who once again turned in a sorry performance against top competition).

The winner came courtesy of David Luiz, who has continued to be an inspirational force since arriving from Benfica in January. A gorgeous individual run and finish from Ramires in stoppage time capped off the scoring.

This has been a tough season for the Blues, as the poor form and fitness of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard has forced them to re-invent themselves. In past seasons, those two have scored goals in bunches and lifted the team on their shoulders offensively at times. This year, the two have combined for just 15 goals (they amassed 51 last season). As a result, we've seen the Blues grind out results over the past month as several players have stepped up and gotten the timely goals when necessary.

That being said, one must assume that a strong finish from the duo of Lamps and Drogba is an absolute must should Chelsea expect to make a serious run for the trophy. However, the Blues have still done well to get this far after they nearly fell apart earlier in the season.

Leverkusen Close Gap

In past weeks, I've been discussing Die Bundesliga under the impression that Borussia Dortmund would be crowned champions. But the race isn't over just yet.

Bayer Leverkusen will hope they are on track for a historic comeback after they pulled within seven points of Dortmund on Sunday, winning 2-0 while Dortmund drew 1-1 with Mainz.

Dortmund have experienced a mild dip in form lately. Seemingly in cruise control, they've taken just one point from a possible six to give Leverkusen some hope.

For me, it's hard to criticize a young Dortmund side that plays fantastic football. But they might be running out of gas late in the year.

The goals have stopped coming, which has to have Jurgen Klopp worried. Lucas Barrios is the only genuine goal scorer in the lineup, but he has just two goals in his last seven matches. Granted, thre is still plenty of attacking quality to go around, but Barrios is the only true striker on the roster that can consistently get the scrappy goal on a set piece, rebound, etc. The Paruguayan will have to get back to his best form, or Dortmund could be sweating bullets down the stretch.

In Case you Missed it...

Real Madrid may have hit a bit of a rough patch around the New Year, but they've gotten back to their best over the last month, and it showed in an impressive 2-1 win over rivals Atlético.

Things have been looking good for Los Galacticos of late. Karim Benzema is beginning to show the talent we saw at Lyon, and Mezut Ozil is pulling the strings from midfield as well as anyone in La Liga not named Xavi Hernandez. However, they will be without Cristiano Ronaldo, who hurt his hamstring over the weekend and faces 2-3 weeks out.

Barcelona haven't been blowing teams away of late as they often do. But they've shown great character by nabbing the goals when they most need them. The Catalans did that again over the weekend, beating Getafe 2-1 via scores from Dani Alves (a brilliant goal) and Bojan.

In France, it appears to be a four team race after Marseille beat PSG 2-1 on Sunday, all but ending Les Parisiens title hopes.

The candidates for 1 L'Hexagoal include Didier Deschamps' Marseille side, who were on the ropes after losing to to Lille three weeks ago, but have responded well with wins over fellow contenders Rennes and PSG in past weeks.

Speaking of Rennes, they have been this season's big surprise, somehow managing to stay amongst the Ligue 1 elite despite a tiny wage budget. Young midfield prospect Yann M'Vila is the man to watch for them. SRFC pulled off a massive result over the weekend as well, fighting back for a 1-1 draw against Lyon despite being down to ten men.

As for Lyon, they are hoping to take back the title after a two year drought. But they have struggled for consistency in a league where their side clearly has the most individual ability. There is a wealth of striking talent with Jimmy Briand, Bafetembi Gomis, and Lisandro Lopez to draw from, a seemingly dynamic midfield that features do-it-all playmaker Yoann Gourcuff (one of the most dissappointing new signings in all of Europe this season), skillful and powerful Michel Bastos, and steady French International Jeremy Toulalan amongst the talent. But somehow, they sit fourth in the table, six points back from leaders Lille.

I gave Lille their props last week. And they deserve some more after a hardfought 2-1 victory over Brest on the weekend. If you want to read more about them, check out my last Week in Review in the "In Case you Missed it" section.

Getting back to the EPL, take a look at this brilliant free kick (start video at 0:45) from Charlie Adam against Blackburn. That's pure class from the 25-year old, whose return from injury will surely help Blackpool in their fight for Premiership survival.

And lastly, the MLS opened up play over the weekend with several exciting performances.

If you're a U.S. international fan, you'll want to take notice of Charlie Davies' return at DC United, where he bagged a brace coming off the bench in a win over Columbus.

Also, there was a first professional goal from 18-year old American Juan Agudelo. The youngster scored on his first appearance for his country last year. He also slotted home his first MLS goal last weekend. That score displays his power, touch, and finishing prowess. He is definitely a Young American that we should be wary of, and it will be interesting to see if Bob Bradley gives him a look for the Gold Cup this summer.

Readers Questions

Tell me what you think about this week's storylines in the comments section... Are Chelsea still alive in the title race? Should Arsenal turn to Jens Lehmann? Is Charlie Davies on his way to recovery? Let me know!