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Andrei Arshavin's festive form will define Arsenal's
season
By Jeremy Wilson
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Andrey Arshavin, left, watches as his shot
gives Arsenal the lead against Stoke City (EPA/FELIPE
TRUEBA)
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Arsene Wenger must be studying the fixtures, counting the
days while keeping his fingers and toes crossed. More than anyone, he
will surely know that the next month is almost certain to decide whether
Arsenal really can sustain a challenge for the Premier League title.
It is also why his uncharacteristic half-time anger at Anfield on Sunday
was so perfectly timed. He knew that the impact of defeat against Liverpool
would have cut so much deeper than simply losing the chance to make up
ground on Chelsea and Manchester United.
For the team's collective confidence, suffering what would have been a
fifth straight loss against another of the so-called 'big four' may have
been an unrecoverable hammer blow. Now, though, they can enter the festive
period with renewed belief.
Yet the next month will all be about keeping in touch of the top two with
such an obvious deficiency in attack following injuries to both Robin
van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner. By mid-January, the problem should be
solved either by the return of Bendtner or perhaps even the recruitment
of a new striker.
Until then, enormous responsibility rests on the shoulders of Andrei Arshavin.
After unimpressive auditions as the main central striker by both Eduardo
and Carlos Vela, Arshavin has proved against Stoke and Liverpool that
he has the technique and temperament to thrive in the most difficult and
pressurised position of all.
The reassurance for Arsenal supporters is that the greater the occasion,
the better Arshavin seems to play. When Wenger opined that he had the
ability to become one of football's all-time greats, he was not exaggerating.
He had seen Arshavin almost single-handedly destroy Holland in the European
Championship quarter-finals with the best individual performance of the
tournament and knew that, even in a squad full of creative inside-forwards,
this was a player who could take Arsenal to another level.
Now, though, he needs Arshavin to show consistency in that unfamiliar
central position over the next month against Burnley tomorrow, and then
Hull, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, West Ham, Bolton and Everton.
On paper, it is not the most difficult set of fixtures. After that, the
reinforcements should have arrived in time for a run of matches in the
space of only 14 times against Aston Villa, Manchester, Chelsea and Liverpool.
It is a big ask but, if Arshavin stays fit, anything is possible.
Telegraph.co.uk,
December 15th, 2009
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