Sorry Arsenal, It's a Two-Horse Race for the Premiership Title

Sorry Arsenal, and other challengers of the Premier League, but it is now a two horse race for the Premiership Title. Other teams may mathematically still have a chance, but looking at the current table and at this weekend’s results, it is clear only two teams really have a chance at the title this year. 

One of these teams would be Chelsea FC. They are currently at the top of the table with 58 points.  The other is Manchester United, winner of the league the last three years with 56pts, putting them in second place in the table. 

You will hear from both manager Arsene Wenger and Arsenal players that they still have a chance, but that is not reality.  After Arsenal’s recent loss to Chelsea, Theo Walcott was asked about this and he still believes that Arsenal have a chance. 

He even went as far as to say, "We dominated the game, but Chelsea took their chances and you have got to be decisive.” In a game where Walcott couldn’t get around an ageing LB Ashley Cole or a slower RB Branislav Ivanovic, I found this to be a funny comment. 

The reality is that Chelsea came out as the more aggressive side, especially on counterattacks, and got two quick goals.  Then Chelsea sat back and defended a majority of the match. 

Didier Drogba also came close to getting a third goal with a free kick that hit the top of the bar. For Walcott, or any Arsenal player or fan to say they dominated the match is just hilarious.  Arsenal have now played both Chelsea and Manchester United twice and lost all four matches. 

I’ll give credit to Wenger for keeping his young side motivated and confident, but they can’t really believe they have a change of winning the league, or any silverware, this season.  Arsenal is currently nine points back of Chelsea and do not have a legitimate chance of winning the league this season.

Manchester United. 

Just like in previous years, they are hitting their best form in the second half of the season. They are confident, and rightly so, that they can catch Chelsea before the end of the year.  Each year it seems that Manchester United is in a similar position, and the last three years they have won the title. 

Wayne Rooney is currently in his best form ever at United.  He has blossomed as a player since United sold Christiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.  He is arguably the best player in the Premiership this season. 

Rooney, when combined with the speed of Nani and the passing of Michael Carrick are currently giving opposing teams fits.  There is no team in the Premiership that will pounce on another team’s mistake and hit for a goal on the counter attack faster than United. 

They also have a good balance of veteran leadership on the pitch and in the locker room with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.  With the return of Van der Sar in goal, after missing many games due to injury, their defense is much more solid.  When central defender Rio Ferdinand is back after his four match ban they will be even stronger.

This combination of strong offensive football and tough defense has given United the best goal differential in the league at +41.  It would surprise no one if United won their fourth Premiership title in four years.   

The other team challenging for this year’s Premiership Title is Chelsea. 

Chelsea are a team loaded with veteran players.  They have players that have been down this road before and know what it takes to win.

Many players on this team were on the teams in 2005 and 2006 that won the premiership title.  They have the best pair of strikers in the league in Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.  Under current manager Carlo Ancelotti these two players have learned to work well together and have combined for 25 goals this season. 

In midfield Chelsea have a good mix of experienced veterans that have been together for many years.  They are older as a group, but have a good combination of skill sets.  What they lack in speed, they make up for in experience.

Lampard again leads the midfield in scoring.  After a slow start to the season, Lampard has reached double figures with ten goals this season. 

Chelsea’s strength is on defense.  Chelsea’s back four are stronger than any in the league.  No team in the Premiership has a better set of central defenders than Chelsea have with John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and Alex. 

They have Ashley Cole at left back and Branislav Ivanovic currently at right back.  Chelsea are currently at +40 goal differential.  This combined with Peter Cech in goal gives Chelsea the best defense in the Premiership.

It is going to be an exciting end to the season.  Both Chelsea and United each have thirteen matches left to play in the league and are only separated by two points.  They are also both still alive in Champions League which will test the managerial skills of Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti.  It will be interesting to see how they manage their teams. 

The biggest game left in each team’s fixture is when they play each other on April 3. 

The team that wins that match will likely be in the driver’s seat to win the title.