Since climbing to the top of the Premier League, Arsenal has taken
only one point from three games, slipped to third and been knocked
out of the FA Cup.
Now Arsene Wenger's young players face a tough home game
against reviving Liverpool, and another defeat could leave them
with little chance of winning a title they last captured six years
ago.
"I feel that we are not in the best position but we will not
give up," Wenger said after Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea left his
side nine points off the lead.
"We were a bit unfortunate as well in the same period to play
Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on the trot. If you lose
one game, it is very difficult with the psychological implications
for the next game. I believe that is a little bit of a
disadvantage."
At the same stage of last season, however, Arsenal slipped
off the title pace by drawing five games in a row - four of them
0-0 - although it didn't face any of its traditional title rivals
during that run.
Wenger's team hopes to bounce back by beating Liverpool at
home on Wednesday. But it will face a Liverpool side that has lost
only one of its last nine league games, beat neighbor Everton 1-0
on Saturday and has not conceded in its last four outings.
Arsenal has scored only one goal in its last three games - a
3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United - and Wenger's team rarely
troubled Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech despite having far more
possession.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba scored both goals and rattled
the crossbar with a free kick, and the team's defense was just as
outstanding.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti singled out John Terry for praise for
a commanding performance two days after having the England
captaincy taken off him by Fabio Capello. The England coach took
the action with Terry the subject of newspaper allegations that the
Chelsea defender, who is married, had an affair with the former
girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.
"John is the perfect captain for Chelsea," Ancelotti said.
"My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in
every game. It is very important for the team to have this
leadership. He was always in control of the game. He has a strong
mentality.
"He is working for his club and we are happy to have this
performance from him in this moment. The England captaincy was not
my decision and I do not want to judge about this decision."
Terry injured a thigh in Sunday's game but hopes to be fit to
face ninth-place Everton at Goodison Park with Chelsea now two
points ahead at the top of the standings.
Everton's defeat to Liverpool was its first defeat in 10
league games since a 2-0 home loss to its Merseyside neighbor on
Nov. 29. Saturday's game was a bruising confrontation and both
managers hope they can send out the strongest available lineups for
Wednesday's games.
Second-place Manchester United comes off a 5-0 victory over
last-place Portsmouth but now has a tougher game at Aston Villa,
which is seventh in the standings and has conceded the fewest goals
at home - seven - in the Premier League. United is level with
Arsenal for the most goals away from home, with 25.
In Wednesday's other games, Hull hopes to continue its
revival with a victory at Blackburn, having drawn with Chelsea and
beaten Manchester City to climb out of the relegation zone and up
to 14th.
West Ham slipped back into relegation trouble after a 2-1
loss at Burnley and now hosts eighth-place Birmingham. Wolves,
which lost 2-1 at Birmingham to slip to next-to-last, hosts
fifth-place Tottenham.
On Tuesday, it's: Fulham-Burnley; Manchester City-Bolton;
Portsmouth-Sunderland and Wigan-Stoke.
