Arsenal's victory over Manchester United has not only thrown open the title race but ignited a whole new debate.
Will United be written off as bottlers like their rivals would have been should they fail to wrap up the title that has been within their grasp for weeks?
It may seem a ludicrous suggestion for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team of serial winners, who are a 90-minute Old Trafford stroll away from a third Champions League final in four years, but there is a modicum of validity to the claim.
Consider the Premier League table on February 26. United stood top on 60 points, four ahead of second-placed Arsenal. Down in fifth place, with a game in hand on the top two, were Chelsea on 45 points and yet to emerge from a winter hibernation that had nearly ruined their season.
Since then, Chelsea have swatted away Premier League opposition, accumulating 25 points out of a possible 27 to give themselves an unlikely sniff of the title.
By contrast, United have spluttered against their major rivals. They began March with consecutive away defeats at Chelsea and Liverpool, and have now come unstuck against Arsenal, too.
Of the last 24 points available to them, they have claimed 13, which is far from championship-winning form.
Ferguson’s team drew 0-0 at Newcastle United and Everton (Javier Hernandez in the 84th minute). Only when defeating Fulham 2-0 at home have United won with plenty still in the locker over the last two months.
Ferguson could reasonably point to the match officials contributing to the Chelsea defeat (David Luiz should have been sent off and the decisive late penalty was on the soft side) but his side were beaten comprehensively at Anfield and it was a similar tale at the Emirates Stadium.
Without the pressure of staying in the title hunt, Arsenal were dominant and good value for their victory, courtesy of a fluent move clinically finished by Aaron Ramsey. By contrast, their opponents were lacklustre. Inevitably, United rallied in the last 20 minutes but Arsene Wenger’s team displayed the resilience that has been so lacking over a disastrous spring and held off with few scares.
Sadly for Arsenal fans it will all be too little too late. Had they managed to take care of Bolton, Sunderland, Blackburn and West Brom in the same manner in recent weeks then a six-year trophy drought would be coming to an end - instead, they crumbled when the pressure was on, and played with their customary verve when it was off again.
It should not be ignored that United had travelled to Germany in midweek, and that Arsenal had the luxury of a full week’s preparation. All four of the Champions League semi-finalists failed to win at the weekend.
However, the fixture list had provided a five-day break between the two competitions for Britain’s biggest club and Ferguson has few injuries to contend with, just the mystery of Darren Fletcher’s virus.
Perhaps United have simply found their level. They may well become a dominant force in English football again but they are not at the moment. There have been too many hiccups, too much mediocrity this season for that.
Should Chelsea win at Old Trafford next Sunday, the Premier League champions will end the season with less than 80 points for the first time since United’s 98-99 treble winners. History remembers the team of Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel
et al as a great one but it is unlikely that the current vintage will be seen in the same light if they do not stand atop the Premier League podium in mid-May.
It is too early to apply the ‘chokers’ tag to United. If anything, they have exceeded the sum of their parts this season. But should Chelsea overtake them over the coming weeks, the critiques will be scathing.
source: Wayne Veysey, www.goal.com
