After focusing on West Ham's achievements and possible failures and at a Manchester derby which promises to thrill it's time to focus on Manchester United's biggest rivals for the title Arsenal and how a double game week of fixtures could well impact not only the title race but the Champions League and League Cup Final! As well in Part Two I will focus on my main priority Stoke City and how midland rivals Birmingham want to turn the heat on teams above them - starting with a weekend fixture against Stoke!
Firstly let's focus on Arsenal and there chances of finally breaking the four year wait for a trophy! Last week at Newcastle everything started better than even Wenger could have imagined! A Theo Walcott goal after 2 minutes which turned into a dream start being four goals up after just 26 minutes played! A start which lead to some Newcastle fans leaving and some people thinking records were going to be broken with ease! But some how it all went wrong after Abou Diaby reacted to a strong tackle by Joey Barton that led to the French international seeing red! After that, Arsenal hit the destruct button and the Newcastle fans and players seemed to start believing the impossible could happen and as everybody knows... it did & Arsenal lost out on a huge opportunity to close the gap.
This week they have another opportunity, Arsenal play there game in hand against Stoke at The Emirates where you would expect them to beat Stoke. Firstly this weekend Arsenal welcome Wolves to The Emirates who you will expect to put up a good fight after last weeks result against title favourites Manchester United! Just like United, this week is about reaction for Wenger, six points and an injury free week would be perfect for when Barcelona come into town just before Arsenal face Birmingham in seek of there first trophy in four years.
Nobody will no how important the month of February is more than Wenger, he has problems in defense with injuries and any slip ups during the next three weeks could see his team follow the path of the last few years - and would be a flashback of last season after being blown away by Lionel Messi and co at the Nou Camp. Wenger will hope to see his team learn from set backs and show the character and maturity he believes his team now has.
"McLeish looking no further than Stoke"
With a cup final looming at the end of the month of February you cannot blame Blues fans for getting a tiny bit distracted from Premiership survival and dreaming about following there team to Wembley! But one man who is remaining focused on one team and one team only is Alex McLeish! Birmingham who take on Midland rivals Stoke this weekend are looking for back-to-back league wins for the first time in over a year. McLeish may be focused on his team only but after admitting Tony Pulis has done a terrific job at Stoke is McLeish recognising Stoke as the bench mark for all teams fighting against relegation? Birmingham could go within 3 points of Stoke this weekend and has made the point that they are not safe yet, despite sitting 9th in the table only five points behind a top six place.
As a Stoke fan we look at the position as a comfortable one and as we look below we only see Aston Villa as a major threat for taking away the possibility of our first ever top 8 finish in the Premiership! The teams below however, as Birmingham are pointing out this weekend is Stoke City are now a target after finishing no lower than 12th in there first ever seasons in the top flight. People used to say if you finish above Manchester United you win the title, Stoke have now made such an impact on the Premiership teams below them are using them as a benchmark "If you finish above Stoke you stay up comfortably".
This may sound like a touch of complacency from a Stoke fan who goes by the motto of "The league table does not lie". I know Stoke City are not the best but we are certainly not the worst but in 9th place may be we are punching above our weight and as long as we are doing so, us fans are going to enjoy every moment of it! One man who knows this better than me and better than anyone in Stoke-on-Trent is the man who deserves all the credit! Manager Tony Pulis this week has vowed not to let complacency become an issue.
Pulis told Sky Sports "there is no way we are letting up until we get there there's no way in a million years I'll be thinking of anything else. Have a look at the teams down there and the clubs who have been relegated in the last four or five years. Nobody in this city should take Premier League football for granted"
Exactly the words of a man who knows Stoke may have achieved great things in the past two seasons but so far Stoke City Football Club has achieved nothing yet this season! Teams may be using Stoke as a bench mark for survival but you can guarantee the man underneath the hat and the Stoke City Adidas tracksuit is doing everything possible to make that bench mark as high as it can possible be at the the end of May!
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