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By Peter Akinbo.
Arsenal fans have expressed indifference about the Premier League title chase ahead of their match against Chelsea at the Emirates on Tuesday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Following sub-par performances in April in which they only won one game, recorded three draws and lost 4-1 to their title rivals, Man City, the Gunners relinquished an eight-point lead and are now second on the table, one point behind City who hold a game in hand.
Should they win against Chelsea, the North London giants can still temporarily go top of the table before City play their game against West Ham on Wednesday.
PUNCH Sports Extra reached out to some Arsenal fans ahead of the London derby to get their predictions ahead of the game and it appears that all hope is lost despite a whole month of football still left to play and at least five games.
Victor Ozowara, who has been supporting Arsenal since he was a little kid growing up in Kaduna said, “We don’t have title hopes anymore though, but well, I expect a win against Chelsea, not a struggling one but a good win to build back our confidence.
“I don’t see Arsenal winning the league anymore, it’s the hope that kills. I think we should just focus on winning each game till the end of the season.”
Oluwatosin Soyemi, who had a lot of hopes earlier in the season and even earlier this year, has been left disappointed and is keen to see none of the mistakes that the Gunners have displayed in the last four games on Tuesday.
“I expect a solid, spotless performance from Arsenal, I don’t want any mistakes in that game. I want everyone to do exactly what they are supposed to do, I don’t care about the scoreline but it has to be a win and a spotless performance.
“Although they (Chelsea) are in one of the worst forms of their life, I still don’t expect 5-0, just a win and a clean sheet with no mistakes and everyone should be on point. I also expect a change in line-up from (Mikel) Arteta even though he is stubborn,” Soyemi said.
He however still thinks the rest of their games are must-wins so they can still keep pressure on City and not lose any chances that may come their way.
“I think a win is very necessary in out last five games including Chelsea to keep the pressure on Man City and so that we can finish on a strong note. It is like City have 99 percent chance of winning the league and we have just 1 percent. We need City to drop points, we just have a very slight chance to win the league now,” he told PUNCH Sports Extra.
Elisha Mah added, “Why do I get the feeling we’re going to hand Chelsea their first victory in months? I’m just grateful we’ve successfully secured UCL.”
Ayo Apase seems to have given up any hope of Arsenal winning a little this season.
He said, “It is about the real contenders vs the pretenders. The writing is on the wall, City with 2 games to spare. Arsenal’s best season will be trophy-less like Chelsea.”
Facing the biggest test of their title credentials yet, Arsenal did little to suggest that they can last the course when met with Manchester City, who taught their former employee Mikel Arteta quite the footballing lesson in a 4-1 romp.