Ian Wright
WHEN Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal at the
Emirates in December only a mug would have put money on Blues being
in with a shout for the title.
Yet three months later, Chelsea have emerged as the
real threat to Manchester United while the Gunners have stumbled a
little. Since that 1-0 defeat, Avram Grant’s side have gone 12
Premier League games without a loss, winning nine and drawing the
others.
That’s title winning form and it underlines how strong
the Chelsea squad is.
GOLD RESERVE . . .
Alex is key at Chelsea
The crunch time that sorted the men from the boys for
Chelsea was the African Cup of Nations when players such as Didier
Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou left. Chelsea’s title
hopes hinged on how they would cope — and the back-up team did the
business. It was the same when first choices such as Frank Lampard,
John Terry and Michael Ballack were injured — their replacements
came in without too much fuss to deliver. Alex, Steve Sidwell and
Claudio Pizarro among others kept the wheels turning.
Chelsea can now go level on points with Arsenal by
beating Tottenham. The impressive depth of Grant’s squad is paying
off. It’s hard to keep players happy when they are not in the team
but the back-up boys did their part.
The team plays in a regimented way, moving the ball up
front quickly but they are creating chances so they must be doing
something right. I’m sure Chelsea want to play a free-flowing game
but at this stage it is just about winning. I feel they will keep
up the pressure by winning at White Hart Lane.
They have a good record there and have not forgotten
the Carling Cup final defeat. The three points are important for
Chelsea because none of the top three can afford to lose or even
draw a single game.
On paper Bolton look a knock-over for Manchester United
tomorrow but the visitors will be fighting for their lives. I
can’t wait for Super Sunday. It’s fantastic we are at such a late
stage of the season and so much is riding on those two games.
If Chelsea do lose to Arsenal they will surely be out
of the race. Liverpool can’t win the title but they can help stop
United doing it again — quite an incentive though. This will be one
of the best run-ins for the title ever.