Dubai: While high-flying Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp can turn their attentions to the Club World Cup in Doha, safe in the knowledge they now hold a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, alarm bells continue to ring around so-called ‘Top Six’ sides back home in England.
The Reds stretched their lead in the standings thanks to a routine 2-0 win over soon-to-be-Championship-side Watford, and nearest challengers Leicester City slipped up with a 1-1 draw at Norwich.
With their title defence all but over already, Manchester City returned to the kind of form that saw them claim back-to-back titles with a first-half demolition of Arsenal, and Frank Lampard’s honeymoon at Chelsea is well and truly over after another shock loss, this time at the hands of Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
If we are to presume Liverpool, Leicester and City can keep their standards up and take the top three spots in the standings, the fight for fourth is shaping into a tantalising tussle as inconsistencies and slumps in form will guarantee a fight to the finish.
Tottenham, for all their faults, were the ones smiling at the weekend, grabbing a late winner against Wolves to narrow the gap on Chelsea to three points in that fourth spot — and the Champions League carrot it brings next season.
But it was far from a convincing victory from Jose Mourinho’s men and plenty of points will be dropped in the games to come if they continue to play below their best.
Seven points separate Chelsea in fourth and Arsenal in ninth, with Manchester United and the unlikely duo of Sheffield United and Wolves in the mix.
While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United could only muster a draw against Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday, a resurgence and a playing style that is much-improved in recent weeks means they will be there or thereabouts come May, and will capitalise on any gifts handed out by Spurs and Chelsea over the hectic Christmas period.
Arsenal on the other hand look like a sinking ship without a lifeboat.
The Gunners turned to club legend Freddie Ljungberg to get them on an even keel following the dismissal of Unai Emery last month, but one win in five matches clearly illustrates he lacks the leadership qualities to pull his squad of misfits together and they are rapidly running out of time to get things straight before the cut-throat festive fixture schedule that could leave them on the scrapheap and staring at mid-table anonymity for the remainder of the season.
While Ljungberg is not the answer, Arsenal are scratching their heads as to whom to appoint on a permanent basis to replace their caretaker.
Carlo Ancelotti is looking for a job following his sacking by Napoli last week, and while he has plenty of Premier League experience, there is a feeling among the board and fans at the Emirates that he is not the long-term solution either. If Arsenal are to go after a homebred manager, that just poses more questions. Brendan Rodgers is unlikely to leave Leicester, and the likes of Nuno Espirito Santo at Wolves, Sean Dyche at Burnley and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth are unproven at a club of Arsenal’s size and aspirations. There is one other man looking for work with vast experience and success in England — Mauricio Pochettino. Just one problem: his last employers were Spurs, and that might not sit too well with the Gunners faithful.
Standings
P W D L F A Pts
1 Liverpool 17 16 1 0 42 14 49
2 Leicester 17 12 3 2 40 11 39
3 Man City 17 11 2 4 47 19 35
4 Chelsea 17 9 2 6 31 25 29
5 Tottenham 17 7 5 5 32 24 26
6 Man Utd 17 6 7 4 26 20 25
7 Sheff Utd 17 6 7 4 21 16 25
8 Wolverhampton 17 5 9 3 24 21 24
9 Arsenal 17 5 7 5 24 27 22
10 Crystal Palace 16 6 4 6 14 18 22
11 Newcastle 17 6 4 7 17 24 22
12 Burnley 17 6 3 8 22 29 21
13 Brighton 16 5 4 7 20 24 19
14 Bournemouth 17 5 4 8 19 24 19
15 West Ham 17 5 4 8 19 28 19
16 Everton 17 5 3 9 20 29 18
17 Aston Villa 17 4 3 10 23 30 15
18 Southampton 17 4 3 10 18 36 15
19 Norwich 17 3 3 11 18 35 12
20 Watford 17 1 6 10 9 32 9
