I guess I should have known that after I predicted a Hoyas victory and then had to watch them flail away in about the ugliest semifinal you could muster, that Arsenal would get absolutely mashed by Liverpool at Anfield in a game that would have put them alone in third place. I was lucky enough to only watch the second half but it was the type of game you only had to watch five minutes of to see what was going on. 

 

It was exactly the kind of game that shows how important it is to stay alive in multiple competitions over the course of a season, because Liverpool, though trailing Arsenal by a point at kickoff, is alive and well in the Champion's League and has a level of focus and rhythm conspicuously absent in the Gunners right now.

The good news is that Arsenal still has a game in hand in the race and only trails Liverpool by two points. We are five clear of Bolton in chasing position for the Champions League spots next year.

The bad news is two consecutive away losses in league play, both Merseyside to Everton and Liverpool. Maybe we'll be better off in London. Arsenal is still undefeated at the Emirates. There is still much to play for as we into a stretch of league games that are eminently winnable: Manchester City in a makeup, bottomdwellers West Ham, and then Newcastle away.

But the game Saturday avenged the drubbings we've given Liverpool this year, put them ahead of us in the head-to-head duel, and showed why we have gone from being one of the scariest teams to play, to being the team all the crap teams want to get a win against. Arsenal offered up its worst performance of the year in a way that just confirmed all of the worst fears of its fans. There were moments of good build up and nothing came ever of it. Fabregas and Rosicky were worse than I have ever seen them together. V. Persie and Henry did not play. Baptista looked like he was playing on a kids team, totally out of sync with his teammates. Only Adebayor and Eboue played well at all. But for Adebayor it's another game as a quality forward with no goals.

Arsenal's defense was confused and discombobulated. When they are good they are really athletic tacklers in a tight back four that turns into the start of the attack in an instant. When they are bad they look like a bunch of midfielders who can't tackle at all playing defense, and they give up crap goals. The first goal to Liverpool was crap and after that it was just a kind of miserable onslaught. Peter Crouch got himself a hat trick and it made me want to barf.

The takeaway from the game is that we are playing miserably and there is really no soul or emotional center to the team. That is the scariest part. Who is going to take responsibility? Henry doesn't really seem to own anything this year except fragile legs. Fabregas is the engine but no leader. V. Persie's been hurt the whole time. Toure? Lehmann? Eeee gads!

Anyway, the title race is shaping up pretty well, so football fans don't despair. If the weekend was a kind of summary effect for the season, then look at the Man U/Chelsea battle. Man U just destroyed Blackburn on the back of tremendous playmaking from Cristiano Ronaldo that made two goals for the Korean workman Park. And then Rooney got two of his own with slicker than cool finishes on great through service, the last ball from Alan Smith in his debut since transferring and being hurt. They looked absolutely smashing, as they have for most of the year. Meanwhile, Chelsea looked anemic against last place Watford and had to wait until injury time of the second half to get the game winner on a great header by Kalou off a Shevchenko cross. But Chelsea has been doing that all year long, getting key goals at impossible times, and now they are just six points behind the Red Devils with eighteen points left possible. Truth is that United has a pretty nice looking schedule the rest of the way, but if they drop to Boro, Man City, or Everton then the second to last game of the season against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge becomes a classic.

With all of the ups and downs of the year it's those two who have outclassed the rest. Liverpool and Arsenal are alone in the next two spots. And Bolton, Spurs, and Everton round out the top third. Spurs and Liverpool looked like they were going to have disappointing years but both recovered nicely. Arsenal and Bolton looked like they would have spectacular years and both faltered. Everyone thought the front runners would be there but no one knew how good Cristiano Ronaldo would be or how many freakin goals Man U would score. Everton gets the workmanlike effort of the year, just being very difficult to beat.

So what's at stake for the Arse? Everything and nothing I guess. Pride. We have no trophies to play for and we can't do better than third place. But I think I speak for all Gunner faithful when I say that alone in third place after this year would be a proud finish. And then let Wenger tinker. Out with the old and in with the new. Someone who can fucking score please and a true center back while we're at it.