An Unpopular but Effective Choice for Arsene Wenger

When Tony Pulis slapped a £25m price tag on the head of Jonny Evans, Arsenal fans on social media went into meltdown. Gooners have been crying out for Arsene Wenger to spend money and are expecting a 'household' name to strengthen the defence and add more dynamism to their hit and miss attack. When supporters cry for an expensive 'household' name they generally mean someone from mainland Europe. 

Evans is important to West Brom, featuring in 30 games last season under the guidance of Tony Pulis as the Baggies survived relegation by finishing 14th in the table. In a team that averaged just 45% possession last season, Evans only committed one error that led to an effort on goal according to Squawka. Making over 500 appearances for the Baggies, Ally Robertson penned a piece for Midlands news site Express and Star where he states, "It'll be nigh-on impossible to find a defender that stacks up to Evans."

Furthermore, Evans made the majority of his appearances last season at his undesired position of left back where Robertson believes he excelled. The former Scottish central defender would not begrudge the Northern Irish player of a move to Emirates where he would likely play in is preferred position of centre-back in the Champions League while collecting a fruitful pay-packet each week. 

Robertson isn't the only player singing the praises of Evans. Arsenal Invincible, Lauren told the London Evening Standard, "We need someone with determination and someone who is commanding and Jonny could fit the bill." Evans made almost 200 league appearances in 9 years for Manchester United having graduated from the fabled academy under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson. Not bad for a player who is allegedly mediocre at best.

Looking at the style of play of the 28 year old, he ticks a lot of the boxes that Wenger wants to see in a central defender. At 6ft 2in, he is a presence in both defence and attack. Evans is an intelligent player and excels at man marking the opposition's forwards, just look at his performance against Robert Lewandowski in Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 opener. Not the quickest of defenders, his wily nature means that he doesn't get caught out of position too often.

Against West Ham last season, Andy Carroll netted an 8 minute hat trick which left Arsenal's title challenge in ruins. Despite rescuing a draw, all of Carroll's goals originated from crosses with Gabriel Paulista being at fault for two of the goals. Throughout the Euros, and the rest of Jonny's career, dealing with crosses has been a major strength and have saved a countless number of points for his teams.

Rather surprisingly for a Northern Irish defender, he is adept at taking the ball out of defence almost acting as another creative player. For the national side, Evans has been known to embark on adventurous runs from his position which can leave his side short at the back but can also give the side another passing option. During the Euros he recorded a 77% pass completion rate and averaged 33 passes in each of the matches.

With Per Mertesacker ruled out for the foreseeable future with a knee injury and Shkodran Mustafi unlikely to cost less than €40m, defensive options are limited for Wenger and with the transfer window closing in one week, the Arsenal hierarchy could do no worse than purchase the 28 year old Northern Ireland international. 

Race for the BPL Title

With just 6 games left of the 2015-16 Premier League season, Leicester sit top of the table with a 7 point advantage over nearest rivals Tottenham. Just four more wins from their last games secures Premier League glory in what has been an astonishing team performance galvanised by the managerial expertise of Claudio Ranieri at the helm. Where does this leave the 'top four regulars'?

After a horrific start to the season, Roman Abramovich quickly waved the axe at Jose Mourinho to be replaced by Guus Hiddink. Since then Chelsea have rose up the league table and are now hunting for a spot in Europe. Despite the supporters not wanting to admit it, neither Manchester United and Liverpool are ready for a title charge and contain too much 'dead weight', evidenced further by either side not being able to topple Leicester and Spurs. The other side of Manchester have faltered too much and Pellegrini has rightfully paid the price by not getting his contract renewed at the end of the year. Admittedly, injuries have not helped, but with the quality in depth in the City set up, they really should be blowing the rest of the competition away.

That just leaves Arsenal. Currently sitting in 3rd place, a point off their North London rivals, this was Arsenal's year, to borrow the phrase, and yet again they have blown it. Arsene Wenger will be held to account even more than in previous years, where they had the ever-young excuse of 'we can't compete against Chelsea/United/City (delete as appropriate) who spend all around them.' At 8 points adrift, I don't see Arsenal catching Leicester particularly with tricky away matches to West Ham and Manchester City. Admittedly, it the rest of their fixtures are against considerably weaker opposition, most of which are currently battling relegation. Dropped points at the weekend will make it very difficult to catch up and even if they throw together a run of form, it could be a case of too little, too late for the Gunners.

Leicester City have been a breath of fresh air for the Premier League this season and have quickly endeared themselves into the hearts of everyone. Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have ripped defences to shreds and are rightly at the top of the pile and much of this can be attributed to the managerial expertise of Claudio Ranieri, who possibly would not have been at the club had his Greece side not succumbed to back to back defeats to Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. Nobody could have predicted the mesmeric rise of Leicester City and I can even be quoted as to say that they will finish outside the top 6! A win at the Stadium of Light on Sunday secures the side Champions League football next season, and nice amount of money for the owners to hopefully put back into the club.

The real challenges start when the league concludes for the East Midlands club. Regardless whether they win the title or not, they will come under pressure to sell their key men such as Kasper Schmeichel, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante among others. Ideally, I'm sure they would want to keep hold of most of their side and improve it with additions from the transfer window, but I don't think they would pass up on the opportunity to charge one of their rivals a fortune. After all, they got most of their players for pennies compared to the rumoured values of them currently. From a business aspect, it will be a win win situation.

On any other season, Spurs would be the side that everyone wants to win but they have been pipped to the post by Leicester. Spurs are beginning to reap the rewards of the signings that were acquired with the money gained from the sale of Gareth Bale. Nacer Chadli and Christian Erikson in particular have often gone under the radar in terms of performances. Erik Lamela blows hot and cold but on his day can be scintillating. It is often a frustration of mine that he cannot be more consistent and injury free as he has the talent to beat any defender on his day. Toby Alderweireld has been a revelation at the back having been bought from Atletico Madrid in the summer. Sent on loan to Southampton last year, the Belgian was constantly at the heart of the Saints' early run of form and has picked up from where he has left off.

Undoubtedly however, all the plaudits have been going the way of Dele Alli. The teenager was signed by Pochettino in February 2015 for an initial fee of £5m. Hindsight may be a wonderful thing but there will be many other sides kicking themselves at not purchasing the player. He announced himself to the stage with his first goal in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City, as well as scoring memorable goals against Crystal Palace as well as cracking strike in an international friendly against France. Like Leicester, Spurs have unearthed a lower league gem and one that has rose to be touted as one of the best English prospects. He will also be exciting to watch for English fans in the white jersey when playing at the European Championships this summer.

How will Spurs and Leicester fair in the transfer market and in the Champions League next season?

The club owners will be licking their lips at the prospect of Champions League football. From a financial point of view, they will receive €12m for competing in the group stage of the Champions League while also bagging a healthy €1.5m for each win and €500k for each draw.  On top of this, they have the added market pull of offering Champions League football. The money must be spent wisely, or else they will just descend back into mid-table mediocrity, particularly as the other teams around them will spend big. According to http://www.totalsportek.com/, the champions will collect just under £78.8m while the runners up will receive £77.6m and this is excluding television money. The managerial nous of Ranieri and Pochettino will be seriously tested as they aim to replicate what they have achieved this year.

The season is reaching an exciting climate and it is looking likely that we will have a new name on the Premier League trophy and I certainly look forward to see how the current top 2 sides approach the coming transfer market. 

The Curious Case of Arsene Wenger

Take yourselves back to the 2003/2004 season. Arsenal went one nil down to a Paul Dickov header half way through the first half, before a Ashley Cole earned his team a penalty after a majestic pass from the non-Flying Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp. Theirry Henry found the net from 12 yards to become the first Gunner to net 30 league goals in a season since Ronny Rooke. Wenger flicked the switch and the style was turned on. Yet again, Bergkamp assisted Patrick Vieira who scored the winning goal and sent Arsenal into the history books as the only English team to have gone unbeaten in a single league season. Those were the days for Arsene Wenger.

Now, over a decade on, Arsene Wenger has a new dose of problems to contend with. His failures in the transfer market have worried the fans even though the victory in the FA Cup Final softened the blow. Even if we rewind a year, Wenger was sitting pretty at the top of the table 5 points ahead of Liverpool but the lack of a striker and a defensive midfielder allowed Arsenal to peter out of contention.

On Saturday 8th, Wenger faced something that he has never occurred to him in his years as Arsenal manager before, his own fans hurling abuse as he boards a train back from Stoke. Looking at the match, Arsenal were very poor. Defensively they were all over the place and could have easily been four down if Anthony Taylor had allowed Bojan Krckic's second goal to stand. Peter Crouch bossed Mertesacker off the park, and at set pieces, five Gooners were unable to prevent the former Spurs man from directing a header towards Jonathan Walters to make it 3 nil. Although it Arsenal were able to make the score look respectable, it was to no avail.

What followed after the match is what I am particularly interested in. I'm sure everyone reading this article will be aware that a small group of Arsenal fans gathered at the train station as they were preparing to head back down to North London. They waited and ambushed Wenger to a torrent of abuse, as well as telling Joel Campbell to 'escape' while he can. Was the abuse just the heat of the moment after a very disappointing abuse? Does Arsene need to leave for the benefit of his reputation and the club? I'll give you my opinions, but I would also like to hear yours.

My first reaction was that this was an abomination to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club, but as I'm sure you're all aware, if you delve deeper, then there is always another side to the story. I thought the actions showed a complete lack of respect to a man that has achieved plenty of trophies with side that went unbeaten an entire season that I have already pointed out. Because the man has led Arsenal to glory, then he should receive criticism in a more dignified manner.

Wenger led Arsenal to arguably their most successful era between his arrival and 2005, battling it out with Sir Alex Ferguson. In that time they netted no less than 11 trophies, before he added another 2 in the past year. Surely for all the good times that Wenger has given Arsenal fans he should be given respect? It must have been sole destroying for the Arsenal manager, who has dedicated over half of his managerial career at the club, to see fans hurl insults at him after all he has achieved at the club. During the time when the club was in the process of relocating to the Emirates from Highbury leaving Arsene to operate on a low budget, yet he still ensured that the North London club were consistent Champions League contenders.

On the other hand, Wenger has made so vital managerial errors over the past few years. The world and his granny knows that Arsenal need a defensive midfielder, yet Wenger seems to be blind to this fact. In addition of the midfield problems, Arsenal have a lack of depth in the centre of defence, so it was baffling to see him give up club captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona so easily. This season, Arsenal have looked vulnerable from set pieces, whether this is due to a lack of quality or a lack of height leaves me questioning and this was epitomised by the first half performance at the Brittania Stadium.

Rumour has it that Cesc Fabregas had a buy-back clause inserted in his contract when he left for Barcelona, so when he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp in the summer, I was amazed that he seemed to pass up the opportunity to bring an Arsenal legend back to the club. While the capture of Alexis Sanchez can be considered a coup for Arsenal, Wenger has been less than impressive with his dealings in the transfer market over the last few years.

We are forgetting that a managerial career is a heated environment and I reiterate the things I said in the article about Brendan Rodgers. Managers always come under criticism and they have to respond in a way that silences their doubters and Wenger has done just that. I thought he made a very honest and clever reaction to the events by asking the Arsenal fans to "judge him in May, not at Christmas." This leads me to believe that if he is unable to turn Arsenal's fortunes around, he will step down as manager at the end of the season.

The fans have every right to be upset with Wenger's management, as he has broken countless promises to the fans as well as suffered embarrassing defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in recent years. Some would say that the fans have every right to have a go at Wenger as would those humiliating defeats have caused 'harassment' for the Gooners on the receiving end of it? I think it would have. No matter what club it is, the fans always reserve the right to call the manager out on mistakes that have been made. The fans pay money to see their beloved club play so they should have a say in the club that they support. 

Talking about silencing his critics, Wenger's Arsenal have recorded to astounding victories over Galatasaray and an inform Newcastle side. The 4-1 result against Galatasaray would have pleased the fans particularly as Turkey can be a very difficult place to go and play. At the weekend, Olivier Giroud produced a solid performance as he aims to show Wenger that he is a proven goal scorer and that he has fully recovered from his injury that kept him out since August. The score finished 4-1 to Arsenal which included a deft panenka penalty from Santi Cazorla. I doubt that these results will have changed the thoughts of the fans that were at the train station, but they could go along way to restoring confidence in Wenger's abilities. Wenger takes his troops to Anfield on Sunday and will be hoping to banish thoughts about what happened in this fixture last year.

It is truly a curious case for Arsene Wenger. He wants to be judged in May, and I think he should be given the time to prove his worth, but this must start with a successful Christmas period and a spending spree in the transfer market to strengthen in defensive areas. In short I believe that Arsene Wenger should have left at the end of his FA Cup win with his pride intact as everyday longer he stays, he seems to be turning Arsenal fans against him.

Where Now For Arsenal?

After almost 9 years without any silverware, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, finally ended their trophy drought with a 3-2 extra time win over Hull City. Welshman, Aaron Ramsey sealed the winner 11 minutes from the end of extra time after latching onto a backheel from Olivier Giroud, but the question now remains, where now for Arsenal? 

Up until early Saturday evening, Arsene Wenger's position as Arsenal manager seemed to be in an uneasy state. Wenger had a great start to the season with Arsenal finishing the calendar year at the top of the table, but this tailed off when he failed to strengthen in key positions in the January transfer window. Ultimately, I believe that if Wenger had acquired a quality striker, then I would have tipped Arsenal to finish in a better league position than they did.

On top of Wenger's shopping list should be a striker. For me, Giroud isn't up to scratch, and Bendtner is laughable. Although Giroud got 16 goals last season, with the quality of players behind him, I do feel he should be scoring a lot more. He can also be wasteful on some occasions. I do believe he has talent, but I don't think he can fit the standards at Arsenal, in my opinion he would make a decent back-up. Last summer, Wenger missed out on a chance to sign Gonzalo Higuain, someone who could have gave Arsenal the firepower to achieve greater things. They also embarrassed themselves with the business over the release clause of Luis Suarez and made themselves a laughing stock throughout England. 

An obvious downfall for the North London club was the vast amount of injuries suffered throughout the course of the campaign. The loss of Aaron Ramsey was a major blow, as he scored goals at crucial stages and always seemed to give a positive performance when in the red jersey of Arsenal. Wenger attempted to rectify this by signing Swede Kim Kallström, even though he was injured upon arrival and was out for the opening few weeks. The fault must lie with Wenger for this deal as it seemed to make no improvement to the situation. Another injury was to Theo Walcott. He constantly terrorised defences through his pace but his injury in the FA Cup tie against Tottenham ended his season. At times after the injury, Arsenal were lacking the cutting edge, something which Walcott could have supplied. The events of this season has shown that Arsenal lack squad depth, and it can be fixed if Wenger dips his hands into his pockets.

The marquee signing for the summer was Mesut Ozil. Arriving for a price of £42m, he was the most expensive export in German history. A lot was riding on the shoulders of the 25 year old, and it certainly did give his new team mates a lift going into the opening games of the season. However, several performances this year have made me question whether he is a big game player. Most notably, I was particularly disappointed in the last 16 home tie against Bayern Munich. Like several other games this season, I didn't feel that his attitude was commendable. He often left his opponent unmarked and showed a low work rate when defending, something that is suicidal when facing a team of the magnitude of Bayern, especially when they are a man up. On his day, Ozil is very talented footballer and is scintillating to watch. His varied range of passing is second to none, and he can unlock a defence with a moment of magic. He will need to be on top form if the Gunners are to challenge for the title again.

Wenger is known to keep his pockets zipped, but if Arsenal are serious about challenging for the title next season, then Arsene will need to be more adventurous in the transfer market than what he is known for. Wenger has come under a lot of criticism in the latter part of his career, so more silverware next season is crucial if he is to silence the doubters.

Top 10 Managers

The following managers contained in this blog are, who I think, the best managers in the world. They are not ranked in any particular order.

Carlo Ancelotti

Whoever says great players don't make great managers is lying. Carlo Ancelotti has won the league in France, Italy and England during his career and is art of a unique club of players that have won the Champions League as a player and a manager. He will be most known for his success at AC Milan from 2001-2009.  During his 8 years at the Milan club, Ancelotti won 8 trophies, most notably a 2007 Champions League victory over Liverpool. Now at Real Madrid, I expect him to be able to knock rivals Barcelona off their perch and reclaim the number 1 spot of Barcelona in the long run. A man that always instructs his team to play attacking football and forbids his team to take the foot off the gas deserves to be named in my top 10 managers.

Jose Mourinho

No top 10 managers list is complete without the self-proclaimed 'Special One'. Jose Mourinho's record speaks for itself. Arguably one of the most influencial managers in history, Mourinho has notched up no less than 20 titles and countless individual honours throughout his career. His finest hour would likely be the treble winning year of 2009/2010 at Inter Milan. At only 51 years of age, the man from Setubal is expected to gather even more titles. Personally, I will admit that he is one of the best managers in the world, even though I have a low opinion of him. Already, I would expect Mourinho to have his eyes on accumulating numerous trophies, in an attempt to surpass Sir Alex. 

                         

       

Jurgen Klopp

Nobody can forget the anger vented at the officials by Dortmund manager, Jurgen Klopp in a 2-1 defeat to Napoli, and the leaps and bounds he has brought the North Rhine side is incredible. He guided Dortmund to their first Bundesliga title in 9 years back during the 2010/2011 and followed that up with a league double the following season. Always instructing his team to play fast flowing, attractive football, Klopp has been a giant of the managing world over the past year, and deserves to be on my list as hopes to string together a run of good results in order to challenge Leverkusen for the second place.

       

Rudi Garcia

If anyone reading this post is a Serie A lover, then you will know why he is on this list. Out of nowhere, he has announced himself on managerial scene with aplomb by sending Roma to a 17 match unbeaten run. The Giallorossi have found themselves a surprise package this year lying in a respectable 2nd position behind Juventus. As for Garcia, his managerial success began at French club Lille when he claimed the domestic double in the 2010/2011 season as well as bagging the French Manager of the Year Award in 2011 and 2013. He has remodelled a team from the brink of turmoil to one challenging Juve for the Serie A title.

      

Diego Simeone

A highly decorated player and also a highly decorated manager. Renowned for his time in Atletico Madrid, he has delivered a myriad of trophies to a club that has been living in the shadow of their Real neighbours. A manager who utilizes his wingers to great effect, finds himself touted as the manager for the Argentinian National team. I rate Simeone exceedingly highly, as, although he doesn't have the finances or manpower as Barcelona or Real Madrid, he is adding another team to the short list of contenders for the Liga BBVA title.

       

Antonio Conte

A fantastic player and now a fantastic manager. At the age of 44, Antonio Conte is trying to replicate his illustrious playing career in the dugout as a manager. Currently working with the best team in Italy, Juventus, he has guided the 'Old Lady' to the last 2 Serie A titles and is on course to record a 3rd consecutive one. He has created a formidable Juventus side, using talented players Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba to name a few, that has every possibility of mimicking the days when the Old Lady was Champions of Europe. Juve through and through, the Italian is heading for a long time managing the Italian giants.

        

Louis Van Gaal

Having been educated in possibly the best traditions of the 'Total Football' by Ajax and the Netherlands in the 70s, it is to no surprise that he is a fanatical advocate of the fast, free-flowing football that we all love to watch. While being generally labelled a slow starter, he managed the all-conquering Ajax team of the early 90s. Often described as blunt towards the press, the Dutchman deserves recognition on my list of top 10 managers due to the numerous titles he has won at Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich. Currently in hi second spell as manager of the Netherlands, Van Gaal will be hoping for a better run in the World Cup compared to Euro 2012 and their failure to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

       

Arsene Wenger

A terrific servant to Arsenal FC, Arsene Wenger is the longest manager in charge of a club, currently in the Premier League. During his 17 years at Arsenal, he has amassed 3 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups and 4 Community Shields. Although regularly overlooked, he holds a Ligue One title and One Coupe de France trophy from his time at Monaco. Over the past few years, I feel his has been wrongly on the end of abuse from Arsenal fans at the lack of money spent. Even when he has not been spending money, the Gunners always find themselves in the Champions League positions, come the end of the season. Famed for his advocating of youth, Wenger now possesses a strong Arsenal team poised to challenge for the title.

       

Luis Felipe Scolari

While Luiz Felipe Scolari may not be on most people's top 10 managers list but he is definitely on mine. Famous for his short fuse and tantrums on the sideline, the 65 year old has managed a list of clubs and nations the length of my arm. 'Big Phil' has enjoyed success all over the world most notably, Kuwait, Uzbekistan and Brazil. Internationally, Scolari has enjoyed an array of success - and upsets. In 2002, he led a team with characters such as Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos, to a World Cup, before enduring the shock of the century with Portugal, losing in the Euro 2004 final to Greece. At a club level, Scolari has won the Copa do Brasil on numerous occasions and also the Brazilian equivalent to the Champions League, the Copa Libertadores.

      

Fabio Capello

A manager that is almost forgotten about on Top 10s, is the Russian National team manager, Fabio Capello. A proven player and manager, Capello holds a trophy cabinet that most fans would die for. Managing no less than 5 clubs, the 67 year old has won numerous Serie A titles, La Liga titles, Supercoppa Italiana and the prized UEFA Champions League with AC Milan. In addition to this, he won the Serie A Coach of the Year in 2005 and BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year award in 2009.

Those are my opinions on the best managers in the world currently. Another manager that gets a glowing report from myself is fellow Ulsterman Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers honed his skills under the wing of Jose Mourinho and will no doubt feature on this list eventually, if he has a long, distinguished career on Merseyside.

Are Arsenal Title Contenders?

This season has shocked many people for a considerable number of reasons, most notably, the ascent of Arsenal to the top of the table. On deadline day of the summer, Arsene Wenger smashed the piggy bank for £42.5m in order to bring Real Madrid playmaker, Mesut Ozil to North London for a club record fee.

The tricky German has galvanised the club 

I am amazed how one moment of absolute wizardry from Arsene Wenger could propel his club into a title winning position. For those who say that one player cannot win you trophies, Arsenal is a prime example on how that theory could be proved wrong. The tricky German has galvanised the club and also brought a degree of securance to Arsene Wenger's job at the Emirates. Having endured almost 9 years without a trophy, this season marks their best opportunity to date to win a major trophy.

Traditionally, this month is like Friday the 13th to Arsenal fans

However, it's the month of February. Traditionally, this month is like Friday the 13th to Arsenal fans. Last February saw Arsenal defeated in the FA Cup to Blackburn Rovers and effectively knocked out of the Champions League by the eventual winners, Bayern Munich. In previous years, Arsenal have suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to AC Milan and the memorable 4-4 draw at Newcastle. This is emphasised by dropping 21 points and officially being knocked out of 2 competitions in the last three years.

While February is usually an appalling month for Arsenal, the fixture list doesn't prove pleasant reading for the Gooners. They have made a flying start to their bogey month with already 3 points under their belt in a win against Crystal Palace. The task gets a bit harder on Saturday in a top 4 clash with Liverpool. Realistically, with the game at Anfield, it will be difficult for the North Londoners and a draw would be a pleasing result. A game then follows against the under achieving Manchester United. Having lost in the reverse fixture, Arsene has a score to settle, and a win for the Gunners seems most likely. Another home fixture against Liverpool in the FA Cup gives Arsenal the opportunity to progress in the cup - a 2nd leg victory for Arsenal would be my prediction. Then comes the big test against all-conquering Bayern Munich before a game against the struggling, Sunderland and will pick up 3 points from the latter.

They don't have a big enough squad to compete in all fronts

As for my original question, I don't feel they are title contenders, yet. In my opinion, they don't have a big enough squad to compete in all fronts. Wenger has a solid defence at his disposal in Szczesny, Koscielny, Mertesacker and Gibbs, however, a replacement for the ageing Bacary Sagna may be required. As for midfield, they have a multitude of talent, probably the best after Manchester City and Chelsea. While the signing of Kim Kallstrom is logical, an attacker to deputise for Giroud if he gets injured is needed. I share the same opinion with most people in believing that Bendtner isn't good enough for this Arsenal team and that Podolski is more of a wide player rather than an out-and-out striker.

The stats don't lie. February has traditionally been a month with no luck for the London based team. However, if the Gunners come out of it with a victory against Bayern, a double over Liverpool and free from any injuries, it could set them up for an interesting finish in the the title race. After all, every title winning team needs a bit of luck.