Lets forget whatever happened @the Emirates two days back and look forward to the road ahead. Is this team a 'title contender' or a mere 'pretender'. The Gunners has been losing consistently to top sides and inspite of that, we are supposedly having a 'good' season. Let's face it, the pundits doubted out top-4 finish not long back. 11G analyzes the season from my perspective..

We have been losing these '6 pointers' for some time now and a serious analysis is needed to get anything positive outta this i.e. if there is any. We can say that we were without Van Persie but we have been without him for quiet sometime now and it never bothered us whilst facing a weaker side. Our team was more or less full-strength (barring Robin, Diaby, et al!), despite which, we were taken to the cleaners by Rooney & Co. Wenger has been saying that if Bendtner gets fit then he won't dip into the transfer market but is Bendtner good enough to act as Van Persie's replacement for virtually the whole season from here on?' I don't think so. Agreed, that he has talent in him but he needs more time to become a complete player and we need someone of Van Persie's class to replace Bendtner as our premier marksman. We can't keep playing without any quality striker against top teams like Manchester United.

CHARACTER. Does this team have enough character in it? There is no question mark on the technical prowess of these  players, but do they have that extra zing in them which can see them through in such high profile encounters? Can they rise to the occasion when the chips are down? Do we have enough 'Big Match' players? After seeing Arsenal's credible performance (read: winning streak) after the defeat to Chelsea last November, I  had started believing that Arsenal had grown as a team. They showed great character as a team and it was a proud patch of season for Gunners like us when Arsenal bounced back to take the pole position. But the listless performance against United and the missing X factor against Villa suggests that it was false dawn and this team has a long way to go. It is obvious that there are more question than answers with this Arsenal team.

This season is not yet over for us and we might still put up a string of good performances to get back in contention. If and when that were to happen, I just pray that it won't lead to another false dawn. The onus is on the boys to perform against the Blues and show the world what they are capable of. They can either stand up and be counted or can remain in their comfort zones and continue complaining. Signing off with a wish for a better tomorrow. Up the Arsenal..