Arsenal, Liverpool..Hoffenheim

First word is for Arsenal fans. Kudos on that win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, where Robin van Persie’s impressive brace overturned Chelsea’s first half lead and put Arsenal back in the hunt for the title - technically, at least. Even if the Dutchman’s first goal was clearly offside, there is no denying the quality of the winning goal and you guys must be pretty pleased to have put an end to that worrying sequence of losses.

Chelsea’s second home loss of the season - and Liverpool’s second straight goalless return at Anfield – leaves the Gunners “only” 8 points off the top after 15 matches, and if you guys need any encouragement you need only look back to last December. Then, it was Arsenal flying high at the top, and eventual champions Man Utd trailing by five points. Of course, all that changed by the end of the season when Wenger’s boys fell apart in the run in and could only finish in third place.

In that light, Arsenal are certainly still in the title race, especially with both Chelsea and new leaders Liverpool looking anything but solid at the moment. The main worry for you guys must be that the five losses the Gunners have suffered so far have come against Stoke, Fulham, Hull, Man City and Aston Villa – even if they have beaten both Chelsea and Man U. They’ll have to avoid any further slip-ups to stand any chance of taking the title, and they still have to visit Anfield, Old Trafford, Villa Park…..you get the picture.

Liverpool surely know a thing or two about slip-ups, having claimed just two points - and zero goals – from their last two home matches against Fulham and West Ham. A win from either of those games would have given Liverpool a three point cushion at the top. Instead they endured the bizarre sensation of getting booed off at Anfield even as they reclaimed top spot from Chelsea by one point on Monday night.

Liverpool remain very strong at the back – just 8 goals conceded so far - but they are struggling to score goals, especially against hyper-defensive teams at Anfield. Fernando Torres’ continued injury trouble leaves Benitez’s side short of firepower upfront, especially with Robbie Keane still struggling to settle in. Liverpool will have to find a new path to goal, at least until Torres’ returns to form, otherwise that slender lead will soon vanish and it’ll be another disappointing season. It must surely be worrying for Benitez that his team have only scored 21 goals this season – the lowest tally of any of the top six clubs and one goal less than 6th placed Premiership new boys, Hull City.

The good news for Liverpool is, despite the goal shortage and some below par performances, they are still top of the table with nearly half of the season gone. If their form improves they should still be in the title chase come the spring. But they’ll do well to heed the lessons of Arsenal’s fall last season – just as the Gunners, ironically, take some encouragement from it.


A league with a less familiar look at the top of the table is the Bundesliga, where newly promoted TSG Hoffenheim hold a three point lead over giants Bayern Munich. The small town club, funded by billionaire and SAP founder Dietmar Hopp, have surpassed all expectations in their first ever top flight sojourn, winning 11 of their 15 games to date and impressing with their attractive attacking game.

Not that Hoffenheim are much loved in Germany though. In truth, they are widely despised by fans of other teams – Hopp recently received death threats from Borussia Dortmund fans – and there are those who believe they have simply spent their way to the top, kind of like Chelsea.

But while it’s true that Hopp has sunk millions into the club, I don’t think the Chelsea comparisons come even close. The London club were already one of the Premiership’s top four before Roman Abramovich’s millions took them to back-to-back titles. Besides, Chelsea’s riches have led to an influx of world-renown stars at the very top of world football – Essien, Drogba, Shevchenko, Ballack, Anelka, Carvalho, Deco.

On the one hand Hopp has been sinking money into Hoffenheim for the past 20 years and the club were still playing the in 3rd division just five years ago. Besides, Hoffenheim’s star players – “big-money buys” - are little-known Brazilian Carlos Eduardo, the impressive Vedad Ibisevic, Senegalese Demba Ba and Nigerian Chinedu Ogbuke. Hardly household names, if you ask me.

Okay, maybe they were big names by Bundesliga 2 standards, and they certainly secured promotion in grand style, but these are hardly big money buys by Bundesliga standards. Take their main rivals and defending champions Bayern Munich, who are so packed with big-name players that national team striker Lukas Podolski struggles to get a game.

Apart from the attacking duo of Luca Toni and Miro Klose, Bayern also boast French star Frank Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mark van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Lucio, and Phillipe Lahm.

If it were about money, Bayern should be well ahead of the pack and Hoffenheim struggling in mid-table.

That should make this Friday’s clash between the two sides a must-see. Hoffenheim have been excellent so far, but this top of the table clash against the Bavarian giants will prove their toughest test yet. We’ll see how they do.