Much has been made of Aston Villa's attempt to snatch the 4th Champions league spot from Arsenal this season, but when push comes to shove I firmly believe that Ye Ol' Gunnars will edge out their Birmingham opponents. The reasoning behind this assertion is that Arshavin seems to be settling in to the team very nicely, and the Arsenal team has a bit of a swagger in its step despite missing some of its key players (Adebayor and Fabregas most notably). This good form also coincides with the poor form of Villa, who for me haven't looked the same since acquiring Heskey. I never posted about it, but for the longest time now it has perplexed me that no manager could figure out Villa despite the fact that Villa fields practically the same team in the same formation every time they play. Well, I believe the time has finally come when Villa are exposed, and managers have been completely erasing Ashley Young and Agbonglahor from games. To add insult to Villa's injuries, Arsenal will soon be boosted by the returns of Eduardo, Walcott, Fabregas and Adebayor. All in all, my money is on Arsenal to pip them for the spot.
Note: I wrote this before this mornings game, which further confirms my point.
