Unser Chat » a success with them spending much of the

Britains national weather service announced this week they had suffered their wettest winter ever. Yet, when Arsenals players woke up on Saturday morning, the calendar had turned to March and the sun was shining. In Stoke, of all places. The white ball was back, a sign that the harshest conditions were behind us, but also a stark reality that the final stretch of the season was now here. Arsenals journey, in the marathon that is the Premier League season, had so far been a success with them spending much of the race out in front. Many onlookers expected them to hit a wall but here they were in March, now, and the only thing remotely looking like a wall was a brief meltdown as they passed through the red half of Merseyside last month. Four points against Manchester United and Sunderland, plus a win over Liverpool in the FA Cup, had put them back on track, sprinting into March with more and more believing they could be the first across the line when their race is run in Norwich on May 11. Yet, still there were the non-believers. "They have always been an outstanding team and they have great ability within their ranks," said Stoke manager Mark Hughes on Friday before going on to tell us what he really thinks: "but I just felt maybe they wouldnt have the ability to sustain a challenge. I think there are possibly stronger challengers, stronger teams that could take it away from them." Arsenals match with Stoke was only one of 38 encounters that will define their league season but given the time of the year and their history with this opponent, it felt much more than that. It proved to be a test they failed miserably. The result went against them, losing 1-0, as did the decisions, a questionable penalty call and a missed red card for Stokes Charlie Adam amongst them, but if Arsenal want the jury to make a decision on whether they are genuine title contenders, this would not be evidence theyd want to present them. The Gunners were unimaginative in attack, too narrow and slow in tempo. They lacked the creative brilliance that has so often helped them this season and the sharpness in possession. As often happens when they struggle going forward, they look to have too many similar players; ball treasurers who demand it and flock towards it. Oh, how they missed a Theo Walcott, someone in attack who can sprint on to a ball rather than run towards it. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is showing he will one day be a fine player, offered this in all-too-brief substitute appearance late on. Stoke, of course, deserved credit for defending well and it should be noted that Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have also not won there this season, but the concerns for Arsenal didnt start and end with the final result. "Its a defeat that hurts," said Wenger after the match. He added: "The consequences of this defeat could be very difficult to take and we will have to respond very quickly." Wenger is not a man that allows a conclusion to be reached based on one game but the choice of consequence as a word shows he has a concern that the league challenge could slip away. Arsenal ended the day in third place on 59pts after 28 games, four points off leaders Chelsea. On this same weekend four years ago, Wenger also met with the media at the Brittania Stadium after his team had won 3-1 against Stoke (to this day their only victory there in eight attempts). It was a sad day for the Frenchman after Aaron Ramsey had broken his leg but, despite being visibly angry and upset, Wenger admitted that he felt his team was very much in the title race after the win. Arsenal ended that day in third place on 58pts after 28 games, three points off leaders Chelsea. Arsenal faded down the stretch, going from an average of 2.07 points per game (PPG) to 1.70 in the last ten games, with 17 added to 58 to give them a total of 75. They finished third, 11pts back of winners Chelsea and they were out of the race with a month to go. Two years earlier, on this weekend during the 2007-08 season, Arsenal led the league with 10 games to go, sitting on 65pts to Manchester Uniteds 64 and Chelseas 61. At the end of the season, United won the title on 87pts (23 in their last 10 games), Chelsea finished second on 85pts (24 in their last 10 games) and Arsenal finished third on 83pts, going from an average of 2.32 PPG to 1.80 PPG (18pts in their last 10 games). With 10 games remaining in the 2010-11 season, Arsenal were second on 57pts, just three points off leaders Manchester United. Once again they faded down the stretch, going from an average of 2.04 PPG to 1.10 PPG, achieving just 11pts in their last 10 games to with a total of 68, in fourth, and 12pts back of winners Manchester United.Arsenal hit their wall while the best got stronger. 2009-10 -- Chelsea 25pts from a possible 302010-11 -- Manchester United 20pts from a possible 30 That is the nightmare scenario that Arsenal fans are concerned about happening again. The fixture list will ensure the Gunners will have their answer to this by early April. Of their last 10 league games, the four most difficult happen next - Tottenham (a), Chelsea (a), Man City (h), Everton (a) with the first three all happening this month, which also includes a trip to Bayern Munich and an FA Cup match against Everton. Talk about March Madness. After that, Swansea, West Ham, Newcastle and West Brom all come to the Emirates while Hull and Norwich welcome the Gunners. Last season, Arsenal achieved just 13pts from these 10 games (using Hull as Reading) losing at Tottenham, Chelsea and Norwich and at home to Man City and Swansea. It is their difficulties against these teams, coupled with their recent history, as title contenders through 28 games, that leads many to believe Arsenals pursuit of the finish line will fade quickly. Ironically, last season they ended the season extremely strongly, gaining 28pts from a possible 30 to qualify for the Champions League. Unfortunately, for them, at this time last season, they were already 24pts behind leaders Manchester United. In the nine seasons since Arsenal last won the Premier League, the average number of points achieved by the champions in the last 10 matches has been 22, with the lowest being 19 coming by two teams who were running away with the league - Chelsea of 2004-05 and Manchester United last season. Should Arsenal get 22pts from their last 10 games, that would give them 80pts, perhaps not enough to win the title but, likely, enough to maintain their challenge into May, and a haul that would show significant improvement considering they havent gotten over the 75. Arsenal players and fans are regularly told they have not won a trophy in eight years and, soon, that needs to change but, above all else, Arsenal finally need to be relevant title contenders into May, no matter who wins the league. Recent history suggests even that moderate, achievable goal could be beyond them. Upon the marathons completion, we wont just know if Arsenal were worthy title contenders, we will know if they were much better than their unsuccessful teams of the recent past. Raheem Sterling England Jersey . This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Dele Alli Jersey . Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist and Martin Jones made just 17 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the lowly Oilers on Thursday. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Nick-Pope-England-Jersey/ . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. Jesse Lingard England Jersey .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. Kieran Trippier Jersey . LOUIS -- When Braves second baseman Tyler Pastornicky backpedaled into shallow right field to catch the popup and Jason Heyward didnt arrive fast enough to take charge, Kolten Wong got the green light.INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George went into desperation mode to salvage the Pacers season. It was barely good enough. The 24-year-old All-Star scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter and inspired Indiana to fend off Miamis late challenges as the Pacers staved off playoff elimination with a 93-90 Game 5 victory on Wednesday night. "My message to the whole team was the light needs to be on green for all of us," coach Frank Vogel said. "You need to go, you need to attack, you need to be aggressive. Paul took it and ran with it and took it to a crazy level." The most crucial shooting performance of Georges career allowed the Pacers to climb within 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals and postponed Miamis fourth straight coronation as conference champs. Game 6 is Friday in Miami. It took everything in Georges repertoire to get it done. He was 12 of 19 from the field in the second half, finished with six rebounds, six steals, five 3-pointers and only three turnovers in 45 minutes. But the Pacers also needed everything else to go right. Four-time MVP LeBron James was limited to 24 1/2 minutes because of major foul trouble. He finished with a career playoff-low seven points, two rebounds and four assists. The Heat committed 17 turnovers, compared to just 13 for the usually turnover-prone Pacers, and Indiana had a 45-38 rebounding edge, too. The biggest difference was George, whose 21 fourth-quarter points were the most scored against Miami in any playoff quarter. The previous record, 20, was set by Michael Jordan in May 1997. "I just felt it. I felt in rhythm. I had to be aggressive," George said. "I tried to come out and be aggressive to start this game off and I was getting looks. I got hot." George fell just short of his playoff career high, the 39 he had in Game 4 against Washington in the previous series, and was just four points short of Reggie Millers franchise record in an NBA playoff game. For Miami, it was a rare stumble in an elimination game in the Big Three era. Three other times, the Heat had lost Game 1 on the road and all three times they won the next four games to close out the series. The Heat were in position to do it again Wednesday even with James limitations. Chris Bosh scored 20 points, Dwyane Wade and Rashard Lewis each had 18, and the Heat made 15 of 31 3-pointers to stay within clinching distance. After holding the Pacers to 11 points in the second quarteer, only 33 in the first half and surviving two long first-half stretches without James, the Heat couldnt hold off the Pacers when James went to the bench again with his fifth foul early in the third quarter.dddddddddddd Yet, the Heat still had a chance to take the lead with 4.9 seconds left. But Boshs 3-pointer was off the mark and the Pacers grabbed the rebound. "We still had enough opportunities to come away with a win," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We just couldnt get over the hump." Hard falls and tough plays were a theme all night for a Pacers team that had been roundly criticized for its lack of effort in Monday nights loss. Lance Stephenson took it a step farther. At one point, he attempted to listen in on one of Miamis huddle. At another, he blew in James ear. "Im just here to play basketball, man. All the extracurricular activities, I dont really get into," James said. "Im just trying to win. We need one more win to get to the finals. Thats my only concern. All the extra stuff, whatever Lance wants to do, I dont really care about that." It looked like the Heat might clinch their fourth straight conference title Wednesday, something last done by the Celtics from 1984-87, when the Pacers trailed 50-41 with 6:56 left in the third quarter. Then George took over. He started an 11-0 run with a layup and ended it with a steal that he turned into a dunk to give the Pacers a 52-50 lead. Miami quickly tied it on Udonis Haslems layup, but George answered with a 3-pointer that sent the Pacers on a 12-5 run to make it 64-57 after three. Indiana extended the lead to as much as 77-66 early in the fourth on another George dunk, but when James re-entered, things changed. The Heat scored nine straight to make it 77-75, tied it at 81 on James only 3 of the night with 3:51 to play and twice managed to get within one in the final 76 seconds. George then hit a 3 and West made 1 of 2 free throws in the closing seconds to seal it. Notes: James scored in single digits for the first time since finishing with eight against Dallas on June 7, 2011. Hes only scored in single digits 10 times in his career. ... Roy Hibbert, who had only five rebounds in Game 4, had five in the first seven minutes Wednesday and finished with 13. ... Miami shot 45.3 per cent from the field, the first time its been under 50 per cent in the series. ... The Pacers were 13 of 22 from the free-throw line while Miami was 7 of 8. ' ' '