Four weeks ago, Arsenal’s title challenge was over. The home defeat to Chelsea had seen everyone and their dog line up to kick Arsene Wenger’s team. While they were still licking their wounds, Manchester City snatched a win against the usual collection of youngsters, sprinkled with experience in the League Cup. Not good enough, not strong enough, need another striker they cried.

Well here we are then, on December 30th, Arsenal are tucked in 3rd, with a game in hand, which is against Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates next week. Win that and they go second in the table. Yet as the Portsmouth fans who have witnessed tonight’s thrashing at the hands of the Gunners said, if they had a predatory striker, they’d have scored 20.

For all the failings that Arsenal are constantly accused off, it’s their lack of that predator in the box that seemingly holds them back from killing teams off that their rivals manage to snuff out. Yet, it feels churlish to criticise a side that have score 51 goals in 19 Premiership games and could be second this time next week. Of course, as my fellow EPL talk writer Eric Altshul wrote earlier this week, Arsenal have a crucial 4 game period coming up from January 27th.

The results against the other big clubs do not determine the Premiership title, you only have to look at Liverpool’s result last season to see how little it effects the Premiership outcome. It is the games that you should win, that slip through your fingers that cost you titles and cups. For every emphatic thrashing of Portsmouth, there’s a defeat at Sunderland or a draw at West Ham United. Those are the games, especially the West Ham match when Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead that will keep them from going top next week.

Of course, Wenger is one of the best managers at protecting his players and keeping his cards close to his chest. If he thinks he needs a striker, he’s not the type to come out and say it, he usually just goes out and gets his man. Now, with Arsenal having a real chance to get their hands on the Premier League title, having someone who has an ability to scuff the ball in off his backside is exactly what Arsenal need. Financially Wenger could, within reason, land any striker outside of the Premier League to give them that final piece.

For all the doom mongers complaining when he sold Adebayor and Toure, for a combined £41 million, the dissenting voices seem to have grown increasingly quiet. Replacing Toure with the elegant Vermaelen was a masterstroke that has seen the Belgian weigh in with some important goals from the back. With the injuries to van Persie, Bendtner, Walcott, Denilson and Fabregas and the impending African Cup of Nations taking Song, Wenger may be forced into the market whether he likes it or not.

Of course, the one major bonus to the injuries that have blighted Arsenal is the continued presence of Andrei Arshavin, who has continued to rein in his own attacking instincts for the benefit of the team. The lad has given a real team performance over the last few weeks at the expense of personal glory and has re-affirmed his reputation as an excellent footballer.

So Arsenal finish a year which has seen them continue to play beautiful football, but miss out on the big prizes. Perhaps Wenger has already decided what part of the jigsaw is required to complete the beautiful with a little bit of brawn in the box.

They were surprise shocks felt around the world, or so much of the media would have you believe.  Vultures scrupulously circled a cavernous Anfield as the Scouse nation struggled to surmount the sickly hangover of a late Liverpool crumble.  Ferguson’s men shattered Arsenal’s fragile psyche, leaving them fighting to keep the fabric of the fantastic season from unfurling after their demonstrative drubbing.  The Earth’s axis shifted slightly.

The FA Cup may have regained a bit of its magic, but like the Afghan government, it proves powerless and impotent outside of its meager radius.  Punters can revel in the romance of a Havant and Waterlooville taking an Anfield lead, but the mighty stones comprising the football fortress remain motionless.  Only the Big Four win and, for them, the trophy is merely blusterous window-dressing, bailing out the manager after an aborted title campaign.

One never wants to lose 4-0 or to a Championship side, but neither Liverpool nor Arsenal should be devastated by their defeats.

Liverpool have a pragmatic path put in front of them.  They need to finish fourth in the league to retain their Champions’ League place.  Another extended European adventure, would add some flourish to a forgettable year, but it pales compared to the primary goal.  The FA Cup for the Reds was at best an amicable nuisance.  Even if they had won the competition, their summer solution would still likely be a roster overhauled at the prodding of a new puppet-master.  A win or loss against Barnsley fails to affect Liverpool’s bumbling malaise.  The song remains the same for Rafa regardless.  If anything, the lightened load of fixtures will allow him to rest weary legs.

There is the not so subtle embarassment of losing to the lumbering lower leaguers at home.  However, how many times will Liverpool have the advantage in corners (15-3), shots (33-11) and shots on target (20-7) without winning?   The loss looks ludicrous, but in the long-term it will matter little.

Similarly for Arsenal, the apparent FA Cup tragedy proves quite trivial.  The Gunners still sit five points atop the table.  Should they focus forward rather than down, rivalry will not ring relevant.  Even another Old Trafford tumble would prove a mere hiccup on their track toward victory, provided they perpetuate their pace.  A League Title would be tremendous.  An extended European run would make fans ecstatic.  An FA Cup would be a crappy consolation prize.

Realistically, their emaciated squad can only handle one competition effectively, or perhaps skate on the edge to manage two.  The FA Cup would have drained rest and resources from the far more important challenges in the Premier League and in Europe.  A 4-0 defeat to a rival never leaves a settled stomach, but it could quite conceivably win them the title.  The effect on morale will probably resemble that after the Tottenham debacle, minimal.

The FA Cup provides compelling copy for media outlets, but when the “magic” and the “romance” reduce to real world concerns the results are hardly tangible.  They swaddle Saturday as important, but really who could care less?