It all boils down to Arsenal and Spurs

The fate of the Premiership title this season lies in the hands of Eduardo and Cesc Fabregas. (Picture: AP)

AS THE dust settles upon the humiliating 4-1 defeat of Manchester United by Liverpool on Saturday night, the Premiership title race seems to have become a little tighter, a little more exciting, since Chelsea and Liverpool have closed the gap at the top to just four points.

Even though United still have a game in hand over their closest rivals, there are still 10 games to go and history has proven that anything can happen, even if you have a 12-point lead in January.

Arsenal and Spurs may just be the clubs that could decide the destination of the Premiership trophy come May.

Are the English clubs heading for a slaughter tomorrow morning?

CHAMPIONS League action returns tomorrow morning (Singapore time), as Italian clubs Inter Milan and Roma face off against English clubs Manchester United and Arsenal.

While English football seem to be on the ascent, with three of last season’s Champions League semi-finalists hailing from England, tomorrow’s fixtures could prove tricky for both United and Arsenal.

United’s defence is decimated by injuries – with Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra the only fully fit and eligible defenders available. With Anderson still out through injury, United could be forced to draft Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher into defence, or rush John O’Shea and Jonny Evans back from injury.

On the other hand, Inter are riding high on top of the Serie A table, with Jose Mourinho managing to bring the best out of Adriano, who seemed to be on his way out of the club earlier this season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is reaching the peak of his career, while Mourinho has an excellent track record against Alex Ferguson, winning five of their 10 Premiership encounters when he was at Chelsea.

In the other “Italy v England” game, Arsenal’s midfield is decimated by long-term injuries. Cesc Fabregas, Eduardo, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott are all out, while Andrei Arshavin is cup-tied, leaving a shaky midfield core of Denilson and Alexandre Song. That, and the fact that Arsenal’s goals have dried up of late, is hardly comforting for any fans of the London club.

Roma will probably play their usual 4-6-0 formation, choking the midfield while constantly rotating the targetman, with Francesco Totti pulling the strings.

Will the English clubs survive the Italian onslaught tomorrow morning? I hope not, but I am not holding my breath on that.

Can Eduardo save Arsenal’s season?

STRIKER Eduardo marked his return from a horrific leg injury in style, scoring two goals to help Arsenal breeze past Cardiff in a 4-0 FA Cup victory early this morning (Singapore time).

The Croatian’s return came at a time where the Gunners are lying fifth in the table – currently out of contention for a Champions League berth – and goals all but drying up, with just one goal in their previous four games in all competitions.

Arsene Wenger’s team is also missing presence of playmaker Cesc Fabregas, while new recruit Andrei Arshavin has not tasted action at the Emirates since moving from Zenit St Petersburg in the January transfer window.

Could Eduardo be just the man to save Arsenal faltering season?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Yes he can. The Brazilian-born Croatian was showing so much promise last season before he had his leg broken in a clash with Birmingham’s Martin Taylor a year ago.

Up to the Birmingham game in Febuary last season, Eduardo was joint second on Arsenal’s list of top scorers in all competitions, tying with Fabregas with 12 goals. Emmanuel Adebayor topped the list with 22 goals up to the point.