02 March 2023 , 10:53
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Laura Woods had the perfect response when her beloved Arsenal were accused of benefitting from a "ridiculous" set of circumstances in the Premier League.
The Gunners won their game in hand on Manchester City by defeating Everton on Wednesday night to move five points clear at the top of the table. Few fans could argue Arsenal do not deserve to be leading the way due to the consistency and quality they have shown, and their 4-0 victory over the Toffees underlined their credentials.
Not everyone is convinced, however, and Adrian Durham suspects Arsenal have capitalised on the injuries suffered by their opponents. The talkSPORT presenter believes the absence of rival key players at opportune moments for Mikel Arteta is fuelling Arsenal's charge towards a first title in 19 years.
"Well, Arsenal are good, no question about that," Durham said on talkSPORT ahead of the midweek fixture against Everton. "But the definition of lucky is something that goes in your favour that you don't control.
"It's a wonderful thing, we all love a bit of luck now and then. Arsenal are having a huge amount of it just lately."
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To back up his point, Durham pointed out that Arsenal faced a Manchester United side without midfield general Casemiro when they secured a dramatic 3-2 victory in January. Further, Brighton had no Moises Caicedo or Alexis Mac Allister when losing 4-2 to the Gunners on New Year's Eve, while Luis Diaz suffered an injury for Liverpool during October's enthralling clash.
Arsenal roared to a 4-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday night (Clive Rose/Getty Images)Durham also drew attention to Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison missing Arsenal's away fixtures against Tottenham and Leicester respectively.
His criticism was not centred on injuries alone, either, as he pointed out the dramatic circumstances by which Arsenal defeated Aston Villa following a freak own-goal from Emiliano Martinez.
"Little things make big points and they're falling right into Arsenal’s lap," Durham concluded. "The joke is over now, no team deserves this much luck, it's ridiculous."
Have Arsenal been lucky this season? Have your say in the comments!
Laura Woods pointed out that every league triumph involves an element of luck (Visionhaus/Getty Images)Woods hit back at her talkSPORT colleague by pointing out that every league-winning team has benefitted from slices of good fortune over the years. She wrote on Twitter : "Let's be honest... you can make a case like this for or against any team in any league in the history of football if you really have a lot of time on your hands and a secret Arsenal fetish."
Arsenal face a gruelling run of fixtures in March, taking on Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace while accommodating their European commitments.
Arteta's side were drawn against Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 of the Europa League and will travel to the continent next Thursday before hosting the Portuguese giants the following week.