Soccer Premier League

Predicting the Final Score of Arsenal vs. Queens Park Rangers

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Getty Images

How the mighty have fallen. This time last year, Arsenal stood proudly at the top of the Premier League table and were widely considered as one of the favorites to land the title. Fast forward 12 months and The Gunners currently find themselves nowhere near the title race; they are mere bystanders looking onwards with their fans looking backwards at past glories.

They’re looking back because last season was a real land of plenty for them. With an FA Cup triumph and a Charity Shield, Arsene Wenger‘s charges finally got their hands on some silverware after a prolonged period without anything to show for their efforts.

However, December has seen the north London club pick up a mere seven points from a possible 12 as they currently sit in sixth place, four points shy of the Champions League places and they’re not even in the mix to steal the league crown.

Nevertheless, it’s vital their fans continue to focus on the positives of the present after a series of poor displays. Right now, despite not being top of the pile, they’re on course to have a much better December than 2013 when they came out the other side with 11 points from 18. Coming into Boxing Day back then, they had accrued just five points, whereas they’ve already picked up more than that this time around.

So, there have been signs of a revival in form from a team that’s been receiving more than its share of criticism. In fact, Wenger has come in for a torrent of abuse far worse than any of his players; abuse that’s reached levels tantamount to bullying, truth be told.

Up against Queens Park Rangers on Dec. 26, they have a chance to keep the pressure on both Southampton and West Ham United. Frankly, it’s safe to say they ought to come out the other side with all three points against Harry Redknapp‘s men, because The R’s really haven’t played their best football against the big guns this season and they continue to look out of their depth for large spells of games.

Hammered 4-0 by Southampton, they were also beaten by the same margin against Manchester United.

The London club has also fallen against Everton, Liverpool and Southampton, so it’s difficult to see why they’ll change their spots against The Gunners. The only blip in their record against the “better” sides came against Manchester City when they managed to force a 2-2 draw, but it’s hard to see how they’ll reach those levels again, barring some sort of a miracle.

Arsenal have nearly scored the same amount of goals that QPR have conceded which goes some way to illuminating just how this match ought to pan out.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 QPR.

Trevor Murray is a soccer writer at www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on twitter @TrevorM90, ‘”like” him on Facebook or add him to your circles in Google+.

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