Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista believes the Gunners still have a very good chance of catching Premier League leaders Leicester City before the end of the season, as per Samba Foot.
The North London club were calling all the shots in the title race at the start of the calendar year but have since failed to put up any meaningful performances leaving them 11 points behind the Foxes with 8 games to go, albeit the Gunners having a game in hand.
In an exclusive interview with Brazilian publication Samba Foot, the defender suggests that Arsenal won’t throw in the towel yet after going through a rough patch over the past 2 months. He said:
We have a great chance to be champions this season, however, we went through a period of bad form and it left us behind Leicester, who are having a great season.
But we do not throw in the towel and we can make a difference in duels we have to fight for the Premier League title.
The Brazilian who initially struggled to adapt owing to the language barrier was queried on his quest of mastering English and the defender claimed that he is still learning. He added:
Despite being in the UK for more than one year, I’m still adapting to the language and I have rather a great personal and professional challenge in mastering English.
The communication with my teammates is improving every day, and learn from them. Now I venture to communicate in English.
It’s been a roller-coaster of a season for Arsenal. They started the season not so convincingly but picked up the pace as we approached the festive season and topped the table at the start of the year. It all looked perfect for the Gunners.
However fast forward to 2 months and Arsenal are now 11 points adrift and according to many don’t have a chance of catching up with Leicester. Let’s put the points calculation aside and say if the Gunners win all the remaining games will they be in close proximity to the Foxes?, I would say they can even go past them if things go our way but that’s a big if though.
For Arsenal, the only game they will find hard to get a result is the City game but apart from that, every other game is winnable if we play to our potential. Leicester, on the other hand, have 3 big games to end the season and if we can stay in touch until that point then they will have a great chance to pip the Foxes to the title.
But first, the important thing for the Gunners will be to string a couple of results together before really thinking about the title. If they take one game at a time and starting winning then the confidence and fans will be back on their side. These results will also put the pressure back on the other title contenders and might just force a slip. Let’s hope for the best. COYG!
