The two courageous performances by Arsenal in the week have shown that Arsene Wenger’s twinkle twinkle little stars could still be in the reckoning for honours in both the Champions league and the Premiership.

The way Arsenal could contain the incessant assaults by Barcelona and neutralised the planned ambush by Lionel Messi and Co was superb.  After that stupendous display by Arsenal goalie Manuel Almunia in the first half where he saved at least three obvious goals , it came as a big surprise when two faulty anticipations in the early minutes of resumption gave Barcelona a comfortable 2-0 lead.

At that stage, even the most fanatical supporter of Arsenal might have given up hope that it was going to a procession for the defending champions. The dramatic manner Arsenal evened matters and actually were on the verge of scoring a rather unexpected victory would be one of the many exciting chapters in Champions’ league history. It was quite a spirited finish that kept the Emirates crowd on their toes.

As if to prove that the stormy finish was not just a flash in the pan, Arsenal on Saturday repeated the dose against Wolverhampton who stretched them to the full but a tremendous power finish in injury time fetched them the three maximum points. This was an important victory that has once again put Arsenal among the favourites for the title that has been monopolised by Manchester United for the past three seasons much to the discomfort of the other proverbial top clubs.

Arsenal are still third on the table but three points behind Chelsea the leaders and a point behind defending champions, Manchester United aiming at a record fourth title on the trot. It is a familiar that the league would go to the wire. It has been the same old story for the past three seasons and all the pretenders know in their hearts the stuff with which the accomplished finishers are made of.

Five more matches are a long way to the title. Club fanatics can do all the permutations they are capable of but the certainty is that Manchester United is the team to beat to win the cup but despite their 2-1 loss to Chelsea it is too early yet to pour champagne. The late starters can rake in all the goals they can manufacture but the manager who knows how to win a marathon competition will succeed in the end.

There is no doubt that the absence of Rooney will affect the attacking efficiency of Manchester United just as it did in the case of Cristiano Ronaldo but which was brilliantly fixed by Alex Ferguson. The veteran manager lives up to the adage that the work of a manager is to solve problems and you can be sure he won’t surrender the title on a silver platter.

Alex Ferguson is unlike his Ghanaian counterpart Paa Kwasi Fabin of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, 21 time champions, who has reduced the fabulous club to such an ordinary side that they are 10th on the 16 club league table. In three consecutive home matches at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, Kotoko snatched only one point out of a possible nine points. The one point was a 1-1 draw against Kpando Hearts of Lions after losing 1-0 on each occasion to Accra Hearts of Oak and city rivals King Faisal Babies.

With six matches to go, what the most ardent Kotoko supporter is praying for is that the club avoids relegation.   Performance is so lethargic that fans have refused to pay to watch their matches even at home. It is that bad. One could count the number of spectators at their last home match against Heart of Lions and some lifelong followers of the club can vouch that it was the poorest attendance at any match involving Asante Kotoko since the Kumasi stadium was built some 50 years ago.

Perhaps to salvage any pride left in Kotoko, management has belatedly asked Coach Paa Kwasi Fabin to proceed on leave to be replaced by former assistant Johnson Smith whose first assignment is an away match against Real Tamale United on Sunday.  Every Kotoko fan will tell you that this is an unenviable task for Smith because the best away performance for Kotoko in this round has been a goalless draw against Wa All Stars.

As Kotoko supporters continue to brood over the demise of their pet club, those purists who want a stop to the duopoly of the league by Kotoko and Hearts are excited that Obuasi Ashgold, Dormaa Aduana Stars and Wa All Stars are in pole position to win the title this year.  Hearts are not doing badly but it looks as if their best would be among the top four.

It is hoped however that those who qualify for CAF competitions would manage to get the financial resources to enter Africa next year. That should be the motivation. The habit of opting out of Africa competitions must be discouraged.

Can you imagine any English club opting out of Europe for financial reasons? The excuse that they are in a different environment does not wash. Let’s learn to learn from those who invented the wheels.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.