Villa postpone the inevitable
Can somebody please stand up and put Aston Villa out of their misery?
One of the original Premier League members, the East-Midlands club have been flirting with losing their top flight status for a number of seasons now, before giving up completely this season as they feebly head for the exit door.
14 - Aston Villa have made more errors leading to goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (14). Calamitous.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 9, 2016
Winless since the 6th of February and with just three points from a possible 30 in their last ten games, its been a pitiful season for Villa.
For one more week at least they have avoided their season long fate, as Norwich's defeat to Crystal Palace means that they still have a mathematical possibility of staying up.
Today's defeat to Bournemouth was symbolic of a season, as they went down to the Cherries at home without so much of a whimper, highlighting the dearth of top flight quality within the Villains' squad.
Aston Villa are yet to have a shot on target after 73 minutes of play vs. Bournemouth. pic.twitter.com/ZcsE58qrcL
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 9, 2016
Next week should bring about the inevitable as they travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to face top four chasing Manchester United.
Can Rafa save Newcastle?
Six points adrift from safety and having not tasted victory since February, Rafa Benitez is captaining a sinking ship into the Championship.
Like Villa, their is something a touch inevitable about Newcastle's decline, as poor transfer business and mis-management of the club have all been contributing factors to a catastrophic season for one of the Premier League's biggest spenders.
Newcastle have kept just 1 clean sheet in their last 18 games in all competitions. Woeful at the back. pic.twitter.com/ntUiakyPGF
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 9, 2016
Rather than rescue their top flight status, Benitez may have to direct his attention towards salvaging what he can from the club in order to rebuild for next season in order to launch a siege on the championship.
Arsenal's title hopes extinguished
The Gunners stop-start finish to the season continued today following their thrilling 3-3 draw with West Ham at Upton Park.
After racing into a 2-0 lead, it looked as if the North Londoner's were relishing playing without the added pressure of being title contenders.
There was a tiny glimmer of hope that Arsenal could launch one last assault for the Premier League crown and their excellent early start gave reason to be hopeful.
This photo was just 6 games ago; Arsenal beat Leicester to go 2pts behind. Tomorrow #LCFC could go 13 clear of #AFC pic.twitter.com/XXX1WtEwhr
— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) April 9, 2016
However, their same old failings came back to haunt them as Andy Carroll bullied Gabriel and Laurent Koscienly to score a hat-trick and be a general nuisance throughout.
Koscienly's late equaliser was enough to retrieve some pride and a point, but it isn't enough to keep their slim title hopes alive.
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