Arsenal’s slump can easily be traced back to their 4-0 loss at Manchester United in the FA Cup about two months ago. The Gunners have won only two of 11 matches since then, and another visit to Old Trafford on Sunday in the Premier League could be the end of their title hopes. Arsenal trail the Red Devils by six points, while Chelsea are in second, three points behind United.“Arsenal have had some injuries the second half of the season which has made it difficult to rest players,” United manager Alex Ferguson said Friday. “They lost Diaby for a while, they lost Denilson, (Tomas) Rosicky and (Robin) van Persie.“You can’t win games without your best team consistently — not at the level we’re at. We suffered last season in the run-in, we lost the (Champions League) semi-final because of it.”Midfielder Mathieu Flamini is ruled out of Sunday’s clash, but van Persie will be available. “If we win on Sunday, realistically we can win the title,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “If we go up there and we don’t really believe, then it’s all over. But if you go to Manchester and believe that it’s over, that would be ridiculous. We will fight until the last.”However, Ferguson is so certain of United’s capabilities that leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was rested for Wednesday’s Champions League victory over AS Roma. And Wayne Rooney only played the last 15 minutes.Gilberto isn’t ruling Arsenal out of the title race. “The important thing for us is to try and forget what happened against Liverpool,” he said. By the time Chelsea host Wigan on Monday, United could have already improved their standing, but Ferguson expects a bumpy road to retain the title. “It’s getting a tougher league,” the Scot said. On Saturday, Reading and Bolton need victories over Fulham and West Ham to increase their chances of avoiding relegation. That’s already looking likely for Fulham, who are 19th in the 20-team standings.
