Football FanCast columnist Sunit Thakurta wonders if this is the year that Liverpool finally win that elusive first Premier League title.

The genie is out of the lamp or so it seems as England's most successful club turns up the heat on Premier League and European rivals. There has been no denying of Liverpool's pedigree as a European Champion side but for years this famous club has baffled many a diehard supporter by faltering in the Premier League, since its inception in the early nineties.

Football FanCast columnist Sunit Thakurta looks ahead to the Champions League and the long arduous road to Rome.

With Moscow 2008 still fresh in every football fan's mind, the start of the 2008/2009 Champions League season is upon us as Europe's elite prepare for the long and strenuous journey to Rome next May.

Football FanCast columnist Sunit Thakurta marvels in Arsenal's victory over the weekend and feels they are returning to their fabulous best.

Before starting my look back at Arsenal's performance against Blackburn on Saturday, I must apologise to the fans by suggesting in my last article that Theo Walcott could find himself shipped out to the lower leagues of English football, after Arsenal's disastrous performance at Fulham few weeks back. Well it was a normal reaction on my part given the performance on that particular day at Fulham, but there has been no denying of the fact ever on anyone's part that Walcott is a special talent and as an Arsenal fan, I was the happiest to see him destroy Croatia in Zagreb.

Football FanCast columnist Sunit Thakurta looks back at the weekends World Cup qualifiers.

Enough of matters relating to club football! For once let us turn our attention to international football. Saturday was a busy day globally as national teams from all the continents embarked on a two-year football journey in their bid to qualify for South Africa 2010. While in some continents such as Asia and South America the qualification started in earnest, it was the start of a grueling campaign across Europe and there were some noteworthy surprises.

Football FanCast columnist Sunit Thakurta reacts to his beloved Arsenal's Champions League draw.

Thursday afternoon's Champions League draw at the picturesque principality of Monaco revealed a tricky set of opening round of matches for English side Arsenal. Having comprehensively seen off Steve McClaren's Dutch side FC Twente the previous night, Arsene Wenger's side was one of the eight top seeded teams going into the draw for Europe's biggest club competition. As it turned out, the draw for the Gunners could easily be termed as tricky which involves strenuous criss-crossing across the continent.

Football FanCast columnist Sunit Thakurta reacts to Arsenal's spineless performance and feels that Wenger's has to find a solution, and fast.

After watching one of the worst displays in recent memory by Arsenal on Saturday evening, it makes me feel frustrated as a Gunner fan. Although I write articles as an ardent supporter of the great game of football putting aside my biased feelings aside, I do feel and speculate that my latest article will involve a mix of despair and desperation as being an Arsenal fan at the very moment.