Premier League: English top flight is in its final stage and we saw how the table has turned in favour of Manchester City who are chasing their third consecutive Premier League title. Arsenal was the antagonist of this fairytale story and they were supposed to make their fans proud with a league title after 19 years but the story has a twist. Follow Premier League LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN
English football is the most competitive in Europe and it’s becoming a habit to see two-horse races in top-flight. In the previous season, the winner got decided on the final day of the league. Manchester City and Liverpool were separated by one point in the table. This thrilling chapter is back and Arsenal just replaced Liverpool. But will they stop Man City to win their third straight league title?
The Premier League title was on the cards when Arsenal made a trip to Etihad after dropping points for two consecutive games. The Cityzens grabbed this golden opportunity with both hands as they thrashed the Gunners 4-1 in a potential title decider.
Man City’s last 12 Premier League games against Arsenal:
WWWWWWWWWWWW
33-5 on aggregate. 😱 pic.twitter.com/OiLDFWWZMW
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 26, 2023
Erling Haaland set De Bruyne up for the first goal in just the 8th minute. De Bruyne came in with another strike, before Holding scored a late one for Arsenal. The game ended with Haaland’s another goal in the 95th minute. He became the leading goal-scorer in a 38-game season of the Premier League, breaking the record of Mo Salah’s 32 goals.
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | PTS | Form | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 33 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 78 | 38 | +40 | 75 | L D D D W | ||
2 | 31 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 82 | 29 | +53 | 73 | W W W W W |
How can Arsenal win the Premier League?
It was the easiest question one month back when Mikel Arteta’s side has command in the table. However, the same question will now blow Arsenal’s minds. It’s Premier League football and anything can happen like we saw in 2011-12 when Man United were looking to clinch the title but Man City walked away with the trophy on goal difference.
The North London club’s pursuit of the Premier League will be decided on two parts – first, how Arsenal performs in their next 5 games and second, how Man City drops points in their remaining seven. Manchester City have an advantage as they have played two games less. They are just two points behind Arsenal in the table which will be covered in these two extra games. The unfortunate part is, all seven games are not so heavy. Only Brentford is the side who has beaten Man City this season will face Pep Guradiola’s men.
Arsenal’s remaining games: Chelsea (H), Newcastle (A), Brighton (H), Nottm Forest (A), and Wolves (H)
Man City’s reaming games: Fulham (A), West Ham (H), Leeds (H), Everton (A), Chelsea (H), Brentford (A), and Brighton (A)
Arsenal can’t afford to drop points in this situation. If they win all remaining five games, they will finish at 90 points. They are winless from the last three games and they have to put on their best version because a couple of games are tricky like Chelsea and Brighton. Brighton is the side that will face both Arsenal and Man City. Arsenal can hope for an upset from the Seagulls and they have the ability to achieve this.
Opta’s Premier League title chances 🏆
🔵 Manchester City – 92%
🔴 Arsenal – 8% pic.twitter.com/DC3z6SOp8Y— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 27, 2023
Pep Guardiola’s side can mathematically win the Premier League title by mounting five wins and two draws in their remaining seven games. The Gunners can hope for an error from Man City and they also win all five. The way Man City is playing, it’s ideally a tough thought for Arteta to see any miracle but it’s Europan football and we saw in the past how big teams lost the battle in the final round.
What will be the equation for Mikel Arteta to turn the table?
If Man City win their all remaining games, they will finish on 94 points, 4 points ahead of Arsenal’s final points considering wins in all five. If Man City still play two draws which can happen, then they will be stuck on 90 points too. Things will be still tough as Man City have a better goal difference than Arsenal.
The equation is simple and clear for Arsenal – Man City loses at least two games or they play three draw games out of the last seven. If you think, Man City can’t drop points then you haven’t seen Premier League. Man City have a tough schedule in upcoming weeks as they have to play Champions League semifinals. Pep Guardiola has to rotate his squad between this and we can see any error from their side during Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal can only do is focus on winning their last 5 games and leave it on Man City. If glory is written then it will automatically find a way to reach the Emirates. Sometimes, sports give you surprises like how Messi’s Argentina earned the trophy despite losing a group-stage game against Saudi Arabia.
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