Today's Premier League requires teams to reach at least 90 points to win the championship. With Man City's superior strength, it is almost certain that they will surpass this milestone. The question is not what The Citizens did to achieve that achievement, but what can other teams do to surpass them?
In that context, one of the rare moments that seemed to have caused Man City to collapse was Arsenal's away trip to the Etihad. Before that, Liverpool beat Brighton, creating a 3-point gap with Arsenal and a 4-point gap with Man City. The Gunners were forced to get points and played tightly to secure a draw in Manchester. The Gunners have a big advantage in the title race and know that if they win all 9 remaining matches, the only opponent who can overcome them is Liverpool.
After the match, Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal's resilience, stressing that Man City have scored in every home game in the past 3 years. The Londoners have previously lost their last eight away games at the Etihad. In that context, the 0-0 draw looked like a success.
However, things have not gone smoothly for Arsenal in the rest of the season. The Emirates side have won eight of their nine games but their only defeat to Aston Villa cost them the chance. Meanwhile, Man City won all 9 remaining matches, thereby winning the championship for the 4th consecutive time.
Arsenal can consider the loss to Aston Villa as the main reason for losing the championship. However, there is still a sense that they have missed out on a chance against Man City. It was a game in which the Gunners controlled well. Should Mikel Arteta's team be braver in the final stages of the match? Are they worth taking risks to create distance from their opponents?
Of course, there are no definitive answers to these questions. If Arsenal had opened up the game, they could have given Man City a chance and Arteta would have been criticised for his arrogance. This is not a matter of right or wrong, it is just a matter of reviewing it from the present. The only basis is that at that time, The Citizens had not won any of their eight games against teams in the top six.
The match against Man City in March was the only away match Arsenal have not won this year. The Gunners have not been behind in an away game since losing to Fulham on 31 December 2023. However, in the next 11 away matches, the "Gunners" scored 31 goals and only conceded 3 times. Although often seen as a copy of Pep, Arteta also has Mourinho's practical thinking.
This may be reasonable, as more and more teams adopt Pep Guardiola's style of play, the competitive advantage is found in different details. These include avoiding direct confrontation to the practical defensive style of play. Even Pep has now changed, no longer playing pure control football as before.
Arteta's team was no longer superior in ball control at the end of last season. In matches against Brighton, Tottenham or Man United, the Emirates team lost this statistic but still won. Or last week, Arsenal still got 3 points against Spurs who only controlled the ball 37%. This shows that the "Gunners"' 28% possession rate at the Etihad last season may not be a problem.
In addition, Man City have shown signs of instability this season. However, Erling Haaland has maintained his excellent form and just a small mistake from Arsenal could be enough for the Etihad team to take advantage and win.
This week's Super Sunday is very important. If Arsenal avoid defeat, they can be proud of having completed one of the most difficult matches of the season. However, if they lose, Man City's 5-point gap could decide the fate of the "Gunners" this season.
