The Premier League today requires teams to score at least 90 points to win the title. With Man City's overwhelming strength, it is almost certain that they will surpass that mark. The question is not what The Citizens can do to achieve that achievement, but what other teams can do to surpass them?
In that context, one of the rare moments that seemed to bring Man City down was Arsenal’s visit to the Etihad. Liverpool had beaten Brighton, opening up a three-point gap to Arsenal and four to Man City. The Gunners needed a point and fought hard to secure a draw in Manchester. The Gunners had a huge advantage in the title race and knew that if they won all nine remaining games, the only team that could overtake them was Liverpool.
After the match, Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal's resilience, noting that Man City had scored in every home game in the last three years. The Londoners had lost their last eight away games at the Etihad. In that context, the 0-0 draw looked like a success.
However, things did not go smoothly for Arsenal in the rest of the season. The Emirates team won 8/9 matches but the only defeat against Aston Villa cost them the chance. Meanwhile, Man City won all the remaining 9 matches, thereby winning the championship for the 4th time in a row.
Arsenal may look to the defeat to Aston Villa as the main reason for their title loss. But there is still a sense that they let the opportunity slip away against Man City. It was a game the Gunners controlled. Should Mikel Arteta’s side have been braver in the closing stages? Was it worth taking the risk to create a gap on their rivals?
Of course, there are no definitive answers to these questions. Had Arsenal opened up, they might have allowed Man City to take the lead and Arteta would have been criticised for his arrogance. It’s not a question of right or wrong, it’s a matter of looking back from the present. The only basis is that in 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 time Arsenal failed to win away from home this year. The Gunners have not even been behind in an away game since losing to Fulham on 31 December 2023. However, in the 11 away games since then, the Gunners have scored 31 goals and conceded just three. Although often seen as a Pep clone, Arteta also has Mourinho’s pragmatic mindset.
It makes sense, as more and more teams adopt Pep Guardiola’s style of play, the competitive edge is found in the subtleties. From avoiding direct confrontation to pragmatic defensive play, Pep has changed, no longer playing pure possession football.
Arteta’s side have lost their dominance in possession towards the end of last season. In games against Brighton, Tottenham and Man United, the Emirates team were behind in this statistic but still won. Or last week, Arsenal still won 3 points against Spurs despite only having 37% possession. This shows that the Gunners’ 28% possession rate at the Etihad last season may not be a problem.
Besides, Man City has shown signs of instability this season. However, Erling Haaland still maintains excellent form and just a small mistake from Arsenal can be enough for the Etihad team to take advantage and win.
This week’s Super Sunday is crucial. If Arsenal avoid defeat, they can be proud of having completed one of their toughest games of the season. However, if they lose, Man City’s five-point lead could decide the fate of the Gunners this season.
