In what was billed as the biggest Premier League game in years, Arsenal’s defeat against title rivals Manchester City on Sunday could prove a fatal blow to their hopes of ending a painful 22-year wait for football glory.
It seemed as if Arsenal had one hand on the English Premier League trophy for several months, but City are now just three points behind them, with momentum and a game in hand when they face Burnley on Wednesday.
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A win for Pep Guardiola’s side will take them to the top of the table, replacing his one-time disciple Mikel Arteta.
In the first half at the Etihad Stadium, Ryan Cherky opened the scoring for City, before Gianluigi Donnarumma’s error was picked up by Arsenal’s Kai Havertz and his side equalised.
The equalizing goal, which came from a net, gave Arsenal fans confidence that this could be their day and their season.
In the second half, Erling Haaland’s persistent search for a winner in the decider was rewarded with a second-half goal.
On the other side of the pitch, Havertz missed a late header that could have provided another plot twist in the tale of this Premier League season.
This prompted City fans to point to a banner which read: “Panic on the streets of London”.
Advantage, Manchester City
Once the full-time whistle blew, pundits agreed that City’s victory could be decisive in the title race.
“I’ve always said whoever wins that game will win the league,” former City player Micah Richards said on Sky Sports, where he found fellow pundit Gary Neville agreeing.
“City have got a massive advantage now,” said the former Manchester United and England right-back.
However, Arsenal manager Arteta was defiant after the game and insisted that the trophy was still for the Gunners to lose.
“It is in our hands and we will take it,” he said. However, realistically, that is what Guardiola’s team needs now.
Arsenal started the season strongly and lost only three of their first 49 games in all competitions.
A month ago, fans of the North London club were dreaming of a historic “quadruple” of trophies.
The defeat to City in the English League Cup final on 22 March seriously wounded Arsenal, as the 2–0 defeat was not just a bad result, but a composed performance. Within a week, another trophy was missing, this time in defeat to second-tier Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Earlier this month, sports statistics service Opta gave Arsenal more than a 97 per cent chance of becoming champions, while a win over Bournemouth would have taken them 12 points at the top.
Now they are barely holding on to the top spot.
There is at least time for another momentum swing, but Arteta is starting to look like a weak leader, with the much more experienced Guardiola on his shoulders ready to race straight into the final. Guardiola has led City to six Premier League titles in his decade-long tenure.
Arteta came through Barcelona’s youth ranks in the late 1990s while Guardiola was a senior professional, then spent three years as assistant to fellow Spaniard Guardiola at Manchester City before taking charge at Arsenal in 2019. The “apprentice vs. master” narrative added drama to the title conflict.
The Arsenal manager is downplaying the pressure his team is feeling, but his attempts to express calm are not always convincing.
In his six and a half years at Arsenal, he has made steady progress, and three consecutive runner-up positions in the Premier League show remarkable consistency. The foundation is solid, but there has been a mistake in finalizing it.
Will Arsenal ‘bottle’ it again?
As the Premier League comes to a close, Arsenal face Newcastle, Fulham and Burnley at home, while there are games at West Ham and Crystal Palace on the final day (May 24).
The city also visits Everton and Bournemouth as well as Burnley. At home, they face Brentford, Crystal Palace (date to be decided) and Aston Villa in their final games.
Arsenal’s run-in is looking slightly favourable, with all five games coming against teams at the bottom of the table. But Bournemouth, who beat the Gunners in London on April 11, have made the league leaders aware of the dangers of expecting three points from lower-ranked clubs.
Second place would be a nightmare for Arteta, his players and fans. Arsenal have become the main target for fans of other clubs, and the most trouble they face is that they are “bottlers”.
It is an accusation that brings outrage among Arsenal supporters, who feel that the club deserves more respect for its achievements, which include being the last remaining Premier League club in the UEFA Champions League for the last two seasons.
A vocal element of the fanbase has developed a large number of followers on social media platforms, but this content puts a bright spotlight on the club. The fans’ heated remarks after the match often attract more attention than the football itself.
Arsenal’s football has attracted criticism due to a lack of talent. The team’s success is based on high-quality defense and scoring goals.
The criticism he receives is an irony. Shortly before the introduction of the Premier League, the Arsenal teams that won league titles under George Graham in 1989 and 1991 were notorious for their focus on defence. Hence, the famous chant “1-0 to Arsenal”. That team didn’t need to care about their reputation as they celebrated winning the trophy, and the same could apply to the current Arsenal team if they get a late lead.
The club’s last Premier League title in 2004 was a completely different scenario, as Arsene Wenger’s team remained unbeaten throughout the season and became known as “The Invincibles”. For most of this season, Arteta’s team remained unbeaten. It has been brutally destroyed in recent weeks.
In the coming weeks, Arsenal can still win the two coveted trophies they crave.
For that to happen, they need to lift themselves over two legs for the Champions League semi-finals against a tough Atletico Madrid team.
If Arsenal leave empty-handed, Arteta will be left with only one FA Cup and two Community Shields to show for a reign that promised so much.
