Josep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta are battling for the title. (Image: Getty)
Arsenal received a huge boost in the Premier League title race after Manchester City were held to an unlikely draw with Everton on Monday night. Josep Guardiola’s side fell behind 3-1 at Hill Dickinson but fought back to salvage a point. Meanwhile, the Gunners are now five points behind City after a thumping 3-0 win against Fulham on Saturday. However, their rivals still have a match against Crystal Palace scheduled for May 13th.
After the match on Merseyside, Guardiola admitted that the title is no longer within reach for City as the season enters its final stages. Guardiola said, “It’s better than not scoring, but it would have been better to win.” “A lot of things happened. The difficulty of the opponents, the incredibly aggressive way they played. It was in our hands and in Arsenal’s hands, but it’s not in our hands now. We have a game against Brentford on Saturday and we’ll continue and see what happens.”
After 35 games, Arsenal currently have 76 points and the maximum they can get is 85 points. Meanwhile, City have amassed 71 points from 34 games and still have one game in hand, taking their total reach to 83 points.
Following the draw with Everton, City will not be able to go beyond 83 points even if they win all their remaining games.
Arsenal need at least seven of the nine points from their final three games to clinch the title, but regardless of what City are able to achieve now, winning all three games will seal them the title.
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If Arsenal win the league before facing Palace, they will earn a guard of honor for the final game. City must travel to Bournemouth before the final weekend.
If both clubs win their remaining games, Arsenal will win on the final day of the season with a two-point difference. The earliest Arsenal can win the title is at home to Burnley on May 18th.
Yet another twist may still be on the cards. Arsenal may have the advantage on goal difference, but it’s still very close. As it stands, they are +41 compared to City’s +37.
Manchester City dropped two points against Everton on Monday. (Image: Getty Images)
If both teams are level on points, the Gunners will be crowned champions, but given City have an extra game to play, it is not impossible for them to score four goals. Three days after the home game against Palace, City will face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley (16 May).
They then travel to Bournemouth on May 19th and will play three games in six days before the final day of the season at home to Aston Villa on May 24th.
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Things are quite different for Arsenal, with attention now turning to Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, and the away game against West Ham five days later.
Eight days later, they welcome relegated Burnley to the Emirates, before heading to Selhurst Park six days later to face Crystal Palace on the final day of the season.
