Arsenal were disappointed only to draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, but they still managed to end the weekend in a better position than they started with.
Mikel Arteta aims for glory (Image: Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta will never have a better chance of winning the title. And if Arsenal don’t do that this year, you’ll wonder if Arteta can get Arsenal to the finish line.
Arsenal ended Saturday night in a disastrous defeat as they dropped two points against Nottingham Forest and missed some big chances to win the game.
But when they stumble, their rivals also fall. Yes, Arsenal missed a chance to build a nine-point lead after Manchester City lost at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.
However, the title race took a different turn on Sunday, as Arsenal far from being put on the back foot after Aston Villa’s home defeat to Everton, finishing the weekend one point better than they started with. Everything is going as planned.
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Arsenal are seven points behind City and Villa. That would require a three-game swing with 16 remaining. You can start calculating the total how many times you need to win.
After 22 games last season, Liverpool were seven points behind second-placed Arsenal and third-placed Nottingham Forest. At the same stage last season, Liverpool had 51 points, one more than Arsenal currently have.
And to be honest, even though Liverpool won the title, I never felt in the run-up that Arne Slott’s side were going to break it.
Liverpool won 10 more games, drew 3 and lost 3, but still won by 10 points in the end. They finished with 84 points.
It must also be taken into account that City and Villa are also highly unlikely to drop points.
Arsenal can’t explode from here. And furthermore, they should take great credit and solace from the fact that they have been the best team by some margin this season.
Arteta has done a fantastic job during his six-year spell at the Emirates. It was incredible to transform them from underachievers to title contenders.
Yes, he spent a lot of money. But so is everyone. And yes, the pressure is on him this season, but he knows it better than anyone.
The truth is, no one can say they have the best team until Arsenal win. They can say they’ve got the biggest thing, but it’s not the best thing until they actually deliver.
City remain dangerous under Pep Guardiola and if there’s any team and manager capable of achieving incredible results, it’s them.
City have made good progress with the arrival of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in January. It’s a great business. However, they suffered a crushing defeat in the Manchester derby.
Villa looked tired against Everton. We always knew that their team was weak, but they lost to an Everton team that was depleted and had a better team than them.
City suffered a heavy defeat to Manchester United (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Even defending champions Liverpool appear to have gone too far backwards. There was some booing at Anfield after Saturday’s draw with Burnley. Virgil van Dijk said after the match that he needed support and that it had been a difficult season.
Arteta will define what happens next. However, it is quite sad that the neutrals who supported them as a strong candidate three years ago are waiting for his failure. No matter what happens now, he has done a great job.
Other managers and coaches have said that Arsenal are the best managed team in the league. The only team that can stop Arsenal now is Arsenal themselves. If you feel nervous or irritated. And Emirates is flying high because of the expectation level.
Arsenal have some great players. Declan Rice was better than anyone. Bukayo Saka is very consistent. Martin Odegaard is showing signs of returning to his best form. Gabriel has a lot of influence at the back. William Saliba is very classy. David Raya made a great save.
In my opinion, Martin Zvimendi is the best player this season. Sorry, Victor Gokeres has the worst players, but Arsenal are still winning and scoring despite their new centre-forward being a lethargic disappointment.
After the draw with Liverpool, Arteta reminded his players that they entered the festival period with a two-point lead and finished with a six-point lead. They entered the weekend with a six-point lead and finished with a seven-point lead.
Even if Arsenal were unable to slip away and pull away, the rest were not productive or consistent enough to close the gap. They still have four competitions to play and are top of the Champions League. It was incredible.
Incidentally, this is Arsenal’s first title in 22 years. This was the longest period they had not won a championship since the war. This is a big club that has always demanded and offered the biggest trophies.
For Arsenal and Arteta, it’s now or never. And they have to win from here.
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