From 9 points to 4 points. Arsenal lead Manchester City into first place premier league It decreased dramatically in less than a week.
The good news for Mikel Arteta’s side is that Arsenal remain in control of the title race after Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The bad news is that the momentum just seems to be tilting in City’s direction. Arsenal looked the best.
It feels like a long time since Arsenal went nine points clear at the top of the table with a 3-0 win over Sunderland. It was actually 5 days.
since then, City fought back from goal difference to beat Liverpool at Anfield following Sunday Another win against Fulham on wednesday
The nine-point advantage was only provisional as City had games in hand, but there was a sense that the title race had changed significantly and a tense performance at Brentford suggested Arsenal were starting to feel the pressure.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya said: “Obviously we’re disappointed with just one point, but we know it’s a difficult place to come to. We’re still in a good position so we just have to stick together. Let’s do our best again.”
There was a sense of relief for Arsenal fans in the 61st minute when Noni Madueke broke the deadlock at the G-Tech Community Stadium with an off-foot header past Brentford goalkeeper Caoihin Kelleher. And that was evident in Arteta’s celebrations on the sideline.
However, Arsenal’s nerves seemed to be unresolved as Brentford looked for an equalizer and leveled the score in the 71st minute with Kean Lewis-Potter’s diving header.
“We were more clinical after scoring goals, maintaining our level better, playing in the right areas and being disciplined,” Arteta said. “We started giving them set pieces and they were really good at that so I want to give credit to them as well.”
Brentford’s Igor Thiago then crashed over the bar in front of goal, and in stoppage time there was a frantic finish with Kelleher denying Gabriel Martinelli’s one-on-one.
Brentford manager Keith Andrews said: “It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the chances we created meant we were more likely to win as the game went on.”
Arsenal have to travel to City again in April, so the title race is likely to be close.
City beat Arsenal to the title in successive seasons in 2023 and 2024, but were long-term runners-up in both years.
And last season, when Liverpool won the title, Arsenal finished runners-up for the third year in a row.
“It’s not naive to think this is going to be easy,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said. “You have to block out the outside noise and we’ve done that really well. People will talk about the title race and Arsenal, but our group is really calm.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
