Arsenal, who have been the leaders in the Premier League for months, have almost lost their lead over Manchester City. Before the direct duel, the master appears again with old self-confidence.
On Monday (April 17th, 2023) the English sports pages were conspicuously often on non-specialist terrain. At least in retrospect to Arsenal’s game, which ended in a 2-2 draw at West Ham United. After the 2-2 draw in Liverpool the previous week, the leaders had given up a two-goal lead for the second time in a row.
Arsenal’s lead over Manchester City, which was eight points four weeks ago, has shrunk to four. Because the “Gunners” already have a game more to their credit, their once comfortable cushion is almost gone. What made many a TV expert become a hobby psychologist: “You will be sitting in the dressing room and by now everyone will be thinking,” said former striker Chris Sutton on the BBC after the second playful win within a week. “You have to ask whether they really have enough mental resilience to be able to win the title in the end.”
The “Gunners” are expecting bottom-of-the-table Southampton next weekend, but on Wednesday there is already what may already be a decisive championship test: the direct duel with the pursuer and champions Manchester City. The “sky-blue battleship” that has always been on the screen since autumn, apparently at a safe distance, as the “Guardian” wrote. But it suddenly comes closer and closer and appears menacingly large in the rear-view mirror, “bursting with strength, swinging his fists, one hand already clutching the rear bumper.”
Arsenal coach Arteta: “30 strong minutes are not enough”
In view of this threat, Arsenal did indeed look a bit fragile in the past few games. Completely different teams have let themselves be overwhelmed at Liverpool’s Anfield Road. But at West Ham, the “Gunners” let themselves be snatched from control of the game after a dominating early phase – and even after the Hammers equalized, they didn’t have a ready reaction. Her coach Mikel Arteta also criticized this: “We made ourselves too comfortable after the lead and lost conviction. 30 strong minutes are not enough.”
The fact that Bukayo Saka missed the chance of a potentially crucial third goal from the penalty spot also fit into the often-repeated image of a team contemplating the risk of failure.
City under Guardiola – like a perfectly adjusted winning machine
Manchester City, on the other hand, who still have the undisputed best squad in the Premier League, are back in full swing of the season as the notorious Pep Guardiola-tuned winning machine, who have clinched the title four times in the past five years. In the pre-season, City showed no weakness for weeks in a long-distance duel with Liverpool, which tended to be nerve-wracking, and defended a wafer-thin lead to the finish line, seemingly unimpressed.
City have recently won six in a row in the league and have not lost in 14 games in all competitions. What they can do with teams that don’t face them with 100% certainty and conviction in their own strength was also felt by FC Bayern in the premier class last week, in the humiliating 3-0 loss in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
“Cinderella” Arsenal – suddenly a title candidate again
Arsenal, on the other hand, have actually been on the move in other dimensions in recent years. The “Gunners”, once permanent guests in the premier class, have not made it into the Champions League for five years. Arsenal have also had nothing to win in the Premier League for 19 years, since the legendary “Invincibles” won the championship, who had not lost a game of the season at the time.
The Cinderella story of sailing past the flagships from Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester to the title this season is all the more promising. But the drop is just as great, after the “Gunners” have led the table almost since the beginning of the agonizingly long season.
Odegaard: “We still have it in our own hands”
“You can’t let doubt creep into your head, that’s the key now,” former Arsenal international and defender Matt Upson told the BBC ahead of the upcoming showdown with City. Captain Martin Odegaard, one of the protagonists of Arsenal’s amazing season so far, believes the team is mentally well prepared for the title race. “We just have to remember that we’re still at the top. And that it’s all in our own hands.”