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It’s a limited sample size, but every Arsenal fan I know is pessimistic when it comes to the title race. In particular, my partner Kevin, who has had a season ticket for most of our adult lives. I asked him today if he believed. He said Manchester City would finish first and Liverpool second. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t finish third,” he said.
He cited all the usual reasons for being pessimistic about me. Arsenal have to go to City, Manchester United and Spurs (‘not to mention Molineux and Amex’, he said) before the season ends. They have a tougher matchup than their two rivals, who have bigger and deeper squads.
City and Liverpool are so ruthless that Arsenal can’t afford to drop points anywhere, he said, and he doesn’t see that happening. City and Liverpool know how to do it, he said. Both have won titles in the last five years. They have the muscle memory that Arsenal lacks.
Part of pessimism is self-preservation. Arsenal has scars. Last season, they were still top after 32 games and, until mid-April, there were few signs that Mikel Arteta’s side were breaking down. They then had a few draws and City overthrew them at the Etihad on April 26. They finished the season as runners-up, five points behind Pep Guardiola’s team.
Indeed, amid the orgy of admiration that greeted Liverpool and City’s performances after their impressive 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, you could be forgiven for thinking there are only two runners in the group of three. horse race that the fight for this season’s title has become.
Liverpool and Man City earned praise after their impressive 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sunday.
But Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are currently at the top of the table and show no signs of breaking down.
Mail Sport’s Oliver Holt believes the Gunners will not fall out of the title race this season
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I heard former England goalkeeper David James on the radio on Monday morning say that the title was between Liverpool and City (I may not be a completely dispassionate observer as he played for both) and that Arsenal were only there to give some color His is not an uncommon opinion.
So I had to take another look at the league standings, just to check. Indeed, that told me that Arsenal were the best. And I read something that a newspaper colleague had written about the Liverpool-City clash. City won the first half, he observed. Liverpool won the second half. Arsenal won the match.
Arsenal were the winners because both Liverpool and City dropped points leaving Arsenal on top. They were the winners because City lost their goalkeeper Ederson to injury midway through the match. Nobody knows yet for how long. They won because their rivals fought each other to a standstill.
They were the winners because Jurgen Klopp pulled off another miracle with an expanded squad and a team full of youngsters who still managed to outperform the treble winners and surely one day, one match will be one miracle too many.
And anyway, there is a different feel about this Arsenal team this season as they prepare for the final push. Last season, it was a surprise that they were restructuring. Many had wondered if they would even compete for the top four. This season, they have always felt authentic.
They strengthened wisely and well in the summer with the purchase of Declan Rice from West Ham and Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Rice is a class act and as this season has started to pick up speed, his influence has grown. He has taken a step forward. And also his teammates.
Arsenal also have advantages over City and Liverpool. Yes, it can be argued that their race is tougher, but they are not chasing three-pronged honors like their rivals, who are playing in the FA Cup quarter-finals next weekend in addition to their European commitments.
If Arsenal fail to overcome Porto in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at the Emirates tonight, it will be a blow to their pride, but it will leave them free to do their utmost in their bid to win. win the Premier League. . There are 19 days left between Porto’s tie and their next match, the trip to face City in Manchester.
Declan Rice and Kai Havertz scored against Brentford and have proven to be sensible summer signings.
Havertz, whose latest goal against Brentford put Arsenal on top, has defied previous skeptics.
They also don’t play like a team about to implode. They are playing like a team that enjoys the run. They have won eight league games in a row since the winter break. They devastated Liverpool in north London. They beat Sheffield United six, Newcastle four four, Burnley five and West Ham six.
They have dispelled the idea that they could not create a legitimate title challenge because they do not possess a traditional center forward like Erling Haaland or Darwin Núñez. He has scored more goals than anyone in the division. His goal difference is also higher than everyone else’s.
One last thing: Kai Havertz was supposed to be a flop. It was supposed to be Arteta’s Achilles heel, a £65m waste of money. Well, Havertz has challenged those doubts. He has scored in Arsenal’s last four league games and on Saturday night, when they faltered at home to Brentford, it was Havertz who scored the late winner that took them top.
We can talk all we want about the emotion that drives Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool and the pedigree that underpins City, but only if we accept that there are factors that also drive Arsenal. They have something that Liverpool and City don’t have. They are the underdogs and that gives them freedom and motivation.
They haven’t won the league in 20 years. They haven’t won the league since leaving Highbury. They have not won the league since Arsene Wenger, the father of modern Arsenal, left the club. Liverpool and City ended their own droughts some time ago. Arsenal still have all kinds of demons to slay.
Maybe they won’t win the league. Either City or Liverpool, or both, could be too strong for them. But Arsenal don’t feel like a team that will take a step back this time. As much as we want to characterize Arteta’s team as the team that wasn’t there, there are more than two in this race. There is a third man.
Peerless Van Dijk has silenced his critics forever
Since Virgil van Dijk was injured by a reckless challenge from Jordan Pickford in October 2020, critics have lined up to say he has never been the same.
Van Dijk kept his advice and let his football do the talking and on Sunday afternoon he silenced his critics for good.
In a fascinating match between Liverpool and Manchester City, a match in which the technical achievements of both teams’ players took your breath away, Van Dijk still managed to look as if he were operating on a different plane.
The Liverpool captain played as if he were three steps ahead of everyone else. He made interception after interception.
He led the inexperienced defense around him with a confidence that engendered confidence in notable young players such as Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley and Caoimhin Kelleher.
It was just perfect. It should be quite a while before anyone doubts him again.
Virgil van Dijk was at his best against Man City and has silenced the critics forever.
The Liverpool captain led an inexperienced defense and gave confidence to the youngsters
Anfield gets a better point for Manchester City
Sunday’s titanic clash at Anfield may well have been a moral victory for Liverpool, but it was probably a point better for Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp proved himself again and Pep Guardiola proved it by making a brave substitution and removing Kevin de Bruyne to stop Liverpool’s momentum.
City went to their rivals’ home and came away tied. Come the end of the season, it could be considered a precious point.
Pep Guardiola made a brave change by removing Kevin De Bruyne to help win a crucial point.
Tyson v Paul is a glorious fight
I have very little appetite for the ‘fight’ between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that will take place in Dallas on July 20 and will probably be little more than a glorified fight in poor taste.
But I suspect that those who have expressed fears for Tyson’s health are deflecting their concern.
Tyson might be 57 years old, but if I were an ill-equipped influencer like Paul, wild horses wouldn’t get me into a ring with the baddest man on the planet, even if I was 30 years older than him and wore a helmet.
There must be better ways to get a few more views on YouTube.
Jake Paul’s fight against Tyson was announced for July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Texas last week.