Arsenal news: The run in is well and truly upon the Gunners as we analyse the matches left that could decide the title
Arsenal are one step closer as Mikel Arteta counts down the games left. With just 11 games to go the gap at the top is five points and there is leeway for the Gunners.
Their 3-0 win against Fulham laid down a marker to Manchester City who had laboured to a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday. The race is on but there are no signs of Arsenal slipping up.…CONTINUE READING
Arteta’s men have bounced back from their three-game blip in February, taking 15 points from 15 in the league since then and not allowing Pep Guardiola’s side a sniff. The final straight is ahead of them now though and a new type of pressure is upon them.
In most circumstances a team with a gap of five points that have been as relentless as Arsenal would be clear favourites to lift the trophy in May but such is the power and dominance of City in the past half a decade, they cannot be written off. The title is in Arsenal’s hands though.
Here, football.london takes a look at the toughest remaining games for Arteta’s side to navigate in the hunt for an unlikely league title.
Wolves (H) – May 28
There are, on paper, harder games than 13th placed Wolves, that there is no doubt. Brighton lie ahead, a team more threatening than Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves, but the catch here is that this is the final game of the season.
Should it get down to the wire, and there is every chance that it will, Arsenal may need to beat Wolves in order to crown themselves as champions. Dealing with that sort of pressure and expectation in a condensed 90 minute period is something unlike anything they have experienced before.
Although the title may be wrapped up before this clash it is undoubtedly one that could go on to be truly defining.
Newcastle (A) – May 6
This is a game that looks tougher in terms of the opposition. Newcastle, despite their blip in form, are still a strong side and are challenging for Champions League football next season. When the two sides met earlier in the season the 0-0 draw was just the third time Arsenal had failed to win.
The Toon have slipped out of the top four for now and have just one win in five games – coming on Sunday against Wolves – but do still have two games in hand over Tottenham. With the race for the top four well and truly on, Newcastle will have plenty to play for when this fixture is played.
Chelsea (H) – April 29
Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea are less likely to have anything to play for in the league when they meet next month but Graham Potter’s men are on an upturn in form – winning three games in a week. The Gunners hammered the Blues earlier in the season in a dominant performance at Stamford Bridge despite only scoring one goal.
Things have changed since though and the biggest motivation for Chelsea will be spoiling the title party, and they have history for that. In 2016 they helped Leicester to become champions while in 2020 their victory over Manchester City ensured Liverpool were winners. Here, they will be looking to ensure that they are still the most recent side in London to win the league.
Liverpool (A) – April 9
Liverpool’s own turnaround has seen them enter the race for the top four belatedly, though the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth has somewhat put doubts on their suitability to making a sustained charge in the run in.
That being said, matches between these two are always entertaining and highly charged. Liverpool would take great pleasure from making a mess of Arsenal’s title hopes and Anfield has been a notoriously tough place for Arsenal to get a result in recent years.
Manchester City (A) – April 26
There is no sugar-coating this. The biggie. Although the gap is five points, should City make it a league double over Arsenal then the leeway would be paper thin. Guardiola’s side may also have the psychological advantage having won twice against Arsenal already this season.…CONTINUE READING
Remember the date, it could well be the date the title is won and lost..
