As Manchester City goes for the knockout blow, Arsenal are on the ropes in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal’s Wednesday journey to Manchester City has been circled for months as a potentially decisive match in the Premier League title race, but the Gunners must now reverse a massive momentum swing in favor of the defending champions.
Five points clear at the summit of the table, Mikel Arteta’s side travels to the Etihad with two games in hand and home advantage in midweek. However, many believe the title is City’s to lose with two games in hand and home advantage in midweek.
Arsenal could have amassed an 11-point lead in recent weeks to increase the strain on City as they attempt to strike a balance in their pursuit of the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup treble.
Instead, Arteta’s young players have demonstrated their inexperience in coping with a title race in the closing stages, as three consecutive draws have returned control of the title race to City.
Arsenal squandered 2-0 leads against Liverpool and West Ham, resulting in draws. On Friday, the league leaders battled back from a 3-1 deficit against Southampton to earn a 3-3 draw.
The silence that greeted the final siren at the Emirates, along with Arteta’s head in his hands and Arsenal bodies strewn across the field, demonstrated that salvaging a point against a team at the bottom of the table felt like a loss.
Arsenal’s inability to defend has been a consistent issue throughout all three matches.
The absence of William Saliba due to a back injury has been a major setback, with the Frenchman not expected to return until Wednesday.
Prior to sustaining the injury against Sporting Lisbon in a Europa League match in mid-March, Saliba had been an ever-present in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s number of goals conceded and significant chances presented to the opposition has doubled in the five games since Saliba’s debut, compared to the first 27 games he started.
After his team’s struggles against Southampton, Arteta stated, “We have to look in the mirror because we gave up three very simple goals, and when you do that, it’s very difficult to win in this league.”
“The confidence is there, but we must limit these instances. At this level, we cannot abandon the objectives we have set. It’s that straightforward.”
The English champions have scored 43 goals in their 11 home victories at the Etihad in 2023.
Erling Haaland is two goals away from tying the Premier League record of 34 goals in a season and 50 goals in all competitions in his first season in English football.
Even though the Norwegian failed to score in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Sheffield United, Riyad Mahrez scored the first hat-trick in an FA Cup semi-final since 1958.
Mahrez will likely slide back to the bench, with Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva supporting Haaland in attack as an illustration of City’s firepower.
Gabriel Jesus’ departure from City, where he had won four Premier League titles in the prior five years, was precipitated by Haaland’s arrival.
The Brazilian is one of the few Arsenal players with trophy-winning experience, and he issued a rallying cry for his team to rebound on the largest stage.
Jesus stated, “From now until the end of the season, anything can happen, so we must manage ourselves to return and regain our focus and strength.”
Listen to the newest recordings exclusively on JioSaavn.com.
Even if you don’t lose the points we lost in the previous games, nothing changes – it’s the championship. Every game is a championship, and we must approach them as such. This is our most significant game of the season.
As Manchester City goes for the knockout blow, Arsenal are on the ropes in the Premier League title race.