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Following 10 matches of the Premier League season, Tottenham was in first place with Arsenal and Manchester City trailing by two points and Liverpool one point behind them. However, due to the VAR error that disallowed Luis Díaz’s goal against Spurs, the top three teams would likely remain the same as they are now with 10 games left in the season.
What does this reveal? That the top three teams are closely competitive, that they have maintained a steady performance throughout the season, and that the fast-paced nature of contemporary league football does not leave much room for major changes in fortune.
To achieve the status of a timeless and iconic competition, similar to the 1971-72 season where Derby emerged as champions due to the failure of Leeds and Liverpool to win their last matches, there must be unpredictable ups and downs. It would be ideal for all three teams to lose points in at least three or four of their remaining 10 games. However, in the 2018-19 season, when City narrowly beat Liverpool by one point, the final two months lacked excitement as both teams won all their remaining nine games.
One issue with the current financial hierarchy in the Premier League is the high standards for winning the title. Teams must reach 85 points or even exceed 90, leaving little room for mistakes and comebacks compared to past seasons where lower scores in the high 70s were sufficient.
Each team will have their disappointments. City will question how they were defeated at Wolves, how they couldn’t secure four points against Chelsea, and how they allowed two late goals in their draw against Crystal Palace. Liverpool will reflect on their draws against Luton and Manchester United, with the latter match seeing them take 34 shots but failing to score. Arsenal also had a tough time over the Christmas period, losing to Fulham and West Ham.
However, small achievements are beneficial. Successes should be difficult to attain, as constant triumphs are not beneficial for anyone.
The closest we’ve had to a tight three-way competition for a title at this point in the season was back in 2010. On February 27th, Chelsea suffered a 4-2 defeat at home against Manchester City. At this stage, they were only one point ahead of Manchester United and two points ahead of Arsenal with 10 games remaining. However, Arsenal’s decline began with a draw against Birmingham and losses to Tottenham and Wigan. Meanwhile, Chelsea won eight out of their last nine games, including a crucial 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, securing the title.
On the last day of the season, Chelsea was one point ahead of United. Despite this, it seemed like the final was already decided during the previous weekend when Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-0. On the final day, Chelsea won big with an 8-0 victory against Wigan, while United also won 4-0 against Stoke.
There is a possibility of a disappointing end to the season for Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City as they all have home games on the final day against relatively unimportant opponents: Everton, Wolves, and West Ham. This is why the upcoming match between City and Arsenal at the Etihad next Sunday holds such importance, even with a quarter of the season remaining.
Although all three sides have Tottenham and Aston Villa left to play, this is the last of the season’s six meetings between the three challengers. City will be wary of a trip to Spurs but, that aside, this is their only serious remaining hurdle. Get over it with the deficit still at one point and they will be strong favourites. That’s why the feeling at Anfield a fortnight ago was that Liverpool really needed a win to open a little clear water.
The previous year, many felt that due to the mid-season World Cup, there was a blur in their minds, causing the end of the season to start earlier than expected. Each game was filled with pressure and urgency, including Arsenal’s victories against Aston Villa and Bournemouth, which were seen as nearing the end of the season, even though there were still several games left to play.
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By the end of April, it became apparent that Arsenal was no longer in the running for the title-deciding match against City at the Etihad, as they had a string of three consecutive draws leading up to it.
This season, the competition is still ongoing with the race for the title. Manchester City, one of the “big-six” teams, has only defeated United so far. If we consider all the top six teams, City has had two draws against Chelsea and a significant 1-0 loss against Aston Villa. Despite being unbeaten in 22 games in all competitions (winning 19), there is a sense of weakness that was evident in the second half at Anfield. On the other hand, Arsenal has managed to beat City twice this season – once on penalties in the Community Shield in August and another time with a 1-0 victory in the league in October.
Arsenal, having been eliminated from the FA Cup in January, will go into the game having not played for 19 days. In one sense, after eight successive league wins and progress to the last eight of the Champions League, the break has come at just the wrong time for them and, as was demonstrated by their frenetic second half against Brentford as they had to scrap to win a game they had seemed to have under control, they remain a highly emotional team, for good and for ill; maintaining morale and self-belief is vital.
However, their most recent rest period (even though it was not affected by international duty) was the turning point that halted their decline during the holiday season and led to their current uptick in performance. If they have had the opportunity to perfect even just one new play for set pieces, it could make all the difference.
Given that Arsenal is scheduled to face Brighton, Wolves, Tottenham, and United in their upcoming games, their run-in is arguably the toughest of the three competing teams. Despite their recent success in February, can Arsenal be relied upon to avoid falling into a slump like they did against Fulham and West Ham?
However, they also have a chance to cause harm to a competitor, similar to what Liverpool was unable to do. If they are able to secure a victory on Sunday at a venue where they have not been triumphant in nine years, the surge of excitement may be sufficient to propel them to success.
Source: theguardian.com
