The Gunners have had their lead cut again in the English Premier League following a 1-1 draw to Brentford. The Ivan Toney equalizer was not ruled offside despite a VAR check. This resulted in a tie and has a three-point gap from second-place Manchester City. While Arsenal still has a game in hand, it is dangerous considering Man City has to place Arsenal twice. The loss even has boss Mikel Arteta enraged at the officials claiming “I will only be satisfied if they give us the two points back which is not going to be the case.”
Unfortunately for Arteta, the league has never given points back before and likely will not change their policy now. Arsenal will have to continue forward without the points and find a way to get through Manchester City in upcoming fixtures. The recent form for the Gunners hasn’t been great and sloppy defensive work was exposed against Brentford. Ivan Toney had plenty of chances before scoring the equalizer including an open shot that fired off the top crossbar. In complete fairness, this is a game that Arsenal should have probably lost. Brentford has been in form recently as they haven’t lost a match in their last ten. This game should have had Arsenal clear from City and instead gives them a chance to move into second place.
So how important is this game?
This is perhaps the biggest game Arsenal has hosted in a decade at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners, who hold a 3 point advantage over second place Manchester City, have a tough challenge awaiting them. Last season, Manchester City won both games against Arsenal (5-0, and 2-1), but Arsenal seemed to have cracked Pep Guardiola’s system somewhat in the second match. To get 6 points ahead of City with a game in hand, Arsenal will need to capitalize through their wingers. Man City haven’t had the best performances from their full backs this year, so it’s imperative that Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelly use their skill and pace to create quality chances for their squad. As for City, their man, Erling Harland, needs to be a factor. Recently, he hasn’t been the goal scoring machine he was in the first half of the season, but this is the perfect game to remind the world who he is. Arsenal’s defense have been vulnerable in counter attacks, so Haaland will need to match his pace when Kevin De Bruyne and Ïlkay Gündogan are in control. Overall, this game should be fun, but it looks like City have a slight edge, given the absence of Gabriel Jesus, and the lack of quality chances Arsenal have created in the last couple of games.
-Dr. Cash
Manchester United has gottenr ecent media buzz relating to their chances at the league title. Unfortunately for the Red Devils I would pump the breaks until they are constistnely getting wins. Looking back at their Premier League results, wins against Crystal Palace and Leeds would have had them right in the mix. Unfortunately they had to settle for to draws and are sitting 5 points back with two games in hand. If United want to come back they are going to have consistently get wins especially right now. Both City and Arsenal have not been in great form recently which is the reason United is still alive. I think that if they can continue get points, they have a chance. The biggest positive from their recent games, is that they didn’t lose down 2-0 to Leeds. With City playing Arsenal twice, there is still a chance for United to make their way to the top of the league.
For Man City and Arsenal it is quite simple, beat the other. If Arsenal or City can come out of their matches with two wins, they are in control of the league. Both matches will likely lead to the eventual winner of the league. Arsenal can blame VAR all they want, but at the end of the day they are still in control of their own destiny.
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