Now that the international break is behind us, we have officially entered the business end of the 2022/23 Premier League season. 10 matches are left to decide who will walk away with this season’s trophy.
After 28 matches played, Arsenal are sitting comfortably at the top of the table with eight points clear of second placed Manchester City who have a game in hand.
If you asked an honest Arsenal fan what position their team would be on in the table standings at this stage of the competition at the start of the season, “top of the table” would most likely not be the answer you would get. But their team has got almost everything right thus far which explains their new tag – the title contenders.
Manchester City have won four of the last five league titles, and they came into this season as rightly so, outright favourites. But while they are still in the race, the road has been somehow steeper for Pep Guardiola’s men this season.
The defending champions have dropped points in matches they were expected to easily win which a few months ago prompted Guardiola to criticize his players, claiming that they have lost the hunger to win the league. For a bunch that have won it four times in five seasons, the Spaniard’s words carry some weight to a great extent.
Manchester United are 19 points behind Arsenal so they are pretty much out of the title race even though they have two games in hand.
So, as the final bend starts this weekend, we take a look at the race that is about to unfold before us.
Arsenal
The Gunners have surprised everyone, including themselves with the way they have taken this season by storm. Mikel Arteta’s charges started strongly, winning their games and steadily built momentum that made them a team to beat. Crucial wins against all the top six bar Manchester City, and beating all those in the bottom half has made Arsenal genuine title contenders.
Arteta’s side is filled with youngsters with an average age of 24.4 and captained by a 24-year-old Martin Odegaard, but while that is the case, they have shown real maturity with a never-say-die attitude to scratch points from losing positions like in their games against Bournemouth and Aston Villa. Those results could prove vital in their search for the title that has eluded them since the 2003/04 campaign.
Remaining matches
Arsenal are out of all other cup competitions and are now fully focused on the Premier League which could give them an advantage. Some of Arsenal’s remaining matches include Liverpool, a London derby against Chelsea and fellow title chasers Manchester City. The Gunners will need to do a double over Liverpool and Chelsea, and try to contain Manchester City if they want to end a 19-year wait for the league trophy.
Maximum points from these fixtures will put them in a comfortable position that will make it easy to overcome relegation-threatened sides West Ham, Leeds, and Nottingham Forest in the run-in for the title.
To get to the finish line as winners, Arsenal will also have to keep their top players fully fit and in top form, but at this point of the competition, the title is just theirs to lose.
Manchester City
Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-1 in the first leg to momentarily go top and they would have to beat them when the two meet again on April 26 to reduce the point gap between themselves. Their main man Erling Haaland is back on goal-scoring form! They will certainly need him firing on all cylinders for them catch up with or overtake the leader.
Mathematically speaking, Manchester City have to win all the remaining 11 matches and hope Arsenal loses at least two to be crowned champions. Winning 11 matches consecutively is a thing not hard to City, as they have in the past won 18 matches in a row that set up a Premier League record.
Remaining matches
Unlike Arsenal, Man City are still chasing a treble since they are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and the FA Cup. The more they advance, the more matches they will have to play. They have three days of resting before they play a well-rested Arsenal on April 26 in a match that could be a title decider.
City also have to play Liverpool who are chasing a Champions League spot and Chelsea who still have hopes of securing at least the Europa or Europa Conference League football next season, as well as relegation-threatened sides Southampton, West Ham, and Leeds United.
A Manchester City side of a few seasons ago would have no difficulty beating all these teams, but this season’s side has shown us that they can drop points in any match, and their chances also depend on Arsenal dropping a few points. The road is somewhat steeper.
