Arsenal, the ‘moral champions’

It seems inevitable that Manchester City will win the Premier League for the fourth consecutive year. Had the irrational aspects of football not interfered with Sunday’s tense finale, Arsenal would have ended up second, but the Gunners showed to the end their competitiveness, their superior mental and defensive strength , and their maturity as a team.

by the hand of Mikel Arteta. They have become a worthy alternative to the current champion and are capable of fighting for the title until the last game. They will be runners-up, but they are the ‘moral winners’ of the English league. It is only a matter of time before this Arsenal win the Premier League, having fought them since the ‘Invincibles’ lifted the trophy in 2004 with Arsene Wenger.

The North London Gunners once again have a great team and are back among the English elite. It happens that they come against the City of Pep Guardiolaarmed with a bouquet of stars (De Bruyne, Haaland, Foden, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Grealish) very well combined, making it a very difficult obstacle to jump. Only Liverpool have achieved this this season in 2020, and when they settled on the crest of a wave of dizzying German-imposed football. Jurgen Klopp. Among technicians there is already a growing feeling that Arteta It will also end Arsenal’s long wait for a title that has eluded them in 20 years.

For the third time in the last 11 seasons, the Premier League will be decided on the final day, a fertile territory for City’s comebacks and hopes. Guardiola, who already knew how to manage pressure well. So he solved his complicated visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday, with a decisive victory (0-2), which is still celebrated in the stands by sectors of fans of the great rival of Arsenal. Many Tottenham fans were indifferent to the match and the possible Champions League position, as long as they did not benefit their neighbours, the Islington Gunners. Maybe Ortega’s decisive and incredible save on the Korean’s shot Son Heung-minwhich would give ‘Spurs’ a draw and almost the league at Arsenal, stands as one of the most important images of the season.

‘It’s the fucking hope that kills you,’ said a sad Arsenal fan in the neighborhood of Holloway, north London, where a large group of Gunners fans had gathered in pubs to watch the game on television when together, with a breath of anticipation. Very few, in fact, expected help from Tottenham.

The harsh reality for Arsenal is that they don’t have to go down the drain depending on anyone, least of all their bitter London enemies. Probably, if he hadn’t lost at the Emirates against Aston Villa, in a match he won very well, today he wouldn’t be crying over the misfortune of finishing second again.

Undefeated against the ‘Big Six’

‘Enjoy the last day’ is henceforth the message launched Arteta to his players in training at London Colney, while still dreaming, albeit timidly, of a ‘miracle’ for West Ham United, in the form of a draw, in their final match against City at the Etihad in Manchester. About the exclub Declan Riceanother rival

London, the last illusions of the ‘Gunner’ fans have collapsed, although also, and at the same time, they have to beat Everton, in the match that will be held at the Emirates in the capital of London, without the ‘toffees’. anything to play for, other than celebrating his stay in the Premier.

As an added motivation, the Hammers benefit from Arsenal’s qualification for the Champions League, as they will receive one million euros, a clause included in Rice’s transfer.

Based on results and performances, Arsenal deserved the title as much or more than the Manchester ‘skyblues’, as they remained unbeaten against the other ‘Big Six’ (Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea). On the other hand, City have won just three of those ten games, including the one they faced against Spurs on Tuesday. If there is one team, therefore, that has shown its strength, this year it is Arsenal. The Gunners’ victory on Sunday at Old Trafford gave Arsenal 22 points from 30 matches in the big five. The conclusion is clear. Arteta He knows how to build a very competitive team, versatile in attack and defense.

In those 10 games they did not suffer a single defeat. It is the demands imposed by the unbeaten champion, who has not lost since December 6, that forces his rivals to almost hold the

perfection to dethrone them. Liverpool needed to reach 99 points to guarantee a title in 2020. Arsenal’s 89 points this year will not be enough.

What’s to come: possible City penalty

The next few months will see an important period of changes in the Premier League landscape, which could give Arsenal an alternative. It is at least the best position to face the future, in the absence of Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool, and the last year of Guardiola’s contract with the ‘citizens’, who are still alerted by a penalty for the investigation of alleged 115 financial violations, a final conclusion that could be reached at the end of the year this.

Regardless of the results and consequences for the City – some economic experts who know the allegations presented are punitive – the cycle of Guardiola in Manchester it won’t last long. And it was at that stage that this title-hungry Arsenal exploded, with a promising future.