City showdown a must-win for Gunners

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2024 (526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sunday’s showdown with Manchester City is a must-win matter for Arsenal.

It may sound extreme, as nine games will still remain for both, but defeat would open the road for another City cruise to the title. A draw would merely delay that from happening.

If the Gunners are to lift a first Premier League trophy in 20 years, only a triumph at Etihad Stadium (Sunday, 10:30 a.m., FuboTV) will do.

Here’s the lay of the land.

Going into the weekend, Arsenal and Liverpool are joint-top of the table, although the London outfit have the advantage on goal difference. City is third, but just a point back of second and first. So, who blinks?

The calendar suggests it won’t be City.

After Sunday, the reigning champions will have the lighter schedule of the three contenders — at least, mathematically. Liverpool have the toughest, and Arsenal’s includes tricky trips to Manchester United and archrivals Tottenham. A late-April home date with up-trending Chelsea looms as well, but you never know what you’re going to get with the Blues.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich could have a say in the outcome, too.

If, as expected, Manchester City covet the Champions League over the English top flight — although they’d never say so — manager Pep Guardiola’s lineups could reflect a more favoured competition and leave his side vulnerable to domestic slip-up. He’ll need to be at full strength, for example, to see off La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Arsenal have a European quarterfinal coming up as well, and they should really be beating Bayern Munich. It’s quite conceivable both they and City advance to the semifinals, where they could well end up facing each other. Another variable for another day, although fixture congestion will inevitably be a factor.

What both Guardiola and his opposite number and former assistant, Mikel Arteta, will be obsessing about through the campaign’s duration is fitness — fitness of first-team players, of depth players and players recovering from injury. To that end, the just-completed international break was anything but helpful.

City defenders John Stones and Kyle Walker picked up knocks while on England duty, and Three Lions teammate and Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka withdrew from the squad to rehab a pre-existing issue.

Having also been without goalkeeper Ederson and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne for some weeks, fitness would appear of greater concern for City than their Sunday opponents. Squad depth, however, is certainly not, as Guardiola always seems to have a player of quality to come into the team.

Besides, his group is actually getting healthier. Just in time for the business end of the season. Which is why Arsenal must beat them now to create a four-point gap. Not a very wide one, granted, but space enough to stumble once or twice and still be in front towards the end of May.

A stumble, for instance, two weeks from now at home to Aston Villa.

Intriguingly, the fourth-place Birmingham team will battle each of the division’s top three over a five-week span beginning Wednesday. What they’re able to do in those matches will be a major factor in the championship, and City are first up.

Now, imagine Arsenal actually triumph on Sunday. Their earlier midweek kick-off against Luton could see them put six or seven points between themselves and City. A loss, on the other hand, would have them playing catch-up as they run out of games. Those are the margins.

Of course, a City-Arsenal draw and Liverpool defeat of Brighton would vault the Reds to the summit with dead-last Sheffield United up next.

So, the original statement stands. If Arsenal are to win the title, they must beat Manchester City.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

X @JerradPeters