Arsenal have to not win the title to prove the point that nobody but Man City can win the title apparently…
What’s your excuse this time?
Arsenal have over-achieved to be in this Premier League title race. But Arsenal are still f***ing it up. Both of those things can be true at the same time. There is no doubt that having got themselves in this position, they may have irredeemably screwed things up by throwing away two two-goal leads. The performance against West Ham was unforgivably careless.
Which makes this Independent headline jar a little:
‘Arsenal’s flaws aren’t the reason their title race could be doomed.’
Hmmm. They are a pretty bloody big reason. But when you have decided to dedicate your career in football journalism to the inequality created by Manchester City finances like Miguel Delaney has, then Arsenal f***ing up against West Ham can always be traced straight back to City.
He writes that Arsenal ‘were killing their own build-ups with bad passes’ and pointed out poor decisions from both players and manager against West Ham but then excuses them all because they are up against this City and this City do not allow you to make small mistakes.
‘It is after all only two away draws, regardless of the nature of them. In a normal run-in, of the type that has existed for over 130 years of English football history, drop-offs like Arsenal’s would be considered part of the drama of it all rather than potential conclusions. These 2-2 draws, even allowing for the concern of the comebacks, wouldn’t have such stakes.
‘Back in 2011-12, for example, City themselves drew two and – coincidentally – lost 1-0 at Arsenal, in a bad run that looked like it could cost them the title. The difference then was that Abu Dhabi had not yet owned the club for years, and everything was still in its formative stages.’
Where to start with this? How about that in April 2012, when ‘City themselves drew two and – coincidentally – lost 1-0 at Arsenal’, they weren’t even leading the Premier League. They started that run one point behind Manchester United and ended it eight points behind. And that run was not merely ‘considered part of the drama’, as evidenced by a BBC report at the time:
‘Manchester City’s faltering title challenge lies in tatters as Mikel Arteta’s late goal left them eight points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester United.
‘Arteta’s 25-yard shot three minutes from time gave Arsenal a deserved victory and struck a devastating blow to City’s hopes of preventing United claiming a 20th crown with only six games left.’
It sounds awfully like a ‘potential conclusion’ to Mediawatch.
What then happened is that Manchester United contrived to drop eight points (including an oft-forgotten defeat to Wigan) while City won all their remaining games. You could certainly say that United had a bad run that cost them the title.
And the final winning points total from these more ‘forgiving’ times when City were still in their ‘formative stages’? 89. Which is considerably higher than the average points City have claimed per season since then and slap bang in the middle of their points totals from the title-winning 20/21 and 21/22 seasons.
‘An autocratic state has bought a club for political purposes and built it up to a level where it is the most lavishly funded in history, a gleaming worldwide project. That has meant that, in order to have a chance at winning the league, any challenger has to get at least 90 points. The likelihood right now is that City end up with somewhere between 90 and 94.’
They won it literally two years ago with 86 points. And have only reached 90-plus points three times in total. Which is exactly the same number as Liverpool over the last five years.
‘It would arguably be a bad thing for Arsenal to win the league because it perpetuates the illusion that the Premier League is still as competitive as ever, and doesn’t have a huge problem here.’
Mediawatch cannot help but think that he means it would be a bad thing for Miguel Delaney.
‘Instead, if City win yet another title – to make it five in six, a historic third in a row, to potentially go with a treble in a grand display of power – it might wake more people to the reality.’