Is it the End of the Road for Liverpool and Arsenal?
Following Manchester City’s comprehensive 5-1 demolition of Luton Town, Liverpool and Arsenal squandered the opportunity of cementing their place at the top in the Premier League title Race.
With the Champions now at the summit of the Premier League, is this the end of the Gunners and Reds’ aspirations of winning the title?
Embed from Getty ImagesMikel Arteta’s side was punished by two late goals from Unai Emery’s shrewd Villa side. This was after the Gunners squandered numerous opportunities to open the scoring.
Embed from Getty Images“We all know that, the impact is now. How you react to that, there was always going to be a bump in the road. We won 10, drew one. Unbelievable, everybody is on board. Win, win, win win, win, win, win, win – everybody is happy.
Very easy to maintain momentum and be on top of that. It is now after that defeat, how you show you character and your leadership and going to Munich, we have a beautiful opportunity to do that.”
Arteta said – BBC Sport
Meanwhile, after conceding a 14th-minute goal at home to Crystal Palace. Klopp’s Reds were also found wanting in front of goal, as they too missed several chances to score.
“If we play like that in the first half, why should we win the league? If we play like we did in the second half, we can win football games. If we can win football games, then we will see how many we can win. “The criticism in these moments is absolutely fine and right. We have to deal with it.”
Klopp: Sky Sports
With those two defeats. There is no doubt that Pep Guardiola and his treble winners are licking their lips at the prospect of a historic fourth consecutive Title.
All three teams are involved in the latter stages of the Champions League and Europa League. The Premier League title is a bridge too far for Arsenal and Liverpool.
What is even more damaging for both Arsenal and Liverpool, is apart from Tottenham Hotspur, City has the easier run-in,
Three of their remaining eight fixtures are against sides in the bottom half of the table.
Spurs and Wolves, still must play all three sides, so who knows? They may just have a say on the outcome of this Title race.
However, City are the experts at handling a run-in. So, it will be interesting to see how this affects the rest of Arsenal and Liverpool’s quest for the League title?
The 2022/23 Treble `Winners had a straightforward 5-1 win over Luton Town at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Embed from Getty ImagesMateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland, Jeremey Doku, and Joško Gvardiol were all on the score sheet. City moved to the top of the League for the first time since November 2023.
This is where Liverpool and Arsenal have both let themselves down by not being ruthless in games. Especially with Klopp’s side squandering a 1-0 lead against Manchester United, to draw 2-2 at Old Trafford last Sunday.
When you watch City, when they attack, they make sure that they do it with a solid base and are compact in the midfield.
And even though the Gunners and Reds have strengthened in that area. It is still not as experienced as City’s, and that was exposed brilliantly by Villa and Palace on Sunday.
Another thing that was lacking from Liverpool and Arsenal was their energy levels.
The Reds’s poor first half, and the Gunners lacklustre second half sums up why they do not deserve to win the League?
When you are hunting down a title-winning juggernaut like City, you must be close to perfect in every single aspect of your game.
Guardiola and his team always look to seize the moment, and they do this because they remain calm under pressure.
When you watch some of Arsenal and Liverpool’s games this season. There are instances like they must do last-ditch defending, or David Raya and Alison Becker must produce world-class saves to secure the points.
You rarely see City’s backline get nervous and make silly mistakes now and then.
If City were playing Villa at their peak form, they would have made sure that if they couldn’t win the game, they dare not lose.
And this is why you presume that both teams will once again fall short of Manchester City. It’s because of their inability to seize the moment in big games or games that they should be winning comfortably.
Is this the end of Arsenal and Liverpool’s hopes for the Title, or is there another twist around the corner?
Image Credit: Depositphotos
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