Many years later, coach Arteta will definitely look back on this season with a little regret:
If Arsenal had prevented Everton’s corner kick attack on February 4th, would the final result be different? If they held a 2-0 lead at Anfield on April 9, the final result would be different.
If Saka hadn’t missed a point against West Ham on April 16th, if he hadn’t missed a point against Southampton Ramsdale on April 22nd, if Saliba hadn’t been injured in the Europa League …
Unfortunately, there is no "if" in life. No matter how good Arsenal’s title race was before, it’s all over now.
This season, the gunners have undergone a qualitative change under the training of Artta, and once played with great momentum. However, Guardiola’s Manchester City was so resilient that it survived the difficult period, seized the opportunity to narrow the points difference a little, and finally forced Arsenal to collapse.
Today’s Manchester City is really too strong, strong enough to beat Real Madrid with its own Champions League genes. From this point of view, the young gunman lost well.
From the 2017-18 season to the 2021-22 season, Arsenal fell behind Manchester City by 27.8 points on average. This season, they have led for more than half a year, and now they are only four points behind. Artta and the players have done quite well.
In the same period, the difference between Tottenham and Manchester City at the end of the season has never been less than 20 points, and this season is expected to exceed 30 points; The smallest difference between Chelsea and Manchester City at the end of the season was 15 points, which occurred in the 2019-20 season. In that year, the Blue Moon Corps fell sharply, falling behind Liverpool by 18 points and losing the championship. Manchester United won the runner-up in the Premier League twice, and both times did not pose a real threat to the champion Manchester City. Last season, it was 35 points behind its neighbors.
In the same period, only Liverpool won a Premier League title from Manchester City, and scored 90 points in three seasons. But on the whole, the dominant position of Blue Moon Corps is still hard to shake, and the great cause of the Premier League’s five championships in six years is just around the corner.
In the history of English football, Liverpool has established a dynasty, and Manchester United has established a dynasty, but no team has played such a strong dominance. Manchester City has directly raised the standard of winning the Premier League, and there is almost no fault-tolerant space for rivals competing for the title.
Klopp said in December 2018:
"I can’t say that Manchester City is lucky, it’s not like this. They are in form every match day. They scored 100 points last year (2017-18 season) and have kept their form until now.
"I want to pay tribute to them. I have to say that they have never been soft. They are defending champions, and now they play like champions. We (other teams) are challengers.
"We must concentrate on every game, and good grades are not obtained out of thin air. We all have to follow this standard, they are champions, they have done it, and we have to do the same. "
Klopp and the team bravely accepted the challenge and succeeded; Arsenal have made a rush this season and the result is not satisfactory.
But what about Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea? . Have they experienced the difficulty of the title race in the new era of Premier League? Do they know how hard it takes to break 90 points?
If Manchester United win the remaining three games of the season, they can finally score 75 points, the second highest score in a single season in the post-Ferguson era. One of Manchester United’s major problems is their lack of attack. In the first nine seasons of the post-Ferguson era, they only scored an average of 62 goals per season in the league. This season, they probably won’t score more than 60 goals. Next season, if they want to win the championship, they must find a shooter and play more confidently.
Chelsea’s lowest score in the past five seasons is 66, and the highest score is 74. This season, they are completely degraded and almost fall into the ranks of relegation. Next season, Chelsea should not be so miserable, but the first thing Pochettino should do is to get the team back on track, and the title race may have to be slowed down again.
Klopp gnashed his teeth many times this season, saying that "no one can compete with Manchester City" in the transfer market, and that Manchester City is "one of the three major clubs in the world football and can do whatever it wants economically".
But it seems that this is not the case. If Manchester City can really "do whatever it wants", I am afraid it will not be impossible to buy Van Dyke Goose Harry Kane. Besides, after Burleigh and clear lake Capital took over Chelsea, they burned 600 million pounds in two transfer windows. Did Manchester City do this? Not really.
Manchester city can succeed, not just because of money. They also managed well off the court and built a strong and stable team around Guardiola. As long as Guashuai does not leave, Manchester City’s rule over the Premier League will not end.
Next season, Liverpool may regain its vigor, Arsenal and Manchester United may continue to make progress, Chelsea and Tottenham may bottom out, and Newcastle may soar …
However, can they really compete with Manchester City for the championship? Can they break the 90-point mark and fight with Manchester City to the end?
Both Arteta and klopp know that fighting Guardiola is really tiring and exhausting. You should not only play well against the other 18 opponents, but also try to knock down Manchester City in the head-on confrontation.
Last season, klopp said frankly: When he drew Manchester City twice in the middle of the season, he felt that the result was good, but in the end, it was these two games that made his team pay the price.
This season, Arsenal scored 81 points against other opponents (34 games) and Manchester City scored 79 points against other opponents (33 games). In two head-on confrontations, Arsenal swallowed two defeats and lost six precious points.
Manchester City is not only strong, but also has rich experience in winning the championship, and knows how to play a key battle well. Other Big6 teams have an all-round gap with Manchester City.
Overthrowing the Blue Moon Dynasty will only become more and more difficult year by year. Opponents such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle must keep improving, do their best, and push themselves to the limit before Manchester City can be pulled down.
