Why Manchester City’s Win Over Arsenal Changes The Premier League Title Race
Since the league’s start, Arsenal has dominated the Premier League. Staying in 1st place since then and only losing once to Manchester United showed that Arsenal could potentially lift the Premier League title after 19 long years and now just suffered a loss against Manchester City.
However, things have been taking a downhill turn since the start of February. Losing to 19th-place Everton and now to Manchester City yesterday, has changed how the Premier League could end.
The 3-1 Loss to Manchester City
Losing 3–1 to Manchester City in their first Premier League meeting of the season showed that Pep Guardiola’s side is ready to dominate the rest of the season.
A costly mistake by Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu allowed World Class midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to score with ease. Arsenal later equalized with a Saka penalty right before the end of the first half.
City found their pace with a goal by Jack Grealish to put them ahead. To seal the game, record-breaking machine Erling Haaland netted a goal in the 82nd minute to close the game out.
With this Manchester City win, they are in 1st place in the league. Arsenal and City have 51 total points, but City is a head-on goal difference. The two sides have one more Premier League meeting on April 26th, which could be a pivotal match by then.
What The Rest Of The Season Could End Up Like
Manchester United has also been extremely hot since letting go of Cristiano Ronaldo. English striker Marcus Rashford is on a goal-scoring tear as of late. Manchester United has 46 points, only five behind both City and Arsenal.
It could get interesting to see if United can also make a run to catch up; it’s still a long season to go with many unanswered questions.
The Line Changes
Last week, Arsenal was listed at -175 to win the Premier League.
After struggling and losing to Manchester City, City is now -200 to win the League, while Arsenal is +175. The books list United a long way to go, with odds for them at +1800 to win the title.
Every Point Matters
Arsenal has been without Striker Gabriel Jesus after the Brazilian suffered a three-month injury during the 2022 World Cup. He should be back by mid-March which should help boost Arsenal’s attack.
Arsenal needs to adjust with their new signings of Leandro Trossard and Jorginho efficiently to make their squad more of a threat.
Manchester City has a tough time on the road. Losing to Spurs last week, they can tend to see a drop in points even against teams less superior to them.
Erling Haaland currently has 26 goals in 22 games for Man City in his first year. This is wild because last season, the league’s top scorer Mohammed Salah only scored 23 goals!
If these things go right, Manchester City and Arsenal could be in a heavyweight fight for first place. Every match and every point matters now more than ever for both sides.
