Gunners anxious ahead of visit to Villa
● Arsenal’s form in the Premier League has put them within sight of their first title for 20 years but there is a good reason why many remain sceptical about the ability of Mikel Arteta’s side to hold off Manchester City and Liverpool.
Their remaining fixture list looks loaded with dangerous obstacles, far more so than City and Liverpool’s, and the first one they must clear is Aston Villa at home today.
Arteta’s side travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers the following week, then host Chelsea and then go away to arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, while an away clash at Manchester United is also on the horizon.
Throw in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinals at Bayern Munich three days after hosting Villa and there is no escape from the pressure cooker for leaders Arsenal.
Apart from some slipshod defending against Bayern on Tuesday, the Gunners have been near-perfect since the turn of the year, but this is now the time when cool heads are needed.
Arsenal lost 1-0 at Villa in December and there followed a slump in form that looked like wrecking their title hopes, but they have won 10 of their last 11 league games to stand top of the table with 71 points, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.
With City just a point behind, any dropped points now in a three-way title race for the ages could be terminal. Which is why the visit of fifth-placed Villa, managed by former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, is causing some anxiety.
Emery, who was jettisoned by Arsenal after 18 months in charge, would doubtless take some satisfaction from reminding the Arsenal fans of his tactical acumen. In striker Ollie Watkins, who has been involved in a league high 28 goals (18 goals and 10 assists), Villa have a player capable of denting Arsenal’s hopes, although Emery will not be able to call on midfielder Douglas Luiz, who is suspended after he picked up a 10th yellow card last weekend.
Manchester City yesterday turned up the pressure dial on Arsenal and Liverpool when they moved to the top by beating relegation battlers Luton Town 5-1 at The Etihad.
Despite City having their smallest points total after 31 games since 2020, Pep Guardiola’s side know exactly what it takes to survive a title scrap and remain favourites. Eighteenth-placed Luton are fighting for their Premier League lives.
Liverpool will hope to come through their Europa League quarterfinal first leg against Atalanta on Thursday unscathed as they host Crystal Palace today. Jürgen Klopp’s side blinked first last weekend when being held to a 2-2 draw at Manchester United a result that took the title race out of their own hands.
Liverpool have won 11 of their last 13 league games against Palace, drawing the other two, and it would be a huge surprise if they did not get back to winning ways quickly.
Another twist to the relegation battle was added this week with Everton being docked two more points for financial breaches, and they could conceivably find themselves in the relegation zone before they face inconsistent Chelsea tomorrow.