After round 22 of the Premier League, a three-horse race for the championship was launched by Manchester City.
On August 13, last year, if you asked a certain fan about Man Utd’s ability to win the championship, you would definitely get a shake of your head. It is difficult to be optimistic because Man Utd had just experienced two weak defeats against Brighton and Brentford.
However, after half a season, the progress of Erik Ten Hag’s teachers and students is clearly visible. With a 2-0 victory over Leeds United last night, Man Utd shortened the gap with the top team Arsenal to 5 points. Despite knowing, Arsenal played two games worse than Man Utd, but with the instability of the Gunners in the past month, it is clear that everything is being left open.
When asked if Man Utd were considered title contenders, former striker Michael Owen said: “Sure. If Man City and Arsenal play like they did a few months ago, then I would say it is. two-horse race. But both are stumbling.”
“Arsenal only won 1 point from 6 points maximum. Man City, I can’t see them continue the great streak in recent years. They have to play each other twice. You have to include Man United, they 2nd in the Premier League (before Man City beat Aston Villa). If you include Man City, you have to include Man Utd. There’s a lot of exciting things ahead.”
Of course, the rise of Man Utd is remarkable, but great opportunities are still in the hands of Man City and Arsenal. Perhaps the turning point of the championship race will come in the next few days, when Arsenal clash with Man City at the Emirates Stadium.
At this time, Arsenal have only played 21 matches, 1 match behind Man City and 3 points better than the opponent. People will call the great battle at dawn on Thursday morning a “six point war”, because as long as the Gunners defeat The Citizens, they will establish a distance of 6 points and have 1 match left in their hands.
Of course, it’s all just a theory we’re drawing on paper. Man City’s declining form this season has given opponents the opportunity to rise up. Man Utd with more than 200 million pounds spent in the summer is gradually sticking under the new teacher. Similarly, Arsenal also showed their fearsome ambition in Arteta’s third year back to the old team.
With Arsenal returning to star Gabriel Jesus next month, they probably won’t have the same difficulty scoring as they have in the past few weeks. The problem is that until next month, there are plenty of ‘mountains’ of the season that the Gunners need to overcome.
The first, as mentioned, is a survival match against Man City. The second is the return of the Europa League. This is the arena where the Gunners will also aim very high.
Similarly, Pep Guardiola will also think a lot about the Champions League, a title he has not been able to reach since leaving Catalonia. All these factors will make the Premier League extremely unpredictable in the second leg and basically, from round 22 onwards, NHM will witness an attractive three-horse race.
