Arsenal players and Mikel Arteta can put their feet up this midweek and tune into Thursday night’s Premier League clash between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur was vital for so many reasons.
The obvious one being bragging rights in North London as the Gunners recorded a Premier League double over their bitter rivals for the first time since the 2013/14 season thanks largely to a dominant first half and then an extremely professional performance after the break.
But perhaps most importantly with regard to the title race, the result allowed Arsenal to open up an eight-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table after Pep Guardiola’s side – somewhat controversially – lost a derby of their own against Manchester United the day before.
“The only thing we can do is try to play better and focus on what we’re doing well,” Mikel Arteta said when asked how hard it is to shut out talk about the gap to City. “As well the team is out there and we’ve done things in a great way but there are still a lot of things to improve. We know that and we’re conscious of that and we’ll keep working the same way.”
Next for Arsenal is a huge game against Man United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Although, in the meantime, there’s an as equally as important fixture taking place at the home of the defending Premier League champions as Man City welcome Spurs to the Etihad Stadium.
With both teams coming off derby day defeats, it adds even more intrigue to Thursday’s encounter. City will be searching for the win to close the gap on the Gunners – albeit having played a game more – whilst there will surely be a response from Antonio Conte’s side as Champions League qualification is attainable.
Now, whatever the outcome at the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal should benefit either way. Even though a victory for the Manchester club would see the lead at the top of the Premier League table cut to five points, on the flip side the chances of finishing above Tottenham for the first time since 2016 improve.
Alternatively, a win for Spurs – which is a very real possibility when taking their recent record in this fixture into account – will actually benefit Arsenal. Yes, there’s a scenario where a Tottenham victory would be celebrated by some Gunners supporters as it means City don’t gain any ground and sets up a chance to extend the gap in the future.
Of course, a draw wouldn’t be the worst result in the world either as it means the lead at the top of the table would be seven. Or will it? The way things panned out over the weekend, there’s every chance it could be a four-horse race for the title, although it depends on whether Newcastle United are viewed as legitimate contenders or not.
With that said, Man United do pose a problem. After spending £229million last summer, Erik ten Hag is beginning to reap the rewards as his side are one of the form teams in Europe, let alone England right now as victory in the derby last weekend was their ninth in a row across all competitions.
Should No.10 be achieved on under the lights at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, the Red Devils then head to the Emirates Stadium knowing if they leave the capital with maximum points they will be within striking distance of the league leaders – albeit having played a game more.
So whilst Arsenal’s win in the North London Derby has set up the perfect scenario ahead of Man City vs Spurs on Thursday night, the fact Man United are in action too can generate somewhat of an awkward situation where it becomes a battle against both Manchester clubs to clinch a first Premier League title in nearly two decades.
source:footbll.london
