Arsenal: Premier League Title Race Update

Arsenal closed Boxing Day as leaders, but had to break a sweat. Mikel Arteta’s team beat Brighton 2-1 in a match in which they went from better to worse and in which this time they did not know how to manage the score. Goals from Odegaard and Rutter, their own goal, gave way to an unleashed rival that put the Emirates on edge with a goal from Diego Gómez and a chance from Minteh, which was miraculously saved by David Raya to maintain the lead in the Premier League.

And it was not an easy day for the Gunners. Arteta’s men jumped to the Emirates Stadium with the buzz still in their ears of a Manchester City that had just risen to the lead after beating Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. They digested that pressure with the same solvency that they have exhibited throughout the entire course. The Basque coach styled a 4-3-3 in which Declan Rice was many things. He acted as a right-back and at the same time provided muscle for a midfield that, once again, was going to be key. Rice himself was there at times and also Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Odegaard, who is once again that player who once marveled in the Premier League.

The Norwegian is key in ball circulation and also in forward pressure that was soon going to bear fruit after a robbery and a quick play that ended at his feet. Odegaard fired from the front and paved the duel for Arteta’s men. From there a rollercoaster was unleashed. Arsenal play by memory. He knows when to take a step forward, when to give up meters and when to sleep the shock. In the first act he slowed down after the goal and ended up besieging Brighton at will, which was miraculously saved from the second thanks to a stellar appearance by Verbruggen.

After the restart, the second goal fell under its own weight. So much was the pitcher to the fountain that finally it was Brighton himself who ended up shooting himself in the foot. After a cross from Declan Rice, Rutter ended up deflecting into his own goal. The blow woke up a team that improved with the changes and tied the duel in the last half hour. Diego Gómez closed the gap after a rebound in the area and the ‘seagulls’ put fear into the Emirates’ bodies with a final stretch in which David Raya emerged to be the hero and save the ‘gunner’ victory with a prodigious intervention on a shot from Minteh.

The City, a rebufo

Two hours earlier, Manchester City had fulfilled its mission of putting pressure on Arsenal. Pep Guardiola’s men added spice to the day by beating Nottingham Forest 1-2 at the City Ground, thanks to a sensational Rayan Cherki. The Frenchman assisted Reijnders in the first goal and signed the second with a whip from the edge of the area that allowed Guardiola’s team to add their eighth consecutive victory and keep the fight for the Premier in an arm’s length.

And it was not a simple meeting. City hit a wall in the first half and were unable to transform their positional dominance into dangerous chances. Everything changed in a second act in which Cherki emerged in the three-quarter zone to turn everything upside down. He did it first with a pinpoint pass to Reijnders to open the scoring and then with a tight shot from the edge of the area that diluted Hutchinson’s tie and unleashed euphoria in Guardiola. The coach ended up celebrating the victory with the displaced City fans, knowing that he had won a battle in one of the most difficult stadiums in the Premier League.

Aston Villa, the alternative

The third way is an Aston Villa that has stopped being a surprise and has become a candidate for the title in its own right. This Saturday he gave a sovereign blow to the table, beating Chelsea 1-2 at Stamford Bridge, including a comeback. The team led by Unai Emery overcame a great atmosphere and Joao Pedro’s goal in the first act, to sign a sensational second half thanks to the changes of the Guipuzcoan coach, who brought on Ollie Watkins, who was definitive. The English striker equalized after a one-on-one against Robert Sánchez and signed the second with an unappealable header to seal the eighth consecutive victory for the villains in the English championship, a streak that places them one behind City and three behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool reengages

Far from the head is a Liverpool that little by little is regaining its pulse. After a start full of surprises, Arne Slot’s team added their third consecutive victory after beating last-place Wolverhampton at home. They did it without much fanfare, managing a 2-0 lead in the first half after goals from Gravenberch and Wirtz, and suffering in the final stretch after Santiago Bueno’s goal after the break. The ‘reds’ are already in Champions League positions and looking for sensations ahead of the KO tournaments and a Champions League that they once again have between their eyebrows.