During the opening months of the 2023/24 Premier League season, Arsenal looked like a real contender. They were exactly that last season, however, ultimately squandering an eight-point lead to second-placed Manchester City, who won the title for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, the Gunners had to settle for second place and a return to the Champions League for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s time.
This season, Mikel Arteta’s men once again led the standings. However, a dismal run over the festive period saw them lose at home to West Ham and away to Fulham. Those games saw them drop to fourth place in the league, five points behind league leaders Liverpool. Popular online bookmakers, whose Premier League odds and extra bets are compared by oddschecker, then made Arsenal the distant third favorite for the title behind Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and Pep Guardiola’s Blues.
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Decisive shock
With title aspirations threatened to be torpedoed as early as February, defeat was not an option as the Merseysiders headed to the Emirates. And the hosts knew it. They came out firing and took a deserved lead thanks to Bukayo Saka, the English winger scoring a goal after Alisson Becker saved Gabriel Martinelli’s shot. However, the visitors tied the score on the stroke of half-time thanks to a Garbeil own goal and it looked like that five-point difference would remain.
In the second half, it was the Reds who came out with the greatest impetus, scoring directly from the restart. However, The Gunners regained their composure and began to take control of the contest. In the 63rd minute, their efforts were rewarded when Gabriel Martinelli took advantage of a confusion between the aforementioned Alisson and captain Virgil Van Dijk to put the ball into the empty goal.
The visitors looked for an equalizer, but it did not come. That opened the door for Leandro Trossard to seal the victory in injury time, reducing Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table to just two points. The defending champions are just three points behind and have two games in hand over their closest rivals.
What’s next?
Arsenal have a tough month ahead with back-to-back clashes against Chelsea and Manchester City on the horizon in mid-March. They also have to balance the champions league with their domestic responsibilities, something they did not have to do last term. Liverpool can rest players midweek as they compete in the Europa League, and that could play a deciding factor as the title race begins to reach the finish line.
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2024-02-26 09:11:48
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