And with that, surely, the title race is over. Liverpool had drawn four of their previous eight games which had created an opening. If Arsenal had beaten West Ham and Liverpool had lost in Manchester City this weekend, the title would have been in the hands of Arsenal, at least to the extent that they would have won if they had won all the matches that They had stayed this season, including in Liverpool. But after Arsenal has drink 1-0 defeatLiverpool has produced its best performance for weeks To win 2-0. THE The gap is 11 points And, even if Arsenal has a game in hand, it is very difficult to imagine that Liverpool drops enough points or arsenal winning enough for this to be overturned.
Arteta described himself as “very, very angry” after the defeat of his team, admitting that they were “far from the levels that we must strike for the opportunity to win the Premier League”. But there was one element all the season. It was only the third defeat of Arsenal in campaign championship, but there was something distinctly disappointing about them. Too many points have been wasted too much at lower cost. Too often, they failed to understand the chances. And too often, the bad discipline dropped them.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card on Saturday was the fifth arsenal that has collected this season. This is not a sign, because a significant proportion of Arsenal’s support insists that the referees are against them but of their players committing unnecessary offenses several times. Of course, other teams escaped by cutting the ball, but the best way to not get a second yellow card for having returned the ball is a) not obtain a first yellow card; and b) so as not to throw the ball. Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were both dismissed for the most useless offense and in both games, at home in Brighton and Manchester City, the victories became draws.
In relation: Premier League: 10 discussion points for weekend action
William Saliba was sent when they lost 2-0 to Bournemouth. Although Lewis -Skelly’s red in Wolves was overthrown – generously, frankly, since he kicked Matt Doherty several meters from the ball – he was sent on Saturday, denying a goalscorer opportunity A raw slit on Mohammed Kudus. This is 10 points in the games, Arsenal finished with 10 men: 10 additional points would have arsenal at a point behind Liverpool with a match in hand.
Where Arsenal was unhappy is injuries: losing Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus would be extremely difficult to manage. Maybe they may have attracted an attacker last summer rather than strengthening their midfielder and their background line? Admittedly, the signature of the loan from Raheem Sterling did not work.
But it is also true that Arsenal is not a side that manages adversity well. They put themselves on themselves, lose faith too easily. When Martin Odegaard was injured earlier in the season, there was a feeling that in the absence of their very good captain, they only thought of great things were possible. This season, there has been a feeling of acquiescence in disappointment: not only on Saturday, but also in defeat in Bournemouth, in home prints in Everton and Aston Villa and Fulham and Brighton.
They do not have a certain advantage, the ability to do the work even in unfavorable circumstances, the harshness of the champions. Liverpool, on the other hand, has this quality in abundance. There were not many games this season when they have erased their opponents, only a handful of indelible performances, but they are the masters to do enough, to play in themselves, to overcome the line. And they have, at Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk, the best offensive player and the best defensive player in the League, which really helps.
Sunday was an accomplished performance. Statistics can show that Liverpool had only 34% possession and only eight chances against the 16 years of City (Liverpool won the XG 0.7-0.6), but once Salah had placed them in a corner Well worked after 14 minutes, a victory for Arne Slot’s team seemed inevitable. It was their seventh victory in the 2-0 championship of the season; A margin that characterizes their ability to gain comfortably without outdoor, the champions score.
Even if Arsenal can somehow find an interior resolution and a rally to win each Premier League match until the end of the season – although their goal will surely focus on the Champions League – they could only reach 89 points. This means that 26 points of their last 11 games guarantee the title of Liverpool. Realisticly, they will not be likely to need this figure and should have their 20th championship, pulling them at Manchester United, well wrapped before playing Arsenal in Anfield in May.
This day
William Garbutt was one of the great pioneers of football, his typical history of these British men from the beginning of the 20th century who left for Europe full of beautiful intentions to find politics and history that crushes them. Garbutt was born in Hazel Grove near Stockport in 1883 and played as an outside right for Reading, Woolwich Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers. 29 years old, he went to Genoa to work in the quays, but quickly found himself appointed the first manager of Italian football, leading the team to the northern championship in 1913. When the war was declared, he was sent at the front in France.
He returned to Genoa and, presenting progressive ideas such as structured warm -ups, hot showers and signing players from other clubs, led them to consecutive national titles in 1923 and 1924. He left the club in 1927 And worked for Roma, Napoli, athletic of Bilbao and Milan before joining Genoa in 1937. When the Second World War broke out, He fled and was separated from his daughter. His wife died in an ally air raid and, although he was then found with his daughter, the feeling was that he never completely restored. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1951 and died in Leamington Spa on February 24, 1964.
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It is an extract from football with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look of the Guardian US during the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Do you have a question for Jonathan? E-mail [email protected]And he will respond to the best in a future edition.
