Arsenal have had an incredible season – losing to Man City and potentially the Premier League title doesn’t change that
It’s the game that we’ve all been waiting for. It may not quite be winner takes all just yet, but Arsenal’s trip to Manchester City on Wednesday is certainly starting to feel like that because of what’s gone on during the past few weeks.
After seven straight wins in the Premier League, it looked like Mikel Arteta’s side were making light work of the unexpected position they were in at the top of the table.
But then they hit the bump that many were waiting all season for them to hit, drawing three successive games, at Liverpool, West Ham and at home to Southampton.
And with City finding top gear at the same time, the commanding lead Arsenal had at the top of the table disappeared almost in the blink of an eye.
The Gunners may head to the Etihad Stadium with a five-point advantage over City, but Pep Guardiola’s side crucially have two games in hand.
So a home win on Wednesday night would leave the champions on the verge of a third successive league title and leave Arsenal needing a miracle to end their long 19-year wait to get their hands on the Premier League trophy.
‘If you want to be champions, you have to win those matches’
“It’s going to be a tough night and challenge,” Arteta said. “But the opportunity is incredible for us.
“We knew from the beginning, if you want to win the Premier League, you have to go to Spurs and you have to beat them. You have to go to Chelsea and you have to beat them.
“This is what we’ve been doing. That’s why we are here. Now we have to go to City and we have to beat them.
“If you want to be champions, you have to win those matches. It’s as simple as that.”
Wednesday night is a huge game for Arsenal. There’s no doubt about that.
In terms of the Premier League, it could certainly be described as the biggest game the club has had in a generation.
A gap has been bridged
There will be lots of Arsenal fans who have never experienced a match as big of this.
Those who were around during the start of the Arsene Wenger era know what to expect. Those titanic battles with Manchester United every season are a thing of a legend.
Before that, when George Graham was at the helm, it was the games against Liverpool that would define a season.
But it’s been a long time since Arsenal have dealt with games of such magnitude, such has been the size of the gap that has opened up between themselves and the Premier League’s top clubs over the past 15 years or so.
At some points – some of which were as recent as a couple of years ago – it felt like that gap would never be bridged.
But it has been, thanks to the incredible work done by Arteta and his coaching staff and some excellent recruitment in the transfer market.
