Michael Owen insists it was the brilliance of Manchester City that made the difference in the Premier League title race this season, not that Arsenal did not do their part.
The Gunners were the second-best team in the Premier League for most of this season and proved to be unstoppable until the final week.
After Liverpool, they have become the main challengers to the Citizens over the last two seasons, and Mikel Arteta’s side is now eager to overtake Pep Guardiola’s City.
It seemed that would happen this term, and Arsenal came very close to becoming the champions of England for the first time in twenty years.
It never happened, but it should have happened because the Gunners did their best, reckons Owen.
He said, on Premier League Productions:
“[For Arsenal] to put in them numbers and still not win the league, it just goes to show just how good Man City are. I’ve looked so many times at the remaining fixtures and thought ‘there’ll be a slip-up there maybe,’ they just don’t slip up. As soon as the pressure cranks up, as soon as we call it ‘the run-in,’ they go into overdrive, they’ve got gears.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We have had a brilliant season in this campaign and our boys deserve a lot of credit for the way they have performed this term.
It was not good enough, but it was a fantastic effort from them and it might be more than enough to win the league next season.
And some dozens of charges
*tens of dozens
Personally, I don’t think Man City are more brilliant than we are. I think the only and important difference is that they are much deeper as a squad, and thus can afford to rotate and absorb injuries and burnout/fatigue much better than we can. Perhaps we could have had 2 more points had we not lost Timber and in the process weakened our RB position? Perhaps Saka would not have faded a little, if our squad was as deep as Cities and Arteta had been comfortable enough to rotate more often. I am pretty sure if you watch the minutes played by our most important players you will find they are higher than Cities and this makes a big difference. (and the minutes of our bench players will consequently be much lower)
RB should read LB. Zinchenko might have cost us some points.
jf, they can’t start next season with any punishment, if they are found guilty, because the season starts in the Summer and the hearing starts in the Autumn.