Arsenal head into today’s London derby against West Ham knowing there is very little margin for error left in this Premier League title race.
Manchester City’s comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday evening has once again turned up the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side, cutting the gap at the top to just two points and reminding everyone exactly how relentless Pep Guardiola’s team can be at this stage of the season.
Now it is Arsenal’s turn to respond, which won’t be easy after they played midweek, beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 (agg) at the Emirates to secure their place in the Champions League final.
On paper, a trip to face an 18th-placed West Ham side might look like an opportunity for the Gunners to simply get the job done and move on. But football rarely works like that, especially in London derbies and especially at this point of the campaign when emotions, pressure and nerves begin to take over.
West Ham are fighting for their Premier League survival and desperation can often make teams far more dangerous than their league position suggests. The Hammers know a positive result against Arsenal could be huge for their hopes of climbing out of the relegation zone.
Arsenal will also be well aware that West Ham have caused them problems before. The atmosphere will be hostile, the intensity high and there will be no shortage of motivation from the home side.
Arsenal must show champion mentality
If Arsenal genuinely want to prove they are ready to win the Premier League title, these are the exact kind of matches they simply have to navigate successfully.
The best teams do not always play perfect football, but they find ways to win under pressure. That is the mentality Arsenal supporters will be hoping to see from the first whistle today.
The encouraging thing for Gooners is that this Arsenal side has shown resilience throughout the season. There have been difficult away games, late goals, moments of pressure and occasions where Arteta’s players have responded impressively.
But with so few matches remaining, every game now feels magnified.
One slip can completely change the direction of the title race.
Arsenal still control their own destiny
The positive for Arsenal fans is that the Gunners still have control over their own future. Winning matches keeps the pressure firmly on Manchester City and maintains belief inside the dressing room and among the supporters.
Dropping points today, however, would hand momentum straight back to City and could leave Arsenal relying on favours elsewhere.
That is why today’s clash feels so significant.
The title race is entering its defining stage and Arsenal now have another huge test of their character, maturity and composure.
Can the Gunners handle the pressure and take another massive step towards Premier League glory?
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Replying to the title? Yes very easily. A defeat or draw is out of the question and we would find it hard to justify.
Yeah, city130 is still trying to justify them drawing at the Hammers in March.
And lets hope it was disastrous for them and not for us.
No. If we draw and both city130 and the Arsenal win out, it will go to a GD tie break first. After the WH game, we would be +1 up on city130 but they would play another 3 rather than only 2 games.
They only have to win the first game 1-0 and would be ahead on goals scored. Then its a two game shoot out. So a draw or loss is disastrous for us, from the position we are in now.
Your first sentence would only apply as the next tiebreaker if we were tied on GD at the end.
The shoot out you refer to is for winning the GD battle which as I stated would include 3 games for city130 and 2 games for us with us currently having a +1 advantage over city130.
A draw is not disastrous. A loss is very much more likely to lose us the title.
I just don’t see City beating Bournemouth though. This is one of the most in form teams in the league with Champions League in their sights. City will be playing them away just two days after FA Cup final. That’s tough .
Tough or not, they do not need a leg up, from us.
I’m looking for them to at least help us out on what may end up being a battle determined by GD. More than anything, I’m of course hoping for us to take care of business today and having city130 feel the pain, as we have in the past, of needing us to drop points against all odds in those last 2 games.
If Arsenal don’t win today it wouldn’t end it but City would be faves
A massive dent Dan
I’m trying not to think about it quite honestly
we will be okay
Kept the same team.
He has
A draw for both teams is no good either one of us.
Its win or bust for both of us
If we start strong as we did against Fulham then I see a comfortable match
Start sluggish and we could be in for a long painful 90 minutes
I much prefer the comfortable feeling and then watch city feel deflated
I had nothing against the city fans until after the city game but watching and hearing them taunt bottler again
It would give me no greater pleasure watching all there hopes and confidence being sucked out of them after we win today
Onwards and upwards
If Arsenal beat Burnley and Man City draw or lose to Bournemouth the last game doesnt matter Arsenal would be 4 points ahead with one game left.
I’m late to the party lol.
But I’ll mention Burnley and CP
We should really defeat Burnley at home (even though that isn’t guaranteed). I mean they are 2nd from last and not defeating them at home would be devastating.
Crystal Palace away will be tricky. It’s possible we could drop points there if we play like yesterday.
City play Villa at home and Bournemouth away. I expect them to win but there is a possibility of them dropping a point or more
I think it could be decided on the last day.
Fortunately, the Title is still in our hands. If we beat Burnley and CP, the Title is ours