football.london look at what every outcome means for Arsenal as Tottenham host Manchester City in the last big bout of the Premier League title race
This might be the biggest day of Arsenal’s season and they are not even in action. Instead, the irony could not be greater as the Gunners hope for their north London rivals Tottenham to secure a result against Manchester City to give them the edge on the final day.
However, while Arsenal fans may wrestle with the idea of backing Spurs to get a result, the reality of it happening remains slim. Despite City’s poor record in this side of north London, the form of the two sides could not be more different.
Manchester City win
The result which benefits Arsenal the least and would put Manchester City as overwhelming favourites going into the final day of the season would be a win over Spurs. Victory in north London of all places puts City into the lead having finally played the same number of games as Arsenal with just one weekend of the season left.
City would be on 88 points and beating West Ham would give them yet another 90-plus season’s point tally, a number that Arsenal are unable to match no matter their result against Everton. They can reach only 89, which would be a haul second only to Arsenal’s Invincibles in their own Premier League history and yet still need a favour from the Hammers if indeed this result comes to pass.
Arsenal are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the accomplishment this weekend, with several Invincibles expected to be in attendance for the game. They, like any fan in the ground, will be multi-tasking the job inside the stadium and inevitably checking their phones for score updates from Manchester.
Draw
A result that any Arsenal fan would take right now should it be offered to them. A draw does give the Gunners a slight advantage going into the final day of the season based on their three-goal advantage over City in the table.
City are capable of course of scoring plenty of goals against any opponent and could unceremoniously hammer West Ham; David Moyes has openly admitted that it is hard to stop even City’s youth side from winning the league. In that case, Arsenal would need to score some goals against Everton to stave off the threat.
There is even the potential that points, goal difference and goals scored could be level too. football.london has produced a guide on what happens then which you can read here.
Tottenham win
Who would ever have thought this result is the dream for any Arsenal supporters? Yet that is indeed the case as a win for Spurs, which has not been an uncommon result in recent meetings between the two sides, would give Arsenal a massive edge.
A win for Arsenal over Everton on the final day no matter the scoreline in either game would hand the Gunners a first title for twenty years but they need Tottenham to win to do so. Tottenham won 1-0 at home in February 2023, they won by the same scoreline in August 2021, they beat City 2-0 in north London again in November 2020 and again by the same scoreline nine months earlier.
Spurs of course also knocked out Manchester City from the Champions League in 2019 on their way to final, winning 1-0 at home before a chaotic 4-3 defeat in Manchester gave them the edge on away goals. History remains in the Gunners’ favour and is providing the most hope; but it remains difficult to escape the perceived reluctance Tottenham might have to try and beat the side aiming to prevent their bitter rivals from winning the league.
Source: http://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/every-arsenal-premier-league-title-29162656