The weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of February may be the decisive turn in the race for the Premier League title. Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham, followed by Liverpool’s 2-0 victory at Manchester City, has put them 11 points clear at the top.
The Reds were eight points clear following their 2-2 draw away at Aston Villa. Arsenal, who had the chance to whittle that down to just five, were found wanting in front of goal yet again, as they could only manage two attempts on target.
Gunners’ Toothless Attack vs Reds’ Predators
Both teams have extremely solid backlines, but the biggest difference is in forward areas.
Mohammed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Coady Gakpo, and Diogo Jota have scored 129 goals between them in the League this season.
Kai Havertz, Ethan Nwaneri, and Leandro Trossard have been found wanting when it comes to replacing Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli for scoring goals.
And even though Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly have been the two bright spots for Arsenal this season, it’s not enough to win you a Title.
When you don’t score enough goals, it puts pressure on your goalkeeper and defenders to keep clean sheets in almost every game.
As good as William Saliba, Gabriel Saliba, and Jurrien Timber have been helping David Raya keep out the goal, they are human and will make mistakes.
That’s why it is baffling that Arsenal’s hierarchy did not look for one in the summer of 2024 instead of trying to panic buy in January 2025.
Adding another top-class attacker would have given more firepower to the Gunners in front of goal.
Ollie Watkins, Mathuis Cunha were in talks to join in January, however both players turned down the move, as they were solely focussed on Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Watkins, who is an Arsenal fan, would have given the Gunners more dynamism in their attack and ruthlessness in front of goal.
Should Arsenal fail to overhaul Liverpool or win the Champions League this season, signing a striker or a world-class attacking midfielder should be the priority in the summer.
Slot Thrilled With Liverpool Situation
The Reds Boss is delighted with his team’s performances this season and hopes they can continue, as their final charge for the title is fast approaching.
‘It is so hard to judge the league table before every game is played. In my opinion, Villa and City away are two very difficult games so you can drop points there. “We are in a good position but we also know how hard it is to play against Wolves. Now we play Newcastle on Wednesday, who we drew 3-3 with. In every other league, having a lead like this would be comfortable.
Slot: The Guardian
Filling the shoes of somebody like Jurgen Klopp, takes some doing, but the way that the Dutchman has been able to quick incorporate his own style into the team.
To still be in with a chance of winning a treble in your first season is a tremendous achievement.
Credit therefore must go to Fenway Sports Group for having a ready made replacement for the German.
Poor Transfer Window, No Silverware
If the Gunners go another season without silverware, the board need to be questioned about their recruitment strategy, particularly in the summer of 2024.
Gabriel Jesus, their only out-and-out striker, suffered an ACL injury in his left knee during Arsenal’s FA Cup third-round tie against Manchester United.
Clearly, they needed a killer striker who would get them 30-40 goals a season to take the pressure off the likes of Saka, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Martinelli.
Getting in Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling, who is clearly past his best, was a big no-no, as Sterling has yet to find the net in his 11 appearances, and Havertz has just nine goals in 21 appearances.
Kai Havertz has also missed 15 big chances this season. It is nowhere near good enough for a team that wants to win the League.
Playing Mikel Merino as a false nine might work in one game, but it is not a sustainable option as he is generally a box-to-box midfielder.
Manchester City, far from the standards they’ve set for themselves, brought in Omar Marmoush as a quality backup for Haaland.
You must question the Gunners for not having a proper backup plan to deal with this crisis.
Having the best defence in the League does not guarantee you the Title. You need a potent attack that can guarantee you goals at any stage of a match, and Arsenal don’t have that at the moment.
With Liverpool, you can say that 80-90$ of their squad can score goals at any match stage.
Let’s also not forget that Alisson Becker scored a crucial last-minute goal for Liverpool against West Brom in May 2021 to secure a top-four finish.
With Arsenal, only their wide players look more like a goalscoring threat, plus Saliba and Gabriel, who can score from set pieces.
If there’s a saying that defences win Titles, there’s also a fact that goals win games, and the more games you win, the more likely you are to be Champions.
This is why Slot’s Reds are more than likely to overhaul Arteta’s Gunners for the Title; their squad has a greater depth of quality.
What are your thoughts?
Is the race for the title over?
Let us know on World In Sport.
