- Why we should encourage the talk that Arsenal have cheated their way to the top
- Max on the rise as the neighbours sink down and down
By Tony Attwood
And so the football moves along much as expected. Arsenal are now nine points clear of ManC who have a game in hand. Arsenal also have a goal difference that is seven goals better than Mancs. And so, although we all have learned the “take each game as it comes” mantra in childhood, and there is, of course, the game against Leverkusen tomorrow at 8 pm, and we can’t help but do a little bit of reflecting on the weekend’s footy.
It leaves the Premier League looking a bit like this….
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 22 | 39 | 70 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 60 | 28 | 32 | 61 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 54 | 41 | 13 | 54 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 51 |
And actually, no, that isn’t right; it is a lot like that. But having seen that, if by chance you then came across the headline This is something big you might perhaps, quite reasonably, imagine that this was going to be a celebration of Arsenal, and not just for this season (for although four trophies are still possible, of course none is guaranteed). But no, the big talking point, the “something big” appears to be “Igor Tudor hails Spurs spirit to snatch draw at Liverpool.” Mind you, if that is a trifle off-putting, faith can be restored a little with the BBC headline, “The problems threatening to drag Liverpool into the Conference League.”
Sadly, that doesn’t mean that Liverpool might be relegated to the English Conference, where they might play Truro City and Gateshead, but rather is about the European Conference next season, and the general feeling is that this is below them. Ah well.
But speaking of “below them” with all the celebrations surrounding Tottenham getting a draw after six consecutive defeats, it is perhaps time to look at the distance between Arsenal and Tottenham, not least because by chance today that distance happens to be a round number: 40 points. But Tottenham do have a game in hand.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 22 | 39 | 70 |
| 16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 40 | 47 | -7 | 30 |
Elsewhere in the news, I read that Ashley Cole has become a manager – or at least “head coach” of Cesena, who play in Serie B in Italy. They are eighth in the second division in Italy, which is in fact the last of the playoff places. The top two go up, and the next six have the extra games to see who joins them. It is Mr Cole’s first job as a manager. You might recall he had a book ghostwritten for him, and got a lot of flack over that. I wonder if he has a ghost manager working for him.
Anyway, his new team were promoted from Serie C in 2023–24.
Meanwhile, having looked at the gap between Arsenal and Tottenham (4 miles by road in fact), we can also take a peek at the parts of the Premier League table that Tottenham (see above) can only imagine exist….
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 22 | 39 | 70 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 60 | 28 | 32 | 61 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 54 | 41 | 13 | 54 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 51 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 40 | 9 | 49 |
Meanwhile, as the media can’t help but praise Max Dowman for his first goal in three substitute appearances (Scouted at four, wonderkid at 16 says the Telegraph) the media immediately have to find something negative to say, so we also have “The reasons behind Bukayo Saka’s performance dip for Arsenal”. But it was ever thus.
But of course, this is Arsenal, and so it is another two games in four days, this time with
That result now leaves them sixth in the German league , 22 points behind Bayern Munich, who are, of course, top, as laid down in the German constitution.
The points difference between 1st and 6th in the Premier League is by chance also 22, so I guess Leverkusen are getting use to this sort of thing. They have scored 49 and conceded 33 in 26 games. By way of comparison, Arsenal had scored 50 but only conceded 18 after 26 league games, so as ever, it is our strength in defence that helps the club win through so often this season.
This month, Leverk have won one game and drawn three. Leaving aside the FA Cup game, but considering the other games this month Arsenal have won three and drawn one.
More on the forthcoming match shortly.
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