For the fourth straight season, April has proven brutal for Arsenal. Manchester City's hard-earned 2-1 win against the Gunners at the Etihad has moved Pep Guardiola's side to within a few points of the Gunners with just a handful of games remaining.
When teenager Max Dowman inspired the Gunners to net two late goals to secure a 2-0 win against Everton at the Emirates in mid-March, the Gunners stretched their lead over Manchester City to a whopping 12 points. Since then, however, the wheels have fallen off the bus.
Arsenal's stunning collapse
It was Guardiola's side who started the downturn, beating their rivals in the League Cup final at Wembley to claim their first piece of silverware this season, ending Arsenal's quadruple challenge. Then, second-tier Southampton dumped them out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win at St. Mary's, before Bournemouth derailed their title challenge with a 2-1 win at the Emirates on April 11th. A week later, City have now beaten the Gunners to assume the de facto lead in the title race, and online betting sites have responded by installing them as the new favourites to win the title.
A leading platform for sports betting in Canada now make City the clear 4/6 favourite to go on and secure their fifth title in six years. Arsenal, meanwhile, are out at 6/5. It's a scarcely believable transformation considering the fact that the North London club was a whopping 1/8 favourite just three weeks ago. Now, the implosion has happened, and City are in the driver's seat.
But while the critics have sharpened their knives, we're here to tell you Arsenal fans that the title race is not over. And here's why.
On another day, Arsenal win
Yes, it was Manchester City who emerged with three massive points. Three potential title-deciding points. But Arsenal know that on another day, they could have won this game.
When the hosts took the lead through Rayan Cherki's brilliant opener, the Gunners struck back immediately as Kai Havertz took full advantage of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's shocking error. The visitors would have soaked up pressure up until half-time and early into the second half. Then, however, they came to life.
Martin Odegaard had a huge chance to give Arsenal the lead but was foiled by Donnarumma. Eberechi then struck the post with a stunning effort from the edge of the area. Even when City took the lead through Erling Haaland, the Gunners never gave up. They would hit the post again through defender Gabriel Magalhães, and Havertz would miss a gilt-edged chance deep into injury time when he nodded over in the game's dying embers.
On another day, Arsenal takes those chances, they win 4-2, and they make a decisive statement that the title is theirs. While the defeat will certainly sting, this defeat hasn't ended their hopes as it did back in 2023, when a 4-1 loss at the Etihad indicated that the white flag was being raised. Far from it. The Gunners have nothing to be ashamed of in this loss, and they can perform like this in their remaining fixtures; they have a great chance of winning every game and thus claiming the title.
The run-in
There can be no denying that Arsenal's run-in is far kinder than that of City, and that could be pivotal. When the Blues beat Burnley to claim top spot, and they will beat Burnley, of that there is no doubt, then they will be top of the league either on goal difference or goals scored, depending on the margin of victory.
There is currently just one goal between the two teams' goal difference, meaning that if both teams win their remaining fixtures, it's the team that racks up the biggest wins who will claim the title. Having a friendlier remaining fixture list is certainly desired.
All five of Arsenal's remaining games come against teams sitting either 13th or lower in the table, while three of them will take place on home turf. That provides the perfect opportunity for Mikel Arteta's side to rack up some big wins and thus improve their goal difference no end. City, meanwhile, still has four teams to play that are currently sitting in the top half, and in theory, it will be harder for them to win by big margins as the title race could well require.
There's always the Champions League
Okay, this isn't strictly related to the Premier League run-in, but the Champions League isn't a bad consolation prize, is it? Some would argue that winning European club football's biggest trophy is a better achievement. Would you want to be crowned champions of England or Champions of Europe? Only one of the two title protagonists has that chance, and it isn't City.
The Gunners are safely through to the Champions League semi-finals, and only Atletico Madrid stands between them and a first final appearance in 20 years. Arsenal will never have a better chance, considering the fact that Diego Simeone's side is sitting in fourth place in La Liga and just lost the Copa Del Rey final to Real Sociedad.
Let's face it, Gunners fans, if you missed out on the title but won the Champions League, you'd be happy, wouldn't you? You'd be over the moon. Well, your team still has that chance. In fact, they have a great chance, so don't give up on them just yet.
