The Premier League title race is already an exciting thriller. After the match between the two big teams last Saturday, that excitement took a new turn. Two teams hoping for the title—Arsenal and Manchester City—stumbled on the same day.
Earlier in the day, Pep Guardiola’s Man City lost 2-0 to United in the Manchester derby. Arsenal, who are at the top, had the opportunity to beat Nottingham Forest and increase the gap with City to 9 points. But the Gunners could not take advantage of City’s loss. Mikel Arteta’s team had to leave the field with a goalless draw at Forest.
The story could have been different if Gabriel Martinelli had not missed a great chance in the first half. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka did not spare any effort in the second half, but Forest goalkeeper Mats Sales stood like a Chinese wall. On the other hand, Gunners goalkeeper David Raya did not have to struggle much, Forest’s attacks did not reach his goal post.
After this draw, Arsenal’s points are 50 from 22 games. City’s points are 43 from the draw. If they beat Everton last night, Aston Villa will move to number 2 with 46 points.
What awaits Arsenal::
The January-February schedule is quite tough for the Gunners. Manchester United will test them at the Emirates on January 25. Then they will be guests at Leeds United on January 31. There are matches against Sunderland, Brentford and arch-rivals Tottenham in February. In addition to the fight with Inter Milan in the Champions League, overcoming these five obstacles in the league will be Arteta’s main challenge.
City’s fight for revival::
City’s time is not going well at all. They have no choice but to win if they want to stay in the title race. They will face bottom team Wolves on January 24. After that, Guardiola’s men will face Liverpool at Anfield on February 8 after visiting Tottenham. There are home matches against Fulham and Newcastle at the end of February.
City midfielder Rodri is not one to be discouraged despite falling behind in the title race. He made it clear that there is no question of giving up, City will fight until the last breath. In his words, ‘Football is like that. Sometimes you lose, but the real thing is to learn from the past and move forward.’
City’s current team is not short of talent, but there is a tendency to lose steam in big matches. Rodri, however, prefers to keep these youngsters in mind. He said, ‘They are doing great. Of course, sometimes they lack experience. But our responsibility is to be by their side. Because, in the coming years, they will be the big strength of the team.’
The path to building a team is not easy, Rodri also reminded us. ‘This is how teams are built. Sometimes you have to wait, it takes time to build something big. This is our reality.’
City have lost a lot of points in recent matches. Yet they are still in second or third place. Rodri’s firm voice promises, ‘We will continue to fight until the end.’
