Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal still have one advantage in the Premier League title race, despite the surprise of their weekend defeat to Aston Villa.
With Arsenal now eliminated from the Champions League, the Gunners’ full focus returns to the Premier League, where they’re two points off the summit of the table.
Mikel Arteta’s side would be top if they’d secured a win over Aston Villa on Sunday, and former manager Arsene Wenger admits it was a surprise to see his old side losing that game.
“It was a complete surprise,” Wenger said of the Villa defeat.
“When you play for the championship, at home, with [seven] games to go, and you have the opportunity to make a difference, you have to take it.”
Even so, Wenger believes Arsenal still have one advantage in the title race.
“Arsenal have still an advantage with their goal difference, so even if City makes a draw and we win, we’ll be in front of them,” Wenger pointed out.
Arsenal’s goal difference certainly remains a significant factor in the title race.
The Gunners have a five-goal lead on Manchester City, and that lead would increase by at least one goal if City dropped points at any stage. Of course, if City don’t drop points, goal difference will be irrelevant anyway.
If Arsenal won all of their remaining games and City won five and drew one, City would need to better Arsenal’s goal difference by at least six goals in the five matchdays in which both teams won. That’s not a simple task.
On the other side of the argument, Arsenal have by far the most difficult run of fixtures from now until the end of the season.
The Gunners still have to host Chelsea, as well as travelling to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in their final six games. Even this weekend’s trip to Wolves may not be easy, on the back of Wednesday’s excursion to Munich.
City still comfortably have the upper hand, with the only real roadblock to their success being the postponed fixture against Tottenham Hotspur – both due to the awkward scheduling and their poor record against Spurs.
But again, Arsenal have to play Spurs too, and there are no prizes for guessing which of the two games Ange Postecoglou’s side will be keener to win. It’s all still in Pep Guardiola’s hands right now.