Their Premier League Opponent In Danger Of Losing Points, What Is Arsenal Thinking?

Arsenal are top of the Premier League with a five-point advantage over nearest rivals Manchester City.This is a big success of Mikel Arteta's team compared to last season. If they don't lose to Everton, the gap could widen even further.

Meanwhile, the defending champions are falling into disarray after fraud scandals, which were revealed on Monday. Man City have been charged with more than 100 allegations for breaching Premier League rules. Penalties are hanging over the head of the Sky Blues In Manchester, from fines, transfer bans or even deducting points and demoting to lower divisions.

Many people think this is a better opportunity than ever for Arsenal to win the championship. And if Man City is deducted points by penalties, this is exactly a good time for many people. However, the fans of the Gunners are not expecting this too much and probably the players and the coaching staff of Arsenal are the same.

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Arsenal wants a fair Premier League title race with Man City

Arsenal obviously need a fair race. They don't want to make a name for themselves as lucky champions because their top rivals are deducted points. In a year where Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham have all fallen out of form, Manchester United have just changed coaches and are flourishing but have not made a breakthrough, Man City is a fierce opponent for Arsenal in this race. If the City is deducted points this season, Arsenal will have a huge advantage to win.

Arsenal don't want that. The Gunners are hungry for the title, but they want it to be complete. Specifically, they want to be a champion that goes down in history in the same way they did many years ago under the coach Arsene Wenger, rather than being denigrated as a lucky champion forever.

For many years, Arsenal has not been above Man City in the Premier League and is not a worthy opponent of coach Pep Guardiola when losing many matches even with a strong score. Therefore, the Gunners want to overcome this team in a more convincing way than ever. They want to write history with their own story, not thanks to the recent scandal of Man City.

Of course, if everything is true, Arsenal do not expect Man City to escape the accusations that this team is facing. Financial malpractice is something that affects a lot of stakeholders. If City make a mistake and are punished, they need to be punished properly to avoid bad things happening:
However, if something happens, they hope everything in this year's tournament will be guaranteed. In fact, the proceedings and trial of this case will take a lot of time and if it can pass the deadline of this year's tournament, it will be a beautiful scenario for the Gunners.

The meaning of the Premier League title for Arsenal

For Arsenal, it's not about winning the Premier League, it's about a fair race. Glory is something that is only meaningful when it is exchanged with all the blood and sweat and tears and Arsenal understands that more than anyone. For 19 years, the Gunners have been looking forward to a season where they really rise to the top. It's been an important season for them to be in the top one.

Mikel Arteta was an all-blood strategist. We can feel that spirit in every player who watches Arsenal, especially this season. The Gunners' chances of winning the title, with or without a penalty, are huge when they are five points away from Man City and have been less than a match. Not to mention, the Gunners have defeated a lot of great opponents in the Premier League this season such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham or Manchester United.

Therefore, if this year's championship is awarded to Arsenal thanks to the penalty of points, although all the work of building the squad into the play of Arteta and the coaching staff throughout the years will not be ignored, it will be judged. People, instead of waiting for the performance on the field, they will wait for the judgment of the court. And that is probably something that no member of the Arsenal fans wants.

What's next for Arsenal in the title race?

This season, Arsenal and Man City have not yet faced each other in the Premier League. They have only met once in the FA Cup - where Pep Guardiola's teachers have defeated the Gunners to advance to the fifth round. This defeat has revealed a lot of weaknesses of Arsenal, but it is also a match where both teams keep a lot of strength for each other.

And the scenario can be repeated in the next two confrontations. The two meetings mean a lot to the two clubs' double race. If both score equally, the game will be about who does it better against other opponents. But if Man City can win in two matches, the gap between them and the Gunners will be narrowed markedly.

And don't forget that Manchester United are still at the bottom. Not to mention the penalty minus points, just one more stumble of The Citizens can see Manchester United join this race. There is still almost halfway through the tournament and no one can predict what will happen until the end of May. The good performance of the Red Devils attack spearheads with a relaxed mentality and solidarity between the players are the advantages that coach Erik ten Hag has if compared to the two opponents mentioned above.

Meanwhile, the surprise defeat to Everton last weekend was obviously a huge wake-up call to the Gunners that they would not be allowed to make such mistakes. Arsenal still have weaknesses, even they may be out of breath later in the season. It is very difficult to keep the form throughout 38 rounds and in the Premier League it is more difficult when the technical fitness requirements here are much higher.

In a recent interview, City defender Kyle Walker said: “I've been in the Premier League for so many, many years and I know turning points are always possible. I know what my team is and what my team can do.

What should Arsenal do in the second half of the season?

It is clear that experience is something that Mikel Arteta's teachers and students still lack, and Pep Guardiola's teachers and students are too redundant. They have won four of the last five Premier League seasons, including races such as the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons against Liverpool. Man City have had to go through situations like this many seasons in a row so they know how to act.

Meanwhile, the nearest race that the Gunners are aiming for is the top 4 race in the previous season. And despite being in the Champions League for the second third part of the season, Arsenal lost this advantage in only the last 4 rounds. The expensive lesson only a year ago was what Mikel Arteta and the students needed to write in their hearts.

Arsenal's position is completely different from last season, but they will also look at the 2007/08 or 2015/16 seasons to remind themselves. In these two seasons, they were the top team in the first leg and won a lot of expectations to be able to raise the silver cup again. But, that didn't happen and the Gunners let the trophy fall into the hands of Manchester United. 

Arsenal have a lot of challenges ahead of them. And most importantly, they must always find a way to do their best work. Before thinking about opponents, before thinking about Man City, before thinking about Manchester United or any other team, Arsenal need to play well in each match, keep the heat of a team who are hungry for glory, keep people to fight as much as possible.

So far, Arsenal have had the recognition they wanted, but it is not complete. It is even more  after their defeat to Everton. But, the more difficult a journey is, the more meaningful a championship they would have. And that difficulty converges in both the surprises like the defeat they have just experienced, plus the opponents who are always warm to the war.

If it's successful this season, everything will be sweet for Arsenal. However, if the Gunners fail to retain the advantage and lose to the Citizens, the Gunners will still accept that they are immature in experience and willing to change and fight for the Silver Cup dream next season, instead of wishing that Man City were deducted points because this is a trade-off.

Arsenal don't expect Man City to go unpunished. But in their selfish desire, they want the fairness of this season not to be interfered with. The rest will be their race.