How have Premier League leaders silenced title doubters? Arsenal’s championship credentials have been questioned all season, but their last-gasp triumph against Manchester United has hushed many of the lingering skeptics. Eddie Nketiah netted the victory in the final stages of a tense encounter at the Emirates on Sunday, giving home supporters renewed hope that this may be their year. The game against in-form Manchester United was seen as a crucial test for the Gunners, particularly after Manchester City narrowed the gap at the top of the league to just two points earlier in the day.
Arsenal has become this season’s Premier League favorite
Also Read: EPL: Premier League wins in a row for Liverpool 2-1 Leicester,
They rose to the occasion, pressing hard after losing the opening goal, scored by Marcus Rashford, and remaining composed when Lisandro Martinez canceled out Bukayo Saka’s strike in the second half. Arsenal has established the greatest start to an English Premier League season in history, with 50 points after 19 games, five points ahead of reigning champions Manchester City with a game in hand at the halfway stage of the season.
I don’t believe it gets any better than that,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said. “It was a great moment, a very memorable one because we were pushing and pushing and pushing and the goal wasn’t coming and it came at the end… it was just amazing. It was quite emotional and powerful, and I just lost it.
Also Read: Premier League Table 2022–23
Arteta said that he thinks the success, which comes on the heels of Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Tottenham in the north London derby last week, gives his squad optimism that Arsenal may be crowned league champions for the first time since 2004. Despite a great season in which they have only lost once in the league, he wants to keep his team’s feet on the ground. We know our reality, we know how far we still have to go,” said the Spaniard, who previously worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City.
Matches that can be won in PL
Also Read: EPL: Premier League – Football’s No.1 Elite Competition
Arsenal meets the reigning champions in the middle of next month, but their remaining matchups all seem winnable, making it tough to predict where they may falter. Aside from City, Arsenal’s next league opponents are relegation-threatened Everton, Brentford, Aston Villa, Leicester, Bournemouth, Fulham, Crystal Palace, and Leeds. City, with a title-winning pedigree, look to have rediscovered their form after a slump, and the teams at the bottom of the league will battle for their lives as the trap door approaches.
However, Arteta, a former Arsenal captain, has turned his team from a championship contender last season to a title contender this season by chance and judgment. Saka has grown in stature, while Nketiah has filled in for new recruit Gabriel Jesus, who was hurt while playing for Brazil at the World Cup. Since the tournament in Qatar, the 23-year-old has had six goals in six appearances across all competitions. What Eddie is doing is remarkable,” Arteta stated. ”
Also Read: EPL: 5 things you didn’t know about Premier League
We cannot claim to have seen that. We hoped he would be able to do so because of the way he is, his mindset, and his characteristics.” When asked to summarise the first half of the season, Arteta stated it was “amazing,” but he was cautious not to give the idea that his club was done. The fact is that it doesn’t get much better than that,” he remarked. “I believe we deserve the points we have. We played well enough to win most of the matches, but the fact is that there are still a lot of things we can improve on.
So, does he think Arsenal are now the favorites to win the Premier League for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s victory almost two decades ago? “I don’t have an opinion,” he said flatly. “Perception is one possibility. I’m quite familiar with my team; I know where we are, why we’re here, and where we want to go. And we’re still a long way from there, and I know the quality of the other teams, particularly those who have won everything in the previous five or six years, and we’re not there yet.”
Also Read: EPL: English Premier League is 1 of the Most Powerful League in the World