Arsenal welcomes Liverpool to north London on Sunday, both sides knowing how much is at stake, with Manchester City waiting in the wings.
You can’t win the Premier League title in February, but you can definitely lose it. Or at the very least, lose a place in the race.
That’s what Arsenal and Mikel Arteta face on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium. Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are under intense pressure to maintain their lead over champions Manchester City.
But the visitors know they can afford a slip-up, and it will not prevent them from ending Klopp’s tenure as English champions. It would not be perfect. Liverpool understands how important every point is when it comes to competing with City. They once had 97 of them but didn’t win the league.
Anything less than a victory for Klopp and co. will give City an advantage, given they have a game in hand on both of their title opponents and are five points behind leaders Liverpool.
However, if Arsenal loses at home, its chances of facing the two heavyweights of recent years are over.
Last season, the Gunners were unable to fight off City’s assault as Pep Guardiola’s side galloped into the final stretch. So they have no hope of catching Liverpool if Klopp’s side wins tomorrow, putting them eight points behind.
If that happens, it will be up to the Reds to prevent City from winning four in a row and, more remarkably, six of the last seven. It will be a serious case of deja vu to see Klopp and Guardiola compete for the crown again.
All of the hoopla about this being the most interesting race of all time with more competitors than ever in recent months will vanish, leaving the old rivals to do it all on their own once more.
Arteta must orchestrate a big victory to stop this rampaging Reds team in their tracks. These are the moments that will determine whether the Spaniard is truly one of the game’s elite managers, despite his scant experience at the highest levels.
Arsenal may believe that with Klopp likely to retire and Guardiola nearing the end of his tenure in England, there will be more opportunities to compete in the coming years.
However, things may change rapidly, and Chelsea and Manchester United will eventually leave the circus performances behind to become legitimate teams again. However, we are in the present moment.
Arsenal must win to avoid a replay of the City-Liverpool title showdown we’ve witnessed so many times.
