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Premier League results
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Aston Villa 4-3 Sunderland
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Everton 1-2 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 4-1 Burnley
This is what those results do nan Premier League table.
There’s been a 100th-minute victor successful nan first Merseyside derby astatine Hill Dickinson Stadium. Clickity click click!
All sorts of precocious play astatine Villa Park, wherever nan seventh extremity of nan crippled has conscionable been scored. Tom Bassam has nan latest connected Aston Villa v Sunedrland and Nottingham Forest v Burnley, while Daniel Harris is watching 11 minutes of added time successful nan Merseyside derby.
Manchester City gained crushed past play but nan convention leaders person plentifulness of reasons to stay positive, writes Oliver Hopkins.
David Hytner
Mikel Arteta will spell each retired for victory successful today’s Premier League title showdown astatine Manchester City and has not thought for “one second” astir mounting up for a draw.
Arsenal are six points clear of City, albeit they person played an other game, and a stalemate could move them decisively towards nan trophy they crave. According to Opta’s projections, Arsenal would person an 89% probability of winning nan title if it vanished each quadrate astatine nan Etihad Stadium.
Jonathan Wilson
At half-time successful the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal’s hopes of a quadruple remained strong. They were unbeaten successful 14, 11 of them won. They were drafting 0-0 against Manchester City and it wasn’t unreasonable to deliberation that if nan 2nd half carried connected arsenic nan first half had, they would yet find a victor – rather perchance from a corner.
They had drawn a Championship broadside successful nan sixth information of nan FA Cup and a Portuguese broadside successful nan quarter-finals of nan Champions League. They held a nine-point lead successful nan Premier League. This was shaping up to beryllium nan top play successful Arsenal’s history.
That was 4 weeks ago. There remains a anticipation of a Premier League and Champions League double, which would beryllium singular enough, but nan temper is very different now. This could go nan astir disappointing play successful Arsenal’s history, if only because they came truthful adjacent to winning it all.
Well that’s Mikel Arteta’s teamtalk sorted!
Team news: Havertz starts up front
Manchester City are unchanged, nary astonishment fixed their caller form. Mikel Arteta has made 2 changes to nan broadside that drew against Sporting successful midweek: Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz switch Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres. That intends Arsenal person a fewer options successful midfield, but nan likeliest script is that Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze will play arsenic nan wide attackers.
Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden.
Arsenal (4-1-4-1) Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi; Odegaard, Eze, Rice, Madueke; Havertz.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Jesus, Martinelli, Gyokeres, Norgaard, Trossard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Preamble
We should person known it was ever going to extremity this way. For astir of nan season, it looked for illustration Arsenal were strolling to their first title successful 22 years without a superior challenge. It was a ludicrous assumption, 1 that disrespected nan weight of history and nan voracity of Pep Guardiola.
The clues were each there. Guardiola’s decade-long power of nan Premier League; his analyzable narration pinch Mikel Arteta; nan aggravated caller rivalry betwixt nan sides. Had Arsenal won nan convention without overcoming City, nan communicative constabulary would person wanted a word.
Today’s crippled isn’t needfully a title decider, but it judge feels for illustration one. For nan neutral, nan truth it’s astatine nan Etihad makes it moreover much mouthwatering. This is wherever Arsenal’s first title situation nether Arteta was ruthlessly extinguished by Kevin De Bruyne, a conclusion truthful devastating that it instantly turned Arteta from a romanticist into a pragmatist. If Arsenal are to triumph nan league, having their ain Marc Overmars infinitesimal today will make it infinitely sweeter.
Except they don’t really request to win. For each nan talk of Arsenal needing to wounded a rival connected their ain patch, a tie would beryllium an outstanding consequence fixed nan temper of some teams and nan authorities of nan convention table. Arsenal are six points clear having played a crippled more; if they debar conclusion today, they will beryllium nan only squad pinch nan title successful their hands.
It’s a large if. All nan momentum is pinch City, which is ostensibly overseas fixed they person drawn 2 of their past 3 games. But those 2 draws came earlier nan Premier League’s outpouring break, during which City outclassed Arsenal successful nan Carabao Cup last and Liverpool successful nan FA Cup.
At nan aforesaid time, Arsenal went retired of nan FA Cup to Southampton. A alteration successful temper was confirmed by past week’s Premier League resumption. Arsenal mislaid astatine location to Bournemouth, erstwhile nan consequence was little alarming than their angst-ridden performance, and City blew Chelsea distant successful nan 2nd half astatine Stamford Bridge.
It feels for illustration each nan unit is connected Arsenal. The reality is much nuanced. City person to triumph to support nan title successful their ain hands; Arsenal simply cannot spend different defeat. Something has to give.
Kick disconnected 4.30pm
