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MATHEMATICAL PROOF: ARSENAL WIN OVER SPURS MAKES TITLE RACE IMPOSSIBLE TO WIN
Arsenal's dominant 4-1 derby win over Tottenham positions them as clear Premier League favourites. With a 6-point lead and Europe's best defence, the title is now theirs to lose.
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A year back, Liverpool took down both Manchester City and Real Madrid in the same week. That City win gave the Reds a nine-point lead over Arsenal, who were second, while City, the title holders, lagged 11 points behind. Those games, along with a good November, showed that Liverpool was the top team in England (and maybe Europe for a bit). And they went on to win the league.
Now, Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Tottenham puts them six points ahead of Chelsea, who are second, seven points ahead of City, their main competition, and 11 points ahead of Liverpool, the current title holders. Just like Liverpool last year, the way the Gunners won the derby makes it clear that Arsenal is the best team in the league. They're one of the best in Europe too.
Unless they get hit with a ton of injuries or have a major collapse, Arsenal should be crowned champions in May. Maybe even sooner. Other than a lucky long-range goal from Richarlison, Arsenal totally crushed Spurs. It was a real beating. Eberechi Eze was amazing.
And this was an Arsenal team without key players like Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Odegaard. Both would have been playing if they were healthy. Also missing were Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Viktor Gyokeres. Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli were just back from injuries and started on the bench.
Those absences didn't matter at the Emirates. Sure, Spurs didn't put up much of a fight. But Arsenal destroyed them and played some great football. They could have scored six goals.
As for their competition? Liverpool is way out of the title race. City, with four losses in 12 games, isn't as unbeatable as it looked last season. Chelsea could still challenge Arsenal, but they have their own problems. They don't seem ready to win the league.
Arsenal has the best defence in the league, even without Gabriel, and maybe the best in Europe. And after easily beating a very defensive Spurs team, their next test is against Bayern Munich at the Emirates in the middle of the week.
Bayern is one of only three teams in the Champions League that have won all four of their games. They've scored three more goals but have also let in three, while Arsenal hasn't let in any in Europe. If they win that game, it'll be another big statement from the Gunners.
Next weekend, they play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. If they win that, Arsenal will almost have the trophy in their hands, just like Liverpool did last year. Things are going their way, with no top-tier title rivals, and Mikel Arteta and his staff deserve a lot of credit for dealing with so many injuries this season.
Arsenal has been preparing for this for a while. They can play beautiful football, like they did against Spurs, but they can also win a physical battle. If you try to park the bus and play for a draw, they'll probably just score from a set piece. They're pretty good at those.
Arteta's Arsenal has its critics, but they're a serious team. It's hard to see anything stopping them from winning the league title in the spring.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.
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