Arsenal muscled their way past Chelsea 2-1 to keep their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Arsenal’s Premier League Title Push
Another weekend passes and Arsenal’s win against Chelsea allows them to maintain their lead in the Premier League. The encounter felt more like wrestling than soccer. Regardless, we learned a lot about both teams as we hit the “10 games to go” mark in England’s top division.
There are questions about Arsenal, though. One question is whether 41% possession at home, including 20-plus minutes against 10 men, is sustainable. Another is where they’d be without David Raya between the posts. Or, indeed, what would happen without set pieces.
- Arsenal have already scored more winning goals from corner kicks than any side in Premier League history.
- March has barely started.
Without Martin Odegaard, the Arsenal boss opted for a certain approach, and it worked bar the last 20 minutes when they failed to kill the game with the extra man, after Pedro Neto’s silly sending off.
Elsewhere in Europe
Bayern Munich thumped Borussia Dortmund to open a double-digit points lead at the top of the Bundesliga with single-digit games remaining. Juventus made an epic comeback against AS Roma to keep their top-four hopes alive in Serie A this season. Manchester United are up to third thanks to Benjamin Sesko’s hot streak of crucial goals.
Manchester City are winning with grit right now.
Liverpool now rule at set pieces. Paris Saint-Germain keep flirting with disaster in Ligue 1. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal’s on the G.O.A.T. trajectory if he can continue like this. Federico Dimarco deserves much more praise than he gets considering what he does for Inter Milan.
Regardless of Arsenal’s approach, Arteta’s players do what the referee allows them to do on the pitch.