Arsenal's victories over Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford have made the situation in the Premier League's four-game battle more clear. United exited almost early, the Gunners were in the lead and the head-to-head clash with Tottenham on 12 May would be the decisive one.
In the fourth big battle, Manchester United fell behind
Compared with other leagues, the Competition for the Premier League and the Champions League tickets are more intense. The title battle between Manchester City and Liverpool is expected to continue to the final round, and the four battles between Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are equally fierce. Theoretically, Chelsea are also competing for the fourth, but with five rounds to go, with a seven-point lead and one less game, the Blues have almost won the Champions League ticket.
After suffering three consecutive defeats, Arsenal was in a critical situation, however, consecutive victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, coupled with Tottenham Hotspur's last two games to score only one point, allowed Arsenal to regain the leading position.
The rollercoaster-like process made Arteta exclaim, "I didn't expect the change to be so fast. My belief is that we will always give our all and we can win the game, but the gap is very small and we have to be very clear about that. Where we are at our current position is determined by a small gap. ”
Arsenal, who played 33 games, ranked fourth with 60 points, and was unexpectedly forced to draw by Brentford, which made Spurs lose the initiative, and Tottenham Hotspur, who also played 33 games, ranked fifth with 58 points.
Manchester United, once in fourth place, almost withdrew from the battle for four after winning just one of their last five games. At present, United, who have played 34 games, have only 54 points, which is a full six points less than Arsenal. With just four games left, It's hard for United to overtake the Gunners.
Lonnick admitted that "the hope of fighting for four is gone", and legendary defender Leo Ferdinand also said, "Manchester United lost the possibility of being in the top four, no chance, everything is over." ”
A life-or-death battle
Judging from the current points situation, the last Champions League ticket of the Premier League next season will be produced between Arsenal and Tottenham, which makes the direct meeting between the two teams on May 12 a life-and-death battle. If Arsenal win, they have almost locked in champions league tickets.
If Spurs can win at home, they will overtake Arsenal and regain the initiative with only two rounds left. Sky Sports notes, "This is perhaps the most important North London derby in recent seasons." ”
Arteta said: "This may be a crucial game. Let's see what happens before that, both teams have a chance. Of course, this head-to-head confrontation will be very important. ”
Tottenham's two major disadvantages
Judging by the schedule, Tottenham hottest. In addition to home games against Arsenal (4th), Spurs will also play Leicester City (10th), Burnley (18th) at home and Liverpool (2nd) and Norwich (20th).
Manchester United will play Chelsea at home (No. 3), then Brentford (No. 11) at home and Brighton (No. 12) and Crystal Palace (No. 14). Arsenal's opponents are West Ham (7th), Leeds United (16th), Tottenham (5th), Newcastle (9th) and Everton (17th).
In addition to the schedule, conte is worried about the team's offensive problems. In the previous two games, Tottenham have failed to score, which led to them only scoring 1 point. Conte analyzed, "I think in the last two games we've had trouble attacking because we've met two teams that are very good defensively. In the absence of the ball, both teams' defences retreat deep and all players return to their own penalty areas. ”
Conte stressed, "If you want to take all three points, if we want to win, you have to score goals. However, as nuno did when he was in charge, Spurs have once again exposed the ills of being powerless against the Iron Barrel. Against Tottenham, Arteta will take the initiative or defend the counter-attack tactics, which may determine who will eventually win the Champions League ticket.