Sport
Are Arsenal’s Title Odds a Sign of a Changing Premier League Guard?
The race for the 2023/24 Premier League title is well and truly on, especially as Arsenal kept their own charge alive on Monday night.
Having watched Liverpool score a last-gasp – but highly controversial – winner against Nottingham Forest on Saturday and Manchester City come from behind in the Manchester Derby, Mikel Arteta knew his team could not afford to slip up in their Monday night header with Sheffield United.
As we saw, the Gunners were out of the blocks extremely quickly, racing to a 5-0 lead at half-time. They wouldn’t need to be fully at it in the second 45, but they still managed to score one more and take home the three points following a 6-0 demolition of the league’s bottom side.
Is it Arsenal’s time for Premier League glory?
With 11 games of the season to go, there is still a lot of football to be played. However, the fact that the London Club is still in the hunt makes it even more exciting.
Fans of England’s elite football division may have started to become a little bored in regard to the title race over the last few years, with Liverpool and Manchester City often being the main two contenders. In some years, it was City’s to lose as nobody could be anywhere near them.
In the last two years, Arsenal have emerged as a top contender and one that many speak about. In some cases, some are beginning to speak of the team in the same way that they did when they were experiencing the successes they had a couple of decades ago.
Many have become excited by what this could mean, as there could be a changing of the guard. Perhaps it’s time for the Londoners to take back what was so often theirs?
Premier League goes through cycles
As we know, football can be quite cyclical. History has proven this to us. Football clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea are perhaps the biggest examples of this to date. At the same time, Liverpool and Arsenal have had to endure their own decades of disappointment when it came to challenging for Premier League honors.
However, it seems the latter pair are now both back in a position to challenge. According to the Premier League odds currently available, Arsenal are third favorites at 3/1, whereas Liverpool are 9/4 in the current race for the title. Unsurprisingly, Manchester City are the main favorites, with their odds being set at 10/11 as we edge closer to the season’s conclusion.
Will Arsenal continue to compete for the Premier League title?
As mentioned, there is still a lot of football left to play. Can Arsenal help change the guard and be eventual winners of the Premier League title?
There is no doubt that Arteta’s team is going to have their work cut out for them if they are to be successful. They need to face Chelsea (home) in a fierce London derby, head to the Etihad Stadium and take on Pep Guardiola’s Man City, play an away North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur, and go to Old Trafford and take on Manchester United.
These are some of the biggest games and are spread between some other tricky encounters that involve teams who are either fighting for European places or Premier League survival. The mantra of there being no easy game certainly rings true, and the Gunners will need to be at their very best, especially as Man City and Liverpool continue to find ways to get three points.
Not a disaster if they don’t win the Premier League title
Although it will be disappointing for fans of the Club, it will not be a disaster if they were not to win the Premier League. It could be a huge win for the league itself, as we have become accustomed to just a couple of teams winning.
This has, arguably, made the league stagnate and become boring, as most believe the title can be decided before a ball is kicked. With Arsenal continuing to challenge and pushing their rivals to be their very best, it has improved the product and has made things at the top of the table more exciting.
Whether they can change the guard and win the title remains to be seen. They were very close last season, but essentially “bottled it”. They appear to be in contention once again this year, and if this is something that can happen frequently, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before they have their red ribbons adorning the trophy at the end of the season.