This past weekend had the feel of a significant one in the Premier League title race.
After seeing the momentum swing towards rivals Manchester City earlier in the week in a 3-1 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side, Arsenal re-took control at the top with a late comeback victory over Aston Villa.
The Gunners looked to be heading for yet more dropped points having failed to win their previous three Premier League games prior to the game at Villa, but when Jorginho’s late strike bounced back off the bar and across the line via a deflection off goalkeeper Emi Martinez, the joy and relief on boss Mikel Arteta’s face told the story of just how big these three points might prove.
And that joy was further compounded when Martinez was caught out of his goal as Villa chased a late equaliser from a corner, allowing Gabriel Martinelli to burst away and begin his celebrations before slotting into an empty net.
Man City, knowing they needed a win at Nottingham Forest to keep their lead at the top of the table, could only manage a 1-1 draw, making what was already a significant result for Arsenal an even bigger one.
Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, who scored his side’s second, is aware of what it takes to win a Premier League trophy. He has already done so four times with Arsenal’s current title rivals, and understands the importance of winning these kinds of games more than most.
Embed from Getty Images“I remember at City, we were also losing, down at half-time but in the second half the response from the team was perfect and I would call these kind of dramatic games, they are like ‘Champions Games ‘,” Zinchenko explained.
“I’m not saying anything about the title yet because there’s still a lot of games to play but this is the sort of character that you need, the direction we need, and that is the key.”
City had numerous chances to extend their one-goal lead over Forest before they were punished for their missed opportunities by Chris Wood’s first goal in a Forest shirt. Erling Haaland, who has scored 26 goals in 23 league games this season, had the biggest of them all – hitting the bar from a few yards out before blasting over the following rebound much to the amusement, and relief, of the home crowd.
There was not much for Guardiola to say after the game, except that his side cannot win games if they miss as many opportunities as they did in their 1-1 draw. The overall performance will have provided him with enough encouragement that City can still retain their Premier League crown, but has done little to quash the sense that there is still something not quite right about this group.
“We didn’t get, I think, what we deserved,” the City boss said afterwards.
“But football is not about who deserves it and who doesn’t. At the end, you have to score the goals.”
For Arsenal, however, this past weekend was the perfect response to the setback of suffering a defeat to City. Like their title rivals, it was by no means a perfect performance against Villa and Arteta’s side needed luck on their side, but the tide has quickly turned back in the north London side’s favour.
This weekend could be looked back on as one of huge importance come the end of the campaign. But with a long way to go, there will no doubt be many more ‘Champions Games’ to come for both teams.
