Arsenal need title miracle as they face Everton on final day

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Arsenal still have a slim chance of winning the title when we take on Everton at the Emirates on the final day of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Last weekend’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford kept the pressure on Manchester City and ensured the title race would go down to the final day. Leandro Trossard’s winner last Sunday moved Arsenal back to the top of the table – one point ahead of City who held that all-important game in hand.

Unfortunately, City’s game in hand was away to Tottenham so Arsenal fans were forced to support their fierce North London rivals in hope of them doing us a favour on Tuesday night. Conversely, some Spurs fans wanted their team to lose to prevent Arsenal from winning the title, even though defeat would end their top four hopes.

It was certainly a strange game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but we can’t fault the effort of the Spurs players. Tottenham were the better side for long periods and deserved something from the game. Sadly, it was Man City who broke the deadlock shortly after half-time when Erling Haaland tapped home from a Kevin De Bruyne pass. Frustratingly, De Bruyne appeared to be slightly offside but Sky didn’t show any replays or confirm that VAR had looked at the goal and cleared it.

We may never know whether City’s opening goal should have stood, but Tottenham had a golden chance to equalise in the 87th minute. Heung-min Son was sent clear through on goal. All he had to do was beat substitute goalkeeper Ortega and Arsenal could have had the chance to win the title this weekend. However, Son hit his shot straight at the City goalkeeper, and the visitors went straight up the other end and sealed the three points thanks to a Haaland penalty.

Son’s miss could go down as the moment Arsenal’s title hopes ended, and with City running out 2-0 winners over Spurs, the game couldn’t have gone any worse from an Arsenal point of view. The glimmer of hope is that once again City didn’t look at their best and were fortunate to get the win. We can only pray they play poorly again on Sunday and West Ham take their chances this time.

State of play

So, we head into the final weekend of the season with Manchester City sitting two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table. If City beat West Ham at the Etihad Stadium, they will retain the title and become the first club in history to win it four times in a row. However, if City draw, Arsenal will be crowned champions if we beat Everton at the Emirates Stadium thanks to our superior goal difference. Obviously, a City defeat coupled with an Arsenal win would also declare us champions.

Arsenal just need to do their job, beat Everton and pray for a miracle at the Etihad. I’d love to think David Moyes could pull off a master-class and hold City to a draw in his final game in charge of West Ham. The Hammers also have the added incentive of getting an extra £5m from the Declan Rice sale if we win the title. And I’m sure some players would love to see their former team mate lifting the title at Arsenal.

However, realistically, City should batter West Ham. While the Hammers may be ninth in the table, they have conceded 71 goals in 37 games – which is the fourth worst defensive record in the division, behind only the bottom three. And as we’ve seen several times in the past, performances drop when players know the manager is heading out the door, so I’m not expecting anything from West Ham this weekend.

To stand any chance of winning the title, Arsenal also have to beat Everton, which may not be as easy as many expect. Sean Dyche has done a terrific job at Goodison and Everton would be in mid-table if it wasn’t for their points deductions. They have a very solid defence, which has only conceded 49 goals – the fourth best in the division – so it’s by no means a given that Arsenal will win on Sunday.

How to watch

Controversially, the Arsenal game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports. With Man City vs West Ham on Sky Sports, it means fans won’t be able to use the split screen option to watch both games. Both games will kick off at 8pm on Sunday, May 19th.

Match going supporters can buy Arsenal vs Everton tickets through the club exchange. They are likely to be sold out, but fans can still use reputable ticket resellers such as Seatsnet.com.

Team news

Arsenal will assess Bukayo Saka after he was forced off during the final stages of the win over Man Utd with a knock. Mikel Arteta is confident Saka will be fine so he should be available to face Everton on Sunday.

Jurrien Timber is pushing to be involved in the squad for the first time since returning from an ACL injury that he sustained on the opening weekend of the season. Otherwise, Arsenal have a fully fit squad to choose from.

Arteta may opt to stick with the same line-up that’s served him well in recent weeks. If the boss wants to mix things up, the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Jorginho and Oleksandr Zinchenko are pushing for recalls.

As for Everton, they’ll be without Jack Harrison as he’s got a hamstring injury while Vitalii Mykolenko is also out with an ankle problem. Dele Alli remains out with a groin injury and Nathan Patterson is set to miss out with a hamstring issue. Andre Gomes is a doubt with a facial injury.

Prediction

Arsenal cannot get distracted with what’s happening at the Etihad. We need to focus on our job of beating Everton and pray West Ham can somehow do us a favour. I’m sure Arteta will have the players ready and focussed.

The Toffees come into the game in good form as they’re unbeaten in their last five games [W4 D1] and beat Liverpool 2-0 recently so this task shouldn’t be underestimated. They will be solid at the back and have the quality to cause us problems.

However, I think we’ll see a very professional performance from Arsenal. We looked nervy at Old Trafford but hopefully the players are more relaxed at home. I predict a win for Arsenal. It will then be down to West Ham to nick something off City! Arsenal 2-1 Everton

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