Comment: Nothing left for Arsenal but a summer of wondering what might have been
OUTGUNNED: Arsenal’s Edward Nketiah (right) looks dejected following the final whistle in the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday May 14, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Arsenal. Photo credit should read: Tim Goode/PA Wire.
It's over now, of course it is, although the body cannot be officially pronounced dead until Saturday at the earliest.
The inquest into the demise of Arsenal's once-vibrant title hopes began a few weeks ago in truth; those three draws in a row in April and the thrashing at the Eithad that followed proved to be the mortal blow everyone, most Gunners fans and, I suspect, players, feared it would be.
Eight minutes of extra time were added to this attritional contest, which Brighton deservedly won. On the final whistle, witnessed by a joyous away end but few home fans, a certain bookmaker had the Gunners at 89-1 to pull off a sporting miracle. Another had Manchester City at 1-200 to be champions yet again and when have you ever seen an impecunious bookie?
The corpse is still twitching, then, and will do so at least until the Gunners travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Defeat there will hand City a third successive title and the party will begin before hosting Chelsea the following day.
"Disgraceful!" yelled an angry Gunner as he departed. "What a bottle job!" Ah yes, the B word, which was being banded about the moment a two-goal lead was surrendered at Liverpool on April 9. And again a week later when the same thing happened at West Ham. Also after the 3-3 home draw with Southampton and by the time City beat them 4-1 towards the end of the month it was written in stone. A huge lead has now morphed into a four-point deficit and City still have a game in hand. Ironically, it's at Brighton.
Yet before we put the knife in and begin to dissect both this rancid performance and the campaign as a whole let us first consider what sort of champions Mikel Arteta's Class of '23 might have been.
Akin to Leicester City in 2016 I would say. Not such rank outsiders of course - the Foxes, having only just beaten the drop the previous season, were famously priced at 5000-1, the longest of long shots.
But it is ridiculous to suggest that Arsenal, who blew Champions League qualification this time last year, would be able to fend off City if Pep Guardiola came at them full pelt in the run in. Leicester's fairytale was made possible by the usual suspects, most notably City and Chelsea, having stinkers of seasons. Arsenal finished second (and beat the Foxes home and away) but were never in the race. All they did was canter home after Tottenham did a Devon Loch to allow Leicester to gallop home.
No such luxury this time round though. Last summer City added Erling Haaland, a scorer in the 3-0 win at Everton earlier in the day, and decided they could discard Gabriel Jesus. Haaland has 52 goals to his name, Jesus, albeit hampered by injury, has contributed 11.
Compare any City player with his Gunners equivalent and the result is the same. Guardiola has a quality replacement in every position except, arguably, goalkeeper. Arsenal muddled through when Jesus was absent but the loss of defensive duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba, the latter especially, has proved catastrophic.
Gabriel Magalhaes has established himself as a worthy automatic pick and January signing Jakub Kiwior may go on to do the game well, but their afternoon and the ending to the Gunners' season was summed up by Deniz Undav's 86th-minute clincher. The sub's chip sailed gently in and the Gunners pair watched it drop instead of busting a gut to get back and clear. The odds on that being achieved were long - but nowhere near 89-1 let alone 5,000-1 let me tell you.
Arsenal looked exactly what they were - a beaten side. Undav's goal was also the result of a careless flick by Leandro Trossard, who joined from Brighton in January in the hope of an instant medal. It was a replica of a similar error by Thomas Partey in the West Ham game that was also charged down, leading to a goal.
The fans may be disappointed and likewise Arteta and his players but I bet Stan Kroenke is none too upset. You have to pay serious money to assemble a squad like City's and Arsenal have been baulking at that for decades. Champions League qualification is all Arsenal's American owner was ever prepared to sanction; being actual champions requires the shedding of too many dollars.
Talking of money that might be spent in the future, Evan Ferguson was back in the Brighton line-up after coming off the bench last week on his return from an ankle injury.
The boy from Bettystown is on course to end the season as the Premier League's top teenage scorer, although he did not add to his tally of four. The 18-year-old has many clubs wondering whether he might be the next Haaland; on this showing it was difficult to tell. He had but one chance, in the first-half after out-muscling Kiwior, but shanked his shot wide.
No matter; it probably won't be long before Brighton cash in on their Irish asset - they always do and perhaps it could even be Arsenal who bite, though the lad is reputed to be a big Manchester United fan.
Until then, though, there is nothing left for the Gunners but a summer of wondering what might have been. It's enough to make you hit the bottle...
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