EPL TALK: Arsenal playing for so much more than three points

ARSENAL and Manchester City are playing their roles beautifully, almost too well in fact. The Gunners are faltering, tugging at our heartstrings with their weary underdog routines, ready to lay down at any moment. And the belligerent billionaires are only a step away, it seems, from tearing off the heads of small children.

Ahead of their meeting on Wednesday, (Thursday morning, Singapore time), the two sides have offered a prologue to rival Shakespeare. Arsenal failed to win back-to-back games in the English Premier League for the first time this season, but still applauded their weakened heroes after the 1-1 draw against Brentford.

At the Etihad, the City supporters sang, “F*** the Premier League.”

Seriously, you’ve got to hand it to the antagonists here. They’re not even trying to transcend one-dimensional archetypes. They are the cackling villains of the piece, booing the EPL anthem before kick-off against Aston Villa and then chanting “f*** the Premier League” after taking the lead.

Even in the fickle, mercurial world of EPL tribalism, which is never more than a dodgy VAR decision away from an hysterical meltdown, the dividing line between title contenders could not be clearer. Mikel Arteta's side are the overachieving, likeable lads, and Pep Guardiola’s lot are a fan’s forum for Elon Musk and Donald Trump, a gathering of the wealthiest folks complaining that everyone’s just jealous and out to get them.

Traditionally, there were reasons to boo and hiss every title challenger. For every Roy Keane, there was a Martin Keown. Sir Alex Ferguson had his bullying. Arsene Wenger had his moaning. Jose Mourinho had his siege mentality and Chelsea just had John Terry, which was more than enough. There were always enough angels and demons to go around.

But this one feels different. There are angels and more than 100 alleged breaches of the financial rules. There is the unassuming Arteta and a defiant Guardiola effectively calling out a conspiracy among every other EPL club against his own. There is a nail-baiting fanbase desperately clinging to an unlikely dream and an outraged crowd shouting f*** the very competition that is hosting this week’s blockbuster.

Objectively, it’s not particularly hard to pick a side here, is it?

Of course, to even suggest as much plays into the conspiratorial mood around Manchester, just another example of the blatant media bias against a club whose only crime is to shake up the establishment and revitalise the community with state-of-the-art training facilities, academies and grassroots programmes (all of which are true.)

But these are grubby times. Supporters once celebrated the names of rich, talented footballers. Manchester City’s hardcore element chanted the name of an expensive barrister employed to fight their legal case. Are they going to do the same against Arsenal? Is every goal going to be met with a roar and a reminder to f*** the Premier League?

Is that where we are now? Rather than debate the strengths and weaknesses of starting line-ups, idealistic, doe-eyed young fans must consider the pluses and minuses of a protracted legal case. It’s going to get very tedious very quickly.

Self-awareness and blinkered tribalism are uneasy bedfellows at the best of times, let alone at a time when the prospect of relegation as a punishment is real. Even so, a little humility and reflection might help City’s cause.

No longer a straightforward title race

Only one side was robbed of anything of value at the weekend and it was Arsenal. An incorrect VAR decision led to Brentford’s equalising goal, an error that ensured two dropped points and a chance for Manchester City to go top on goal difference, should they defeat the Gunners.

But Arsenal’s conduct and response was a little more dignified. It may be too glib to suggest that the Gunners are now the people’s choice, the only choice among those who like to pick their winners from a pot that doesn’t include teams accused of breaching the rules more than a hundred times, but what is the alternative?

Let’s assume Manchester City prevail this week. Another defeat would mean a fourth consecutive game without victory for the Gunners, a sense of the past returning to haunt the present. Guardiola’s teams do barnstorming finishes. Arsenal do late-season collapses.

Gary Neville has been saying as much for weeks. The underdogs are not equipped, physically or mentally, to overcome a sustained wobble. They lack the squad depth and the title-winning experience. Their demise becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. City take the title.

And then what happens? Their supporters sing “f*** the Premier League” all the way to the open-top bus parade? Guardiola continues to disparage his opponents by alluding to a collective conspiracy against his great project? A state-owned experiment takes control once more?

This is more than a one-off game now. Whether Leandro Trossard continues to improve for his new club or Erling Haaland recovers to terrorise a back four that struggled against Brentford’s brawny striking pair are side issues, handy distractions as the EPL considers its identity and purpose.

Is it still a game or a geopolitical exercise among foreign states competing for favourable global coverage by securing the best that money can buy – both on the pitch and in the courtroom – to win at all costs? It’s an existential debate that will go back and forth until an independent commission rules on Manchester City’s charges.

Until then, here’s the current reality. If the Gunners lose, then a club facing the most serious offences in the history of the Premier League will return to the top of the Premier League, cheered on by supporters shouting, “f*** the Premier League”.

A gloating, defiant City may not be the dignified end to a season that anyone wants, but it’s almost certainly the one we’re going to get, unless Arsenal rouse themselves.

There is so much more at stake here than just three points.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 26 books.

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