Arsenal win their final game, but not title, as West Ham can’t help

Arsenal 2 Everton 1   
Premier League   
Sunday 19th May 2024  4.30pm    

It was not to be. Manchester City’s incredible run of winning Premier League matches continued, meaning that despite Arsenal winning three points in their final match, they finished two short of Pep Guardiola’s side in second place. 

 

That City’s victory over West Ham was so expected meant there was less tension in the Emirates air than there might have been, especially when Arsenal looked like they might fail to win the game as the second half wore on. It all felt a bit academic by that time with the league leaders two goals ahead, and coasting to victory. It was as much as Gooners could realistically hope for when West Ham did score, but they were never going to get three.

 

Bukayo Saka was neither in the starting line-up nor on the bench, as a ‘muscle injury’ was given as the reason for his absence. It meant Martinelli starting on the right side of the attack, but there were no other changes from the previous game against Manchester United. 

 

Everton’s gameplan was no big surprise. They may have been safe from relegation a while back, but they did not take that as a cue to be adventurous, and their forays forward were limited. They defended deep and attempted to minimise the home side’s chances rather than fashion their own. It worked, because although Arsenal did create danger, their finishing was not clinical enough, or blocks came in before Jordan Pickford had to do any work. On the break Calvert-Lewin hit the post, so the danger was evident, and on a later counterattack Everton won a free kick just outside the Gunner’s box after Ben White had been dispossessed. From it, a deflection off Declan Rice in the wall gave them a lead in the 40^th minute, even if the goal was awarded to the taker Gueye. Fortunately, a good finish from Tomiyasu levelled the scores only three minutes later. 

 

By this time, a flurry of phone watching activity had told the supporters that Manchester City were one up, then two up, and then a ray of hope as West Ham pulled one back, followed by a false alarm when people got the impression it was 2-2, which did not turn out to be the case. 

 

The only match that was level was the one at the Emirates, and the sides went in at half time even. As the second half wore on there was a sense of resignation, given the score elsewhere. An Arsenal win felt academic, although a disallowed West Ham goal gave some brief excitement around the time that Havertz made it 2-1 as full time neared, after Odegaard’s airshot fell kindly to him, although the goal was looked at on the VAR monitor for a possible handball by Jesus. Having seen it on TV since, I think Michael Oliver thought it was too big a decision to chalk off the goal, but nine times out of ten, I suspect he might have.

 

So Arsenal concluded the season with another win, compiling one less point than the Invincibles some 20 years before, collecting 89 points. The game has certainly changed. Back in 1989 they had 76 points in winning the title. Nowadays that would only get you fourth place. Even in 2004, if any team got 90 points you were never looking at runners up being anywhere near.

 

And of course, part of the reason it has changed is that the game has become less competitive as the amount of money swilling around in the game has grown. Clubs are now rich man’s playthings, or in some cases state-owned playthings, meaning huge amount of money being injected into sides such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris St Germain, with the ability to buy off justice such as Financial Fair Play rules. It is perhaps indicative that the three sides promoted from the Championship last season are the three to return there at the end of this one. Clubs able to remain in the Premier League can increase the gap between themselves and clubs in lower divisions because of the wages they can afford to pay – thus securing better players. Nottingham Forest gambled on spending more money than FFP allowed, but have survived two seasons in the top flight as a result. Play by the rules and it’s more of a challenge, which is why credit is due to the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth.

 

Arsenal have benefited from cash injections from their owner – although this was related to the stadium repayments, which is within the rules, although their not qualifying for the cash cow of the Champions League for six seasons hurt them badly in terms of being able to attract top quality players. That’s changed now, and Arsenal are becoming box office. Sponsorship income should benefit, along with the TV money and the share of the prize pot that a decent Champions League run can add to the coffers. 

 

The future is looking bright if purchasing of players to strengthen the squad is done diligently. And yesterday, as against Manchester United, the players were willing, but there was a hint of fatigue. The pool of players Arteta is willing to start is a little too small. Ideally, along with the return of Timber, he will need three players he is happy to start in the first team, and with sales of some of the less trusted players, that’s achievable in the summer. One thing that is a plus is the versatility of his defenders. With the exception of Zinchenko, all of them can play centre back, as Tomiyasu demonstrated when Gabriel went off injured yesterday. Fitness is the main concern in other positions, with Partey and Jesus frequently absent last season, and Saka playing through injury for the whole campaign. 

 

The bottom line is that Arsenal are improving season upon season. The big leap in this campaign is their record in matches against the other so called top six sides. This is evidence that they can get a result against anybody, something that had not been the case for a very long time. 

 

Arsenal have won titles on the thinnest of margins, and lost them the same way. This season, small details determined who finished top of the tree. Plenty of what if moments in matches played by the top two. Ultimately, with Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City are a winning machine and for Arsenal’s sake, it must be hoped that he begins to decline in influence next season. 

 

The Gunners can be proud of this season. A club record number of wins in the league, the best defensive record in the division, a young team still developing and one that was able to make a fist of it against a far richer club that got where they are by breaking the rules. Life isn’t fair, and often sport isn’t either, but you just have to do as well as you can and hope to get the breaks. 

 

Just a personal note for readers of this blog, going forward. I am thinking of writing more often and not simply about my thoughts on matches. To justify the time taken, I am considering launching a channel on SubStack. So match views would remain here and also free on Substack, but there would be some more writing which is paid for in between the games – although it won’t be expensive. If I do go ahead, I will be plugging it here and on Twitter. Before that, I might do some blog entries on my planned trip to see a game in every one of the stadiums used for the Euros in Germany. 

 

However, until then, I hope you enjoyed Arsenal’s season as much as I have. Let’s hope it’s another stepping stone to greater things. And I also hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts after games.

 

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