It does down to the wire! Arsenal keeps hope alive on finale day

Arsenal and Manchester City face final-day showdowns to decide the Premier League title; predictions and analysis.

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta both know what to do to achieve their respective dreams but, it's in Guardiola's hands. (Photo credit: GOAL)

Every Arsenal fan all around the world is busy studying stats. The ones that don’t favor Manchester City and the ones that favor West Ham won’t like to see the part where City has always destroyed the Hammers at the Etihad.

The game at the Emirates has inevitability written all over it. Everton rarely picks anything away at Arsenal, and it’s not the first time the Gunners will be playing the Toffees on the final day. Take it back to last season; it was a massacre.

How did they both get here? For the first time since the construction of the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal will witness the deployment of a replica of the Premier League trophy, adorned with red ribbons should the Gunners triumph and City fail.

It’s a huge improvement from last season, where Arsenal fell off during the run-in; while many will look at that home game against Aston Villa and rue missed opportunities, the Gunners can be proud of how far they have come, with a bigger hope for next season.

Manchester City achieved their current position by adhering to their established strategy of surviving during the peak of the season, then surpassing all opponents in the latter stages of the season to secure the title of champions.

Only two points separate the top two, with one game each to play. The Cityzens host West Ham at the Etihad, while Mikel Arteta and his boys will welcome Everton to the Emirates. The permutation is simple: Arsenal must win to stand a chance, and Manchester City must win to retain their crown.

The statistics in front of us can deceive you. Manchester City will win their sixth Premier League title in seven years if they beat West Ham on Sunday, but does that water down the quality of the league? The truthful answer is no because they have had to wait until the last day to do it on occasion.

They won the league in game week 36 last season, and while it took two goals in 10 minutes for them to win the title on the final day in 2022, it hasn’t been straightforward, and they have had to dig deep on occasions to get to the finish line.

Both sides have fit squads, and, much to the delight of the champions, their respective opponents do not have to play their strongest elevens. Sean Dyche and David Moyes could rotate to give some fringe players playing time on the final day. Is it a good time to congratulate Manchester City?