The trip to Manchester City looms over the run-in, with Arsenal still ahead but no longer feeling any sense of comfort.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Arsenal still control the title race, but after the defeat to Bournemouth the run-in looks a lot less comfortable than it did before the game.
Before Manchester City faced Chelsea on Sunday, Arsenal were nine points clear, having played two games more than their rivals.
By the end of the day that lead could be six, with City still having a game in hand, which is why the table now feels tighter than the gap suggests. Much tighter.
First, though, Arsenal have to deal with Sporting CP in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. They returned from Portugal with only a one-goal lead, but should still have enough to reach a second successive semi-final, which would be a first in the club’s history.
Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images
Even so, progress there would not quieten the anxiety that has built around recent defeats to City in the League Cup final, Southampton in the FA Cup, and Bournemouth in the league.
That is why the next league game matters so much.
Arsenal go to City on 19 April knowing it is the defining fixture of what remains.
They do not have to win it, but they cannot afford to lose it. That much is obvious.
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
If the equation is simply to avoid defeat, that is a situation Mikel Arteta is more comfortable managing than one in which his side have to force the issue.
After that, the run-in is at least straightforward on paper.
Arsenal have three home games and three away, with no travel outside London apart from the trip to City.
The remaining fixtures are Manchester City away on 19 April, Newcastle at home on 25 April, Fulham at home on 2 May, West Ham United away on 10 May, Burnley at home on 17 May and Crystal Palace away on 24 May.
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
City’s list is more awkward in terms of travel. They still have to play Chelsea away on 12 April, Arsenal at home on 19 April, Burnley away on 22 April, Everton away on 4 May, Brentford at home on 9 May, Bournemouth away on 17 May and Aston Villa away on 24 May. Their home game against Crystal Palace has yet to be scheduled.
Arsenal have three home and three away. City have three home and five away. Both still have to face Burnley and Palace. City also have Bournemouth, who could still be chasing Europe, and Villa, who may still need points for a Champions League place.
The defeat to Bournemouth, for all the noise around it, has not settled anything. It was not a fatal blow, but it did inflict serious injury.
It has made Arsenal’s margin smaller and the mood more nervous than it already was, but it has not ended the race.
There is still too much football left for anyone to call it now.
Let’s hope that is still the case by the end of next weekend.
