Arsenal's hopes of winning the premier league title after 20 years are hanging by a thread. Mikel Arteta no longer has any control over their ability to win to the Premier league and can only ensure Arsenal defeat Everton while hoping for Westham to hold back Manchester City.
After defeating Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for the first time, Manchester City made it eight wins in a row in the Premier league. This was a game Arsenal were hoping to turn the odds back in their favour had Tottenham defeated Manchester City.
Manchester City only require a win against Westham to secure their fourth Premier league title in a row. Manchester City seem to have history of winning titles on the final match day of the season, two years ago Manchester City were 2-0 down against Aston Villa on the final day but managed to make a miraculous comeback to lift the title. And the most popular is Sergio Aguero's late goal eleven years ago that made City champions for the first time.
Things are not looking good for Arsenal as Westham last won at the Etihad in September 2015. Westham getting a draw against Manchester city would work wonders for Arsenal but there have only been three draws in this fixture in their last 16 meetings. David Moyes' personal record against Pep doesn't provide any encouragement either as he has managed a victory once in 15 games. David Moyes has also never won a game at the Etihad Stadium as a coach.
Should Manchester City draw against Westham, Arsenal will be crowned Champions provided they defeat Everton. Even if City lose against Westham, Arsenal require nothing less than a win to make them Champions.
Leaving aside the Premier league standings, Arsenal could still win the title this season due to the 115 charges against Manchester City. The Chief Executive Richard Masters confirmed that a date has been set for the trial, though nothing public has been announced. It is set to be a defining moment in English football history, something that goes above and beyond administration, points deductions, or other legal cases.
The allegations against Manchester City refer to reporting inaccurate financial figures, use of related parties and unaccounted managerial remunerations amongst other serious claims. The punishment for the above crimes could be worse than points deductions with a possibility of relegation and being stripped of some titles.
Manchester City wouldn't be the first team across Europe to lose achievements in this courtroom. In 2006, Juventus were punished by the Italian League federation due to match fixing. Some of the punishments included a 15-point deduction and relegation. They were also stripped of two league titles including the Scudetto they had just won.
Should it be a similar case with Manchester city's trial, then Arsenal would stand to benefit.
