Well that was an interesting bank holiday weekend.
Even with Man City’s last minute equaliser, it is “advantage Arsenal” in what is turning out to be a tough Premier League season.
Whilst many of our detractors are going with the line that the quality in the league is “poor” this season because a team will likely win the league with low-to-mid 80 points, the truth is actually the opposite.
When teams win the league with 95+ points and relegated sides are not even reaching 30 points, then that is a poor league. It shows that the gap between the best and the worst is huge. And often it is not a case of the top teams being brilliant, but more of the bottom being poor.
In the last two years, the teams finishing 18th have got 25 and 26 points respectively. You have to go back to Newcastle United in 2015/16 for the last time a side got relegated with more than 35 points. This season the 18th place team, West Ham, already have 36 with 3 games still to go.
This season we will likely see a side relegated with 40+ points. It will be the first time a side has gone down with 40+ since, ironically, West Ham in 2002-03.
The strength in depth of English teams is also shown in Europe.
Of the 8 semi-finalists, 4 are from England. You would be surprised if 3 did not make the final (and it would have been 4 if Aston Villa and Notts Forest did not get drawn together), and it could be a clean sweep for English clubs. Last season English clubs won 2 out of 3.
Notts Forest, in a relegation battle, are favourites to win the Europa League. If they do, it will be the 2nd season in a row that a team battling to stay in the Premier League has lifted Europe’s 2nd competition. It is arguably now easier to qualify for the Champions League through playing in the Europa League than it is playing in the Premier League.
The fact is the Premier League has huge strength in depth. Every side is filled with internationals and top players and there are no real easy games – especially against that congested mid-table.
As Man City showed yesterday, you can not go away to an Everton and expect to pick up 3-points. they are a team that probably would easily finish top 6 in any other league in Europe. Both City and Arsenal have dropped many points against those mid-table teams this season.
And that does not mean City and Arsenal are not good teams. They are. Amongst the best in England. It just shows how good the likes of Sunderland, Bournemouth, Everton and Fulham are.
Whilst the likes of Bayern Munich and PSG can massively rotate throughout the season due to the vast difference in resources and quality throughout the league, top Premier League teams can not do that.
Arsenal or City could not put out a team of 50% “2nd string” against, for example, Notts Forest at home, and expect to win. But PSG and Bayern Munich can expect to do just that against Le Harve or Union Berlin. And it is not because their 2nd strings are better than the Premier League sides – infact Arsenal and City’s 2nd XI would be wipe the floor with PSG and Bayern’s – but it is because those teams lower down in the Premier League are a lot better than what German and France have.
I always laugh when I hear fans state “the league is poor” to try and bring down the achievement of Arsenal. If it is that poor, then why are the Champions, Liverpool, 4th having spent over £400m? Why are the “World Champions” Chelsea 9th? Why are “worlds richest club” Newcastle in 13th? And why are Tottenham in a relegation battle for the second season in a row?
If the league was as poor as fans of these clubs are trying to make out, then even playing average they would still be up there in the top 6. Instead, by playing 20% under par they find themselves in dissaray.
We may or may not win the league. We may or may not win tonight. But no one can tell me that the Premier League is not the toughest league in world football and that fact makes winning the Champions League even harder for English teams.
UTA.
Keenos