Liverpool wasteful again as Unai Emery haunts Arsenal - EPL hits and misses
Aston Villa’s win at the Emirates isn’t quite as devastating to Arsenal’s title hopes as Brighton’s victory in north London in May last year but it has the same effect - handing the initiative to Manchester City in the title race.
Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Unai Emery, their former manager, means they missed the chance to return to the top of the table, instead handing champions City a two-point lead with six games to play.
While there are 18 points still to play for, the signs are ominous for Arsenal and fellow title chasers Liverpool. City are six games from a fourth successive title for a reason - they know how to close things out at this stage of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s reaction to the defeat felt pointed. The manager admitted he expected his side to suffer a setback during the run-in but urged his side to “stand up”, adding: “The moment is now”.
Arteta has challenged his side to show they are stronger than 12 months ago, when they blew their lead at the top of the table as City were crowned again.
How Arsenal respond to this defeat, as well as their manager’s words, will be instructive. Victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday will show lessons have been learned - but a Champions League exit will leave a second consecutive season in danger of fizzling out.
Joe Shread
At least the blame can be shared. Darwin Nunez should have scored but so should his replacement Diogo Jota. Curtis Jones will be wondering how he missed but the midfielder can share that frustration with the team's star forward Mohamed Salah.
Crystal Palace defended gamely in beating Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield and will feel their resilience was rewarded but the home side can only look to their own finishing. Jamie Carragher felt they could have had
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