Manchester City may have to rethink some of their beliefs depending on how the end of the season goes for Arsenal
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Mikel Arteta smiling will sitting down during a Champions League press conference
Mikel Arteta smiling will sitting down during a Champions League press conference
(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Manchester City have good reason to take an interest in what Arsenal do in the final weeks of the season. Mikel Arteta and his side have the opportunity to force the Blues into some uncomfortable rethinks depending on how the next month plays out.
The doomsday scenario for City in what has been their year to forget would be Arsenal going all the way in the Champions League. The Gunners are 1-0 down in their semi-final against an excellent Paris Saint-Germain side and have no home advantage for the second leg, but stranger things have happened.
Arsenal's season has turned into Champions League or bust given they have been the second-best team in the Premier League for so long without troubling Liverpool, and if they were to go all the way and win their first European Cup it should be a wake-up call for all at the Etihad. City's maiden triumph in 2023 was meant to herald the start of more, yet this season was their worst performance in the competition since Roberto Mancini's time in charge.
If you are not moving forward, others can quickly catch you up and Arsenal moving level on one Champions League title with City would not feel like a fair reflection of their respective performances in Europe during Pep Guardiola's time at the club. There is only one way to change that, and it is one of the hardest things to do in football.
Because of that, Arsenal remain very unlikely to do that. PSG have several advantages going into the second leg and whoever comes out on top in the second semi-final between Barcelona and Inter also have much greater European pedigree than Arsenal.
And while Arsenal eyes are on Europe, they face problems at home. A recent patch of indifferent form leaves them vulnerable to a late surge from City, who could pinch second place from under their noses.
Guardiola's side are just three points behind with three games to go, and even a goal difference that is worse off by nine could be radically changed after this weekend when City play relegated Southampton and Arsenal head to champions Liverpool.
With a game against Champions League-chasing Newcastle to deal with as well, the Gunners have by far the tougher run-in. It looks entirely feasible that City get nine points from their last three games, which would certainly ask tough questions of Arteta's side.
A second-placed finish for City would ask tough questions of their recollection of the season. Anyone who lived through the pain of watching the team between November and March will not readily change their mind on their view of the season, and the fact City haven't felt like they were competing for the biggest trophies for so long is more compelling for the manager and others than where they end up in the table.
However, second place and an FA Cup certainly wouldn't look that way to anyone else. Can the whole year be seen as 'awful' as the manager describes it when that is the end result? Will reviews of the season need to be changed to instead reflect an awful middle that destroyed the good that came at the first and final thirds?
These questions, like those around Champions League impact, are not ones that need to be asked yet. But they are a lot closer to being asked than anyone every thought they would be.