Arsenal have been in the driver’s seat of the Premier League title race throughout the entire season, but everyone else in the league has been watching on with envy, just waiting for the Gunners to wilt before the season ends.
So far, there has been no sign of an impending collapse. Even with key players like Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka either hurt or underperforming, a tired Arsenal squad remains strong, buoyed by an elite defense and a midfield that has exerted greater control after adding Martin Zubimendi this summer.
Even so, not everyone is high on Arsenal’s ability to remain impenetrable this season, and ESPN’s Ryan O’Hanlon recently produced a Premier League Power Rankings piece with a formula based around squad value, expected goal difference, passing accuracy in build up play, and defensive actions compared to passes allowed.
Arsenal are second behind Manchester City
Using this rather intriguing but unorthodox set of metrics, O’Hanlon’s model actually only ranks Arsenal as the second best team in the Premier League behind Manchester City.
Most Arsenal fans will confidently wave this ranking off as nothing more than the numbers painting a picture that isn’t there. Even O’Hanlon states that if he were ranking this based on what he has personally seen this season, Arsenal would be first.
But Manchester City are first now because of their improved ability to maintain possession and win the midfield battle against the press, which feels a bit wrong, seeing as how this is the weakest Man City midfield we have seen in ages.
Maybe Arsenal are getting leggy and slowing down, and only the analytics are observing what we cannot bear witness or recognize so quick with our own eyes, since we are so used to Arsenal dominating this season.
With Arsenal’s penchant for bottling the Premier League, nobody should take their lead in first for granted, especially since winning leagues is in both Man City’s and Pep Guardiola’s DNA.
Arsenal are the Premier League favorites until proven otherwise with a whopping nine point lead and just one game in hand heading into their big League Cup Final clash with the Citizens, and that is the most important statistic there is at this point.
But maybe the ESPN Premier League Power Rankings are just that little bit of a reminder to the Gunners faithful of the past and the reality that nothing can be taken for granted in a fight with a juggernaut like Man City.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.