Arsenal's Premier League title hopes are all but over. They can still make Liverpool work hard and sweat for their crown, though. "Over my dead body," said Mikel Arteta last month.
Arne Slot's team have had time to recover from their tough week heading into the international break and will have even longer to stew on the events of a four-day period that cut their treble hopes down to just being the Premier League. Arsenal, meanwhile, have all eyes on their Champions League quarter-final clash against Real Madrid. That is their season in 180 minutes.
Beating Chelsea means Arteta's side are almost certain to finish inside the top five and therefore qualify for Europe's premier club competition again. In that sense it is job done for Arsenal with Madrid to come.
But things can still be made interesting in the league. We are dealing with a lot of hypotheticals and hope, especially given Liverpool only need 16 points from nine matches to be officially named champions, but getting over the line is the hardest thing to do. This Arsenal side knows that.
They were never in the position Liverpool are right now but still know how things can unravel quickly. So Arsenal have to take advantage of a scheduling quirk that plays right into their hands.
Up to May 3, Arsenal play before Liverpool in each of the next five rounds of matches. Should Arsenal win those then the gap will remain at 12 points, maximum.
Given Liverpool do have a far superior goal difference, the technicality of needing 16 points is effectively 15 at this stage. Arsenal winning alone will not be enough, they can change the picture and dynamics though, and do not have a set of fixtures to be scared of. That said, neither do Liverpool, really.
Perhaps their toughest test in the next six weeks is coming right after the break. They host a resurgent Everton on April 2. David Moyes' side were only too happy to spoil the party with a late and dramatic equaliser in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park earlier this year and will be keen to put a dampener on things again.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have the chance to at least cut the chasm to nine points first. They welcome Fulham to the Emirates Stadium. This is by no means a gimme but at this stage Arsenal have absolutely no room for error and must win. The gap would still be big but would add pressure to a Liverpool side who need to bounce back after the break. They have shown some signs of fragility of late and Arsenal must do their part to try and exploit or expose that.
Opponents are then swapped as Arsenal travel to Everton three days later. Liverpool will play the following day away to Fulham. Two tough matches for both sides where dropped points are definitely a possibility.
Things then level out with Arsenal at home to Brentford and Liverpool playing West Ham. Arsenal will have the chance, again, to put their own points on the board first. If Liverpool were to lose against and then Fulham, Arsenal could, and it is a big could, be looking at only six points separating the sides.
Heading into the Brentford game, Arsenal would be able to move to within three. With Madrid home and away to fit in here, it is a week that could leave Arsenal competing on two fronts - just about clinging onto the faint title hopes - or potentially with nothing to play for in the final month.
(Image: Getty Images)
Albeit this would take Liverpool losing four times in a row in all competitions, not a likely scenario, the end-of-season run does weird things. Maintaining the optimism, it isn't until Liverpool host Arsenal in early May that Arteta's side will not have the advantage of playing first.
Liverpool's trip to Stamford Bridge has now been confirmed as going after Arsenal vs Bournemouth. Those games are on May 3 and 4, respectively. The title could be over by the time that is played or it could be alive.
If Arsenal win all of their matches and keep pushing that extra step further then it isn't until they welcome Newcastle United (another game likely to be given the prime time Sunday evening start) that Liverpool will be go first. This could all be enormous.
It is impossible to predict what the title picture will be by then. What is clear is that with Arsenal so far behind, they cannot afford to let Liverpool off and know that by playing first continually they can at least partially put the ball back in Slot's court. Whether that is enough to make a dramatic finish is yet to be seen.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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