Brennan Ford, Sports Editor
Dropping points to Manchester City and Bournemouth in recent weeks, there’s been non-stop chatter about Arsenal bottling the league once again. After being runner-up three times in each of the past three seasons, losing the league has unfortunately become Arsenal’s reputation in recent years.
Despite this, as a lifelong Arsenal fan, I finally feel confident that Arsenal will win the Premier League.
The Premier League is the top league in English football, consisting of 20 teams that each play 38 matches over the course of a season. Over approximately 10 months, each team plays a home-and-home series against other teams.
For each win, a team is awarded three points. A tie equates to one point, and while a loss results in zero points. The team with the most points at the end of a season is deemed the league winner, while three teams with the lowest points are relegated to a lower league.
When a tie in points occurs, goal differential serves as a tiebreaker by accounting for the number of goals a team scores minus the number of goals against, favoring the team with a better goal record.
As of now, Arsenal sits at the head of the table with 73 points. Close behind is Manchester City, who has a game in hand, allowing them to tie in points and possibly pass Arsenal with goal differential, depending on how the game shakes out.
With the third-place team sitting 12 points behind second place, the title race is between Arsenal and Manchester City.
With four games left in the 2025-26 season, the league could go to either team.
However, Arsenal’s final matches are against less competitive teams, as West Ham, Burnley, and Crystal Palace are all within the bottom half of the Premier League table. Manchester City has five matches compared to Arsenal’s four against teams in the top half of the Premier League table that are fighting for a spot in the Union European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League next season.
The UEFA Champions League is an annual tournament in which the top club teams across Europe play each other to determine who is the best on the continent.
The top five teams in the Premier League qualify for the league and earn significantly more money, a strong incentive to qualify, in addition to the chance of being named the best team in Europe.
In the final few weeks of the Premier League season, teams such as Aston Villa are fighting to maintain their Champions League status, while teams such as Bournemouth are competing to play in Europe.
With Manchester City having both of these teams on their schedule, they are seemingly set for more competitive matchups than Arsenal, increasing their likelihood of dropping points in the title race.
To counter that, Arsenal are currently competing in the Champions League semifinals. Set to play Atletico Madrid on April 29, Arsenal will likely exhaust more of their players during the tournament’s competitive final contests. Fatigue from playing in extra games compared to their counterparts has seemingly been the cause of their recent loss of points. With two Champions League match-ups overlapping with the end of the Premier League season, there is concern that Arsenal could lose the league in these final weeks.
However, Manchester City is also expected to play two additional games. One is a make-up game, but the other is the FA Cup final against Chelsea.
The FA Cup is a tournament for all teams in English football that determines the champion of the United Kingdom each year. Manchester City is set to play in the final on May 16, which is also expected to be a hard-fought match. Additionally, Manchester City will play Bournemouth on May 17, a team previously mentioned as being in contention for European qualification. The back-to-back games will be tiring for Manchester City players indefinitely and could cost them points in the final weeks of the title race.
As an Arsenal fan, the history of past league bottlings remains ever-present in my brain’s consciousness. They haven’t won the Premier League since before I was born, nearly 23 years ago – a drought that makes these final weeks both exhilarating and terrifying. However, this season feels fundamentally different. The pieces feel like they are finally aligning.
While it seems like I’m surrounded by people at Denison rooting for Arsenal’s downfall at Denison, the playful banter has only hardened my resolve. It serves as a reminder that being a fan isn’t just about the moments of confidence but about standing behind your team when the pressure is at its peak.
For the first time in my life, I’m not just hoping for a different ending, I’m expecting it. I believe that after two decades of waiting, the trophy is finally coming home.
Brennan Ford ‘28 is a health, exercise and sports studies and journalism double major from East Lansing, Michigan.