Arsenal are still in the Premier League title race heading into the final day, but they are clinging onto one last bit of hope for an unlikely triumph.
Manchester City’s win over Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur meant that they are two points ahead of Mikel Arteta’s side, meaning that they will have to drop points, and Arsenal also have to win on the final day to win the title.
Arsenal fans were hoping that Spurs could do their rivals a favour, but they fell to a 2-0 defeat at home, which seemed to delight their own fans despite the result also meaning they will not participate in the Champions League next season.
Arsenal will face Everton on the final day, who have already confirmed their safety, and whilst they will be confident of a win at the Emirates, they will now be hoping for a miracle from West Ham and David Moyes, who will take charge of his final game before departing this summer.
Moyes is one of the most experienced managers in the Premier League, and will go down as a hero at West Ham after winning the Europa Conference League last season with Declan Rice, but he now has the chance to make himself a hero in North London, and he does know how to beat Man City.
Arsenal relying on David Moyes and West Ham for glimmer of hope in Premier League title race
Given that Arsenal have a superior goal difference, if West Ham can even draw with Man City and Arsenal beat Everton, they will win the title.
However, with West Ham in poor form, and with little to play for in terms of European qualification, there is little hope that they will deliver a performance strong enough to keep Pep Guardiola’s side at bay.
The presence of Moyes in his final game does give some hope though, as he has a surprisingly impressive record against Man City.
He has beaten City more than he has any other top six side, with 15 wins from 41 attempts, and he has only beaten Fulham on more occasions.
With seven draws and 19 losses against City, he has avoided defeat more often than not, but this is as far as the optimism goes.
Moyes record against Pep Guardiola may extinguish Arsenal title hopes
Just one of Moyes’ wins against Man City came during Guardiola’s reign at the club, with a 5-3 win in the Carabao Cup fourth round in October 2021.
In 15 matches against the Spaniard, Moyes has won once, drawn three times and lost 11 games, across spells with Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham.
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The rest of his wins against City came with Everton, back during his excellent spell in charge of the Toffees, and this was before they enjoyed the period of heavy investment to take them to the top.
Arsenal will now hope that Moyes has one last trick up his sleeve before he bows out in East London, but there may now be an air of acceptance that they will fall just short of the title again.
