Manchester City midfielder Rodri has taken aim at Arsenal and Liverpool after firing an ‘until the end’ jibe at their title rivals on the back of winning the Premier League again.
The Citizens became the first club in Premier League history to lift the title in four successive seasons this term. Manchester City beat Arsenal to the crown by a mere two points in a race that went to the final day. Liverpool finished this season nine points off Pep Guardiola’s club.
Arsenal have pushed Manchester City closest for the title in back-to-back campaigns having also ended 2022/23 in second. But two more defeats than the Etihad Stadium team ensured Mikel Arteta could not usurp his mentor and guide the Gunners to their first title in 20 years.
Rodri feels Arsenal and Liverpool lost the title after slipping at ‘the end’
Manchester City won the title by securing two more draws than Arsenal with both winning a division-high 28 times. The title rivals also each finished the season with a goal difference of +62, with Man City topping the scoring chart (96) and the Gunners the defensive table (29).
Guardiola and Arteta also both finished the season overseeing winning streaks with neither squad slipping in the final run-in. But Manchester City won each of their last nine games on a 23-game unbeaten run. Arsenal won their final six fixtures after a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
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Liverpool, meanwhile, endured a mixed end to the term as Jurgen Klopp said farewell to the Anfield club. The Reds only won three of their final eight games and also endured defeats to Crystal Palace and Everton. Liverpool also failed to win back-to-back games beyond April 4.
Now, Rodri has taken aim at how Arsenal and Liverpool finished the season to praise how his Manchester City teammates showed an ‘unbelievable’ mentality. The Spaniard respects how their title rivals played this season but did not feel they would match the Citizens at the end.
“To have that mentality until the end with Arsenal and Liverpool [in contention],” Rodri said, via quotes by Sport Bible. “They had an unbelievable season until the end. But [Manchester City] keeping that mentality until the end is unbelievable.”
Arsenal had a better points per game ratio than Manchester City in 2024
While Liverpool slipped up repeatedly over the run-in, Arsenal only slipped up once in 2024. But their sole slip up since the turn of the year proved costly as Manchester City remained a winning machine. Had Arsenal beaten Aston Villa, the title would likely have returned to N5.
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Arsenal only dropped points twice during their 18 games in 2024 with their defeat to Aston Villa and a 0-0 draw at Manchester City. The Gunners’ form, in fact, was marginally superior to the Citizens’ at 2.7 points per game to 2.6. But Man City played 19 games to Arsenal’s 18.
Had Arsenal started their excellent run of form one fixture sooner, rather than losing 2-1 at Fulham on New Year’s Eve, Arteta may feel the Gunners would have won the title. But they ultimately paid the price for enduring two more defeats across the season, not just the end.