There are several teams that the winter World Cup in Qatar has shaken up, knocked them off their rhythm, made them lose their compass. First on the list: Manchester City. Can Guardiola get City back to pre-World Cup form?
Pep Guardiola’s team keeps moving away from the title in England. They’re losing games and losing speed and mostly playing mediocre (at best!), although Kevin De Bruyne is still passing better than in Qatar, where Belgium were woeful.
By contrast, Arsenal London is closer than ever to the big win – as never since the Wenger era ended, of course.
Arsenal is an exciting team that I’ve written about here before. Its strength is the strength of the group. A young group in which Saka and Odegaard shine. There is a double secret for that: youth and a hunger for great results.
The way these footballers got past Tottenham (0-2) in the last round of the Premier League tells a lot. In England, no one but Arsenal can take the title, but that doesn’t mean Arsenal can’t lose it. It’s happened before…
24.1
Arteta’s starting 11 has an average age of 24 years and one month! Crazy, right? Arsenal London really are a crazy bunch.
This youthful spirit of Arsenal London has always made this team capable of great, memorable matches, but it has also brought them great defeats. Inexperience counts.
And there’s a whole second half of the season ahead. Can Manchester City catch up? And more importantly can Manchester United sneak into the title race? Let’s see.
United after Cristiano
At Man. United, after the scandalous depart of Cristiano Ronaldo, Rashford has found himself and, with him back, United are romping on the pitch. The win over Man. City is no fluke.
And what’s happening to Guardiola in the yard, I said, is the effect of the World Cup. His players have returned, most of them, demoralised, defeated, buzzed from Qatar.
And even those who didn’t go to the Arab-feast, like Haaland, are not in finding their September-October form. The break has turned them upside down.
The falling knife
And all the while Liverpool is collapsing. Klopp’s Liverpool is a falling knife. The falling knife is dangerous for punters.
It’s obvious that Liverpool is collapsing, but they still have the strength to turn it around. Klopp may no longer have the mental energy to overturn the standings, but Liverpool’s footballers still have enough individual value to make the second half of the season interesting.
With City in World Cup disarray, Arsenal on the march (but too young), Newcastle rich and balanced, Chelsea spending recklessly but without results, Liverpool in a slump and United finding their feet, the Premier League promises to be more exciting than ever. Especially since, as we know, in England no team is a winner beforehand, just as no team is a loser beforehand.
