Ian Wright has given Arsenal a ‘slim chance’ of winning the Premier League title on the final day of the season and revealed how he reacted to Son Heung-min’s potentially crucial miss against Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s side need to beat Everton on Sunday and hope for a favour from West Ham against Man City to clinch their first league title since 2004.
Arsenal have enjoyed another impressive season under Arteta – amassing 86 points from 37 games with a goal difference of plus 61 – but even that may not be enough to see off Manchester City, who are on the verge of winning a record fourth successive Premier League.
Wright has given Arsenal fans a glimmer of hope ahead of the final day, insisting his former club have a ‘slim, slim chance’ of ending their 20-year wait for a league title.
West Ham have nothing to play for at the Etihad Stadium and will finish ninth regardless of the result but are keen to produce a performance in David Moyes’ final game in charge of the club.
‘There is a scenario where something like that could happen [Man City drop points],’ he said on the Wrighty’s House podcast. ‘I’m trying to find a way to hang on to the hope!
‘I’m so proud of this Arsenal team and I’m delighted they’ve taken it to the final day, these players deserve to have a slim, slim chance of something happening and that’s what they’ve got.
‘You never know and this is what is so great about football. I keep thinking of different scenarios where we might be able to be champions but it’s hard to see past this light blue machine.’
Perhaps the defining moment in the title race came just a few days ago as Manchester City beat Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham 2-0 to go top on the final day.
Erling Haaland’s second-half brace sent Man City above Arsenal but, with the score 1-0, Spurs captain Son had a glorious chance to equalise, bursting through on goal only to see his shot saved by back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
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‘When Son went through… something happened to me,’ Wright said reflecting on the miss that could cost Arsenal the title.
‘It happened so quickly as well, I didn’t have time to realise the enormity of the chance that was about to be spurned. From the time he got the ball to the time his shot was saved, my life flashed in front of me!
‘Son was the one person in that Spurs team who you would want it to fall to so I thought it was happening… and then he missed.
‘It slowly started to compute in my mind what had happened. That was it, that was the moment!’
Despite trailing Manchester City ahead of the final day, Arteta insists his dream of bringing the Premier League title back to Arsenal is ‘still alive’.
‘I do believe,’ Arteta said at his pre-match press conference on Friday. ‘We wanted to be in this position.
‘We have earned the right to live a beautiful day in front of our people on Sunday with the hope and big opportunity that we can lift the trophy at the end of the match.
‘We have the possibility to live a beautiful day on Sunday where the dream is still alive and it’s still possible. It’s football; we have to live the moment.’
Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, says he expects a ‘tough game’ as West Ham look to spoil the title party at the Etihad and deny Manchester City a record-breaking fourth consecutive title.
‘I’m ready for it to be a tough, tough game,’ he said. ‘I want to put [that] in the minds of the players.
‘It’s going to happen the same. Ourselves and our people have to be ready to support from the first minute and be with us.’
History is not on Arsenal’s side ahead of Sunday as no team has sat top of the Premier League at the start of the day and failed to clinch the title.
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