The elimination of Arsenal from the Europa League was a genuine blow. Forget talk of fewer games for a moment and look back on what is a horrific record for a club of the Gunners’ size in Europe which could have been part-rectified with victory in the competition and stunting a potential Manchester United trophy lift too.
However, putting aside the sorrow of the defeat last week, the dominant performance and win over Crystal Palace before the international break set up a reality for Arsenal’s Premier League title chances. The simplicity of the task at hand falls in the favour of Mikel Arteta who now has just 10 games to focus on.
Manchester City have an additional league fixture still to play with at least three more in the FA Cup semi-final vs Brighton and the two-legged Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich. Progression in both will result in a further three with a potential Champions League final adding another on top.
