Sunday night at the London Stadium was not only a rollercoaster of emotions for West Ham United and Arsenal fans, but those of Tottenham and Manchester City too. Leandro Trossard's late winner propelled the Gunners five points clear at the top, only for them to seemingly throw it away when Callum Wilson equalised right at the death. After over four minutes of waiting, the goal was disallowed and Chris Kavanagh's words that followed "after review" will go down in Arsenal folklore.
Thus, Manchester City's destiny remains out of their own hands, relying on Mikel Arteta's team to drop points against either Burnley next Monday or at Crystal Palace on the final day. In his pre match press conference on Tuesday, when asked "how did it affect your mood when you saw the goal given and then not given", Pep Guardiola had this to say.
"Crystal Palace"
The manager did elaborate further afterwards, stating:
"Thinking what we have to do. Always what I've learned from my career as a manager, what you cannot control forget about it, to do better what we have not done better this season, to arrive in a better position to fight for the Premier League, that we are still fighting for.... Crystal Palace. "
The "that we are still fighting for" is the key rallying cry from Guardiola ahead of a hectic schedule for his team.
Manchester City's remaining fixtures
- Wednesday 13 May: Crystal Palace (H). Premier League. Kick off 8pm.
- Saturday 16 May: Chelsea (N). FA Cup Final. Kick off 3pm.
- Tuesday 19 May: Bournemouth (A). Premier League. Kick off 7:30pm.
- Sunday 24 May: Aston Villa (H). Premier League. Kick off 4pm.
On Wednesday, the Sky Blues will belatedly welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad, a fixture left over from Carabao Cup Final weekend. The Citizens will return to Wembley on Saturday for the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, before facing Bournemouth by the South Coast next Tuesday night.
Three games in seven days, one of which is a cup final that could go the distance, is far from ideal, especially considering that every match is must win. Man City must beat Crystal Palace and then Bournemouth to take the Premier League title race to the final day. Failure in either match and Arsenal will be crowned champions, should they beat already relegated Burnley.
So, Guardiola will surely be forced to rotate, suggesting he will do just that on Wednesday. Lucky for him he boasts one of the most expensively assembled squads of all-time. Visitors Crystal Palace meantime are certainly prioritising the UEFA Conference League Final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig in three weeks time. Having said that, expect Oliver Glasner to deploy a strong lineup at the Etihad, with the Austrian having proved that he isn't much of a fan of mass rotation.
Thus, Man City will need to bring their A-game to remain on Arsenal's coattails.
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