With an intensely curious final English Premier League day on the horizon, you may be wondering what to make of what lies ahead. With Sheffield United and Burnley already relegated, and Luton Town all but waiting for mathematics to confirm their return to the Championship, all eyes will be on the top of the Premier League on May 19th. Despite Manchester City having their faith in their own hands, knowing that 3 points against West Ham United will secure them a record breaking 4th title in a row, Arsenal Football Club have kept them honest and are competently waiting in the wings to pounce should they slip up.
Final Day Drama
The final day of the Premier League has not been short of drama in recent years, and football fans around the globe will be hoping for more of the same come the final whistle on Sunday. Whether it was Gündoğan in 2022 or Aguero, who we will hear from later in this article, in 2012, City are no strangers to clinching the Premier League title in the final moments of a long campaign.
Saying this, we shouldn’t forget that Arsenal won the English League on the final day of the 1989 season with the title winning goal coming in the dying seconds of a nerve wrenching 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. So, whatever perspective you look at it from, everything is set up for there to be at least one more twist in the title race! Once again, the English Premier League is proving on a global stage why it claims to be the most exciting league in world football.
The Arteta Effect
Before fully focusing on this season’s final day, first, let’s set the context for how we got to where we are now, so that you can be fully prepped when picking your winners with Stake Sportsbook. While City are used to being there or thereabouts over the last decade, it is Arsenal’s journey that has caught the attention of the majority of football fans in recent years.
On December 20th, 2019, Mikel Arteta, a former captain of the club, was appointed as the head coach of Arsenal. Having previously been Pep Guardiola’s assistant coach at Manchester City, he arrived at the Emirates Stadium with a real sense of duty. The ultimate goal was simple, to win the Premier League.
However, he also spoke of how the connection between the fans and the players had deteriorated, and that restoring this was what was needed to be achieved first. It would be too romantic of a story to say that everything was smooth sailing. Naturally, there were times of intense frustration, including a growing sense amongst some fans that this was ‘too much, too soon’ for a man undertaking his first ever managerial endeavour.
An F.A. Cup trophy in 2020 managed to calm the waves, and there was an ever-increasing feeling around North London that Arteta was not simply just a former player with an understanding of the culture of the club. Instead, he truly was the real deal.
Upon winning his first trophy at the club, he was promoted from head coach to manager. For most non-Arsenal fans, this was such an inconspicuous detail that it largely went unnoticed. However, for the Arsenal faithful, it signalled that the Spaniard had the full backing of the club, including the board, both in terms of the direction the team was headed and, perhaps more importantly, in the transfer market.
A New Look Arsenal
The 2022/23 campaign saw Arsenal riding high at the top of the Premier League for the majority of the season before ultimately falling short. A combination of inexperience, injuries to key players and an overall lack of depth resulted in their downfall, but it was clear that The Gunners had an elite manager at the helm and that they were not going to be going anywhere fast.
A number of key decisions including the signings of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and this season’s already confirmed Golden Glove winner David Raya have allowed Arsenal to improve again, and they are still dreaming that they can reap the rewards that many in the game say they deserve.
The Master Vs. The Apprentice
With Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, the 2023/24 season has been a question of whether the master or the apprentice will come out on top, and as the champions are still to be crowned, we are being made to wait. While it has been Liverpool and Manchester City battling it out to the very last kick of the ball in recent history, it is now a resurgent Arsenal who have a chance to win their first title in 20 years, a fitting occasion with it being the 20th anniversary of their unbeaten 2003/04 campaign under Arsène Wenger.
While Arsenal do have a chance, they will need to win their home game against Everton and hope that West Ham United can do them a favour by either beating or holding Manchester City to a draw at the Etihad Stadium. A narrative can be built around the fact that this will be David Moyes’ final game in charge of The Hammers. For the man who brought West Ham United their first ever European trophy, it would be a fitting farewell for his players to deliver all 3 points against the team considered to be the best in the world. A daunting task does not do this encounter justice, but we all know that football can be a very strange game at times.
Arsenal fans will have one eye on the goings on at the Etihad Stadium with many predicting that an early red card for a Man City player would be the catalyst for real hope. Another interesting aspect to focus on is the fact that their number goalkeeper, the always reliable Ederson, has been ruled out with a broken right eye socket. Despite Stefan Ortega being a fantastic replacement, Arsenal fans will be praying that it disrupts communication in the City backline.
Been There, Done That
When it comes to Manchester City and final day glory, it was İlkay Gündoğan who scored 2 goals in the final fifteen minutes of the 2021/22 season in order for Manchester City to come back from 2 goals down to win 3-2 against Aston Villa, and therefore leapfrogging Liverpool to secure the coveted Premier League title. For long-term Premier League fans, it felt as if something was written in the stars on that day, with a hefty hark bark to the final game of the 2011/12 season in full flow.
Once again, the Etihad Stadium was the location, however, on this day, despite a similar outcome, the atmosphere surrounding the occasion was so very different. At this particular moment in time, Manchester City had gone 44 years without winning a trophy and, perhaps more pointedly, had never won a Premier League title. While Queens Park Rangers did not appear to be the toughest challenge to overcome in order to clinch a league title, the Cityzens were still in need of a goal in the dying moments of the game.
When the final whistle went at The Stadium of Light, 225 km north, a Manchester United victory over Sunderland looked all but sure to be sending the Premier League title to Old Trafford. But then, just like the sun suddenly emerging from the fog on a dark and rainy day, the legend that is Sergio Aguero opportunely found himself, after an unorthodox Mario Balotelli pass, with the ball at his feet inside the box.
As a cloud of silence fell over the crowd, Aguero took the ball in his stride and proceeded to do what he had done throughout his entire career, score with aplomb. And there it was, the silence was replaced with deafening cheers as we bore witness to the most famous final day of the Premier League era.
What Would Sergio Aguero Do?
With everything still to play for in this weekend’s final day of fixtures, who better than Sergio Aguero himself to talk us through his views of the season overall, what could come to pass on the final day, and with the Copa America fast approaching, his opinion on how his home country of Argentina are shaping up. Over at Stake.com, you can find all of Sergio Aguero’s Predictions for what lies ahead, including his thoughts on both Barcelona and Real Madrid. Here, we have taken his views into consideration in order to provide you with a full overview of which direction the football world could be about to turn.
Upon reflecting on that faithful day in 2011/12, Aguero describes how “the air felt different” and that the players felt as if their bodies were “chained to the ground,” a fantastic insight into the role nerves can play on the final day of a football season. In fact, when comparing this season to the ones in which Liverpool were City’s main rivals, he outlined how “it won’t be different this time,” a view which illuminates just how far Arsenal have come under the aforementioned Arteta.
The Passing of The Baton
For this and the previous season’s campaign, Erling Haaland has been City’s main man, at least in terms of goals scored, and City fans will once again be hoping for him to deliver the goods against West Ham on Sunday.
With a staggering 36 league goals last season and 27 so far in this campaign, Haaland is once again set to end the season with the golden boot award in his possession.
Having only played 2 seasons in England, Haaland is already Manchester City’s 15th highest goalscorer of all time and looks set, provided he stays at the club, to become number one. In order to this, he will have to overtake Sergio Aguero, who after describing Haaland as a “natural born scorer” admitted he would be happy for Haaland to do this as it would mean that the club would be more or less guaranteed to win more honours as a result.
Xavi’s U-Turn
As the conversation drifted further afield, Xavi’s decision to remain as manager of Barcelona, despite announcing that he would be leaving earlier in the season, came to the fore. Aguero spoke of how his “DNA is 100% Barca,” and that having won La Liga in his first season in charge, and being a fan’s favourite as a result of his years of service as a player, it feels right that he continue.
Aguero citied how Xavi has “set the foundation” with an exciting group of young players, including 16 year old Lamine Yamal who will only “become more and more important” for the Catalan giants.
When pressed about Real Madrid’s future, Aguero stated in relation to Kylian Mbappe that “everything seems to point towards him going” there. Describing him as “a great player” who can “adapt to different formations and strategies,” it appears that Barcelona will have work to do in order to catch up with their arch rivals.
Messi & The Copa America
As a former Argentina striker and an avid fan, Aguero is optimistic about La Albiceleste retaining their Copa America title and adding to their World Cup victory in 2022. While stating that Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay, in addition to Brazil, should not be taken lightly, Aguero has high hopes that Argentina and Messi, who “until the day he retires, he’ll be the best” will taste victory once again!
The Final Curtain
Returning to the Premier League and the upcoming final round of fixtures, it should be said that regardless of the outcome on Sunday, football fans have been treated to a season of spectacular football on a scale that one day will be looked back upon with severe admiration.
So, with our final words, make sure to find yourself a comfortable seat and enjoy history in the making on May 19th.
