Football Daily | Manchester City and a question of bottle in the Premier League title race

3 hours ago 1

DRINK IT IN

When Jérémy Doku wheeled away in celebration with his finger to his lips after curling home a last-gasp equaliser for Manchester City at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night, it was difficult to know who he was trying to shush. If the gesture was intended to mute the celebrations of Arsenal fans who had just witnessed their team seize the upper hand in the stumble toward this year’s title, it is unlikely to have had much effect. Doku’s second goal of the night was little more than an exercise in damage limitation that ensured his side blunderbussed themselves in just one foot, instead of both. At the front of the away end, ‘bottle man’ was far less performative, even if a telltale bulge about his person suggested he had come prepared for victory. Was that an unopened, Arsenal-branded bottle of salty tears in his pocket or was he just pleased to see his side come from 3-1 down to salvage a potentially useless point from the wreckage of an evening that started so promisingly?

“It’s better than losing,” sniffed Pep Guardiola of the draw, his incisive analysis going some way toward explaining why he gets the big bucks. “[The title is] not in our hands. Before it was, now it’s not. We have games left. We will see what happens.” Not for the first time this season, the big ball o’destiny is firmly back in Arsenal’s court and the title is very much in their hands. They need three wins from three to guarantee their first title in 22 years and could scarcely have handpicked easier opposition: 18th and 19th in the table, followed by a side who will almost certainly be distracted by a looming Tin Pot final in Leipzig. Already renowned for a lack of mental fortitude that doesn’t necessarily stand up to serious scrutiny, it seems utterly inconceivable that Arsenal can Devon Loch the title race from here. Should they contrive to mess this up with just three of the easiest fixtures imaginable to go, their status as elite-level “bottle jobs” will be as set in stone as it is thoroughly deserved.

“I am going to stay in my lane,” va-va-voomed Thierry Henry on Monday Night Football. “I am not going to celebrate too early. Nothing is done.” And while Henry is unlikely to be alone among Arsenal fans who refuse to jump the Gunnersaurus, those crying foul over Manchester City’s ability to draft in Marc Guéhi during the January window will have been offering up silent prayers of thanks after seeing the defender gift Everton the first of their three goals. While Guardiola’s future at the Etihad remains shrouded in uncertainty, that of Phil Foden seems more assured. The midfielder has reached an agreement in principle over a new four-year deal at the club. Now aged 25, Foden has come a long way since the days when pundits bickered over whether or not he might be better served going on loan to Preston than staying at City. Given his paucity of game time this season, there is still an argument to be made that he might be better off going on loan to Preston than staying at City.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’m not here to get a pat on the back for a good old Hearts putting up a fight. It’s way beyond that now. We’ve got to try and go and win it now” – Derek McInnes reflects on the Jambos’ huge 2-1 victory over Rangers, surely making a three-horse race for the Scottish Premiership title into a two-runner affair. Hearts lead Celtic by three points at the top … with three games to play.

Hearts fans display a banner reading ‘Keep Believing’ in the stands after the win over Rangers

Hearts fans react after the win over Rangers

Friday’s Football Daily wondered if Jeff Winter would be travelling with Middlesbrough to their big game at Wrexham on Saturday. Well, if he had, he would merely have been jumping on the Boro bandwagon, as he’d already headed to Hednesford Town last Tuesday for the even bigger Northern Premier League playoff semi-final, where his beloved Stockton Town were beaten 2-0. It would be a brave man who followed one such disappointment with the prospect of another” – Glyn Berrington.

After the latest hair-pulling red card over the weekend, Régis le Bris made the suggestion that he would adjust his team’s playing style to adapt to the opposition striker’s tonsorial arrangements (‘if he has long hair, we have a problem’). This got me thinking: surely there is a more proactive marginal gain to be had here, if teams look at how to manage their players’ barnets to maximise the chance of hair-tugging offences against them? Are we about to witness the rise of the hair-piece coach?” – Phil Taverner.

Why would the Watford chairman have been useless as William Tell’s assistant? He wouldn’t keep his ‘Ed Still” – Rob Burton.

If you have any, please send letters to [email protected]. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Rob Burton, who gets a copy of Classic Football Shirts. It’s out now and the Guardian Bookshop is offering discounted copies here if you’re not successful. The are loads of other top reads on their website, too. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.