Buoyed by win over Sporting in CL, leaders Arsenal return to EPL title push

The Premier League resumes this weekend after a break for international games with Arsenal’s push for a first title in more than two decades buoyed ‌by a timely win in Europe.

The leaders return to league action in control of their destiny after steadying themselves with a ​morale-boosting 1-0 victory ⁠over Sporting in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

That followed a stuttering fortnight ‌in domestic competitions, when Mikel Arteta’s side ‌suffered their first back-to-back defeats of the season. They were beaten by rivals Manchester City in the League Cup final before their FA Cup run ended at the quarter-final stage against Championship side Southampton.

The wobble revived familiar questions about how Arsenal cope when pressure tightens, but Tuesday’s win offered a ‌reminder of their resilience.

“We stick together as a group, we have so much more to come this season,” said Kai Havertz, who scored ⁠Arsenal’s lone goal against Sporting. “Seven weeks to go, we can win big titles, and we’re going to go for that.”

Arsenal have a nine-point lead over chasers Manchester City atop the table, though City have a game in hand.

Arteta’s men host Bournemouth on Saturday knowing they cannot afford further slips with the finish line coming into view. Arsenal have seven fixtures left in the league season.

After months of looking short of their usual authority, Pep Guardiola’s side have roared into form, outplaying Arsenal to lift the League Cup and then thrashing reigning Premier League ​champions Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

City travel to sixth-placed Chelsea on Sunday with confidence high and the sense ‌that they are finally clicking into gear at the business end of the campaign.

Fifth-placed Liverpool host Fulham on Saturday in a game with major significance with Arne Slot’s team in real danger of missing out on next season’s Champions League.

The push for Champions League places has ⁠eased slightly for Premier League clubs, however, with England awarded a fifth spot in next season’s competition thanks to Arsenal’s quarter-final win over Sporting.

Slot’s reigning league champions are only a point ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea and any dropped points risk leaving their fate in the hands of rivals. Fulham are five points ​behind the Reds ‌in ninth.

Struggling Tottenham Hotspur travel to Sunderland on Sunday with the Londoners teetering just one point above the relegation zone and time ‌running out to arrest their alarming slide.

It is the first match in charge for Roberto De Zerbi, appointed to steer the club clear of the drop with seven games remaining and little margin for error.

Defeat would risk dragging Spurs into the bottom three and pile immediate pressure on a new boss, ‌while a positive result ‌could offer breathing space and an early lift under a manager tasked ⁠with restoring belief as much as points.

Spurs, whose last league win was in late December, are 17th on 30 ‌points, while Sunderland are 13 points above them in 11th.

Manchester United’s meeting on Monday with Leeds United looms large as they look to consolidate a top-five place under interim manager Michael Carrick, with the club sitting third after a ⁠remarkable turnaround.

Carrick has overseen a spectacular run since taking charge in January, guiding United to 23 points from a possible 30 ​and restoring calm after a turbulent first half of the season.

Victory over Leeds would tighten United’s grip on a top-five spot and further strengthen Carrick’s case for the permanent manager’s job, while any slip could quickly invite pressure from the chasing ⁠pack as the race for European qualification intensifies.

Leeds are 15th in the table.

Agencies