THE MACHINE STIRS
A penny for the thoughts of Mikel Arteta, who it seems can’t do right for doing wrong. Widely derided all season for the largely risk-averse, belt-and-braces approach to football matches that has his team perched atop the Premier League, the Arsenal head coach defied expectations and went comparatively gung-ho for Sunday’s potential season-definer against Manchester City. To nobody’s great surprise, his team went and got beaten. Having shipped no end of criticism for the unwatchable style of football that had served his side so well until quite recently, Arteta must be bemused by the amount of condescending praise his team is getting for a performance in defeat that finally shifted the momentum in this year’s title race firmly in Manchester City’s favour. Pep Guardiola’s in-form freestylers are still three points behind Arsenal but if their Wednesday night rout-in-hand of Burnley at Turf Moor goes as most expect, they will leapfrog the leaders to go clear on goal difference of +1,057.
