Anfield draw the ‘crucial moment’ as Arsenal f**ked up chance for ‘psychological’ edge in title race

William Gallas thinks Arsenal lost the title to Manchester City when they failed to beat Liverpool at Anfield.

Pep Guardiola’s side claimed their third Premier League title in a row and their fifth in six years over the weekend when Arsenal lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners have spent the vast majority of this season on top of the table (248 days to be exact), but crumbled during the run-in, much like they did in the top-four race last year.

Although Mikel Arteta’s side were not expected to challenge City this term, their end-of-season form has made the campaign feel like a failure.

On April 1, Arsenal were eight points clear of the Cityzens, having played a game more, and went to Anfield to face Liverpool full of confidence; and this is where everything started to fall apart.

The Gunners raced into a 2-0 lead and had full control of the game before a Mohamed Salah goal in the 42nd minute halved the deficit.

Liverpool absolutely battered their opponents in the second half, with Arteta’s men barely surviving a brutal 45-minute onslaught as a late Roberto Firmino goal meant the points were shared.

Arsenal backed up this result with another 2-2 draw having been 2-0 up, this time at West Ham, before a disappointing 3-3 draw at home to bottom-side Southampton.

This opened the door for City, who then brushed their title rivals aside with a convincing 4-1 victory at the Etihad.

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Many people have identified the Anfield draw as the day Arsenal lost their way in the title race, and former Gunners captain William Gallas has said this is the case.

Gallas reckons Arsenal would have gone to West Ham feeling “unbeatable” while knocking City’s confidence had they claimed all three points against Jurgen Klopp’s men.

He told Genting Casino: “I do think that the result against Liverpool was the crucial moment in the title race. If Arsenal beat Liverpool, I’m certain that they would have gone to West Ham and won.

“Winning at Anfield would have given the players and this team so much confidence, they would have felt unbeatable. All of the doors would have opened for Arsenal.

“When you are on top of the league, playing at Anfield, 0-2 up, you know that if you win that game, you will send out a serious message to Manchester City.

“I think that if Arsenal won that match, Manchester City’s players would have had to accept that Arsenal were favourites to win the title.

“I think that psychologically, that would have had a huge effect on the title race – and I know what I’m talking about because I have been there as a player.

“That is the starting point where everything started to go wrong.”

Gallas added: “We can say that Arsenal didn’t have enough experienced players in that squad, we can also say that the young players in this team have been brilliant, but, you can’t rely on just your younger players if you want to become Premier League champions.

“I think that the way they have finished the season is very sad – they were so close to becoming champions.

“I think that Arsenal’s players didn’t finish the job properly. It is a massive shame.”

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