At 0: 30am on May 21st, Beijing time, the 37th round of the Premier League in 2022-23 ushered in a focus war: theoretically, Arsenal, who still has the hope of winning the championship, fought against Nottingham Forest, a newly promoted horse.
In the Premier League standings before the game, Arsenal ranked second with 81 points in 36 games and 4 points behind Manchester City in one round. If the last two rounds win, Arsenal will eventually accumulate 87 points, and Manchester City will win the championship as long as it gets 3 points or even 2 points in the remaining three rounds. After all, the goal difference is much more than Arsenal. If Manchester City only gets 1 point or 3 consecutive defeats, then Arsenal will win the championship, but this possibility is too small.
Will Arsenal fight for theoretical hope? If you don’t fight, it will be for nothing to send Manchester City to win the championship trophy in advance.
As a matter of fact, it is normal for Arsenal, the second place in the Premier League standings, to beat Nottingham Forest, which has been fighting for relegation for a long time.
Nottingham Forest scored 34 points in 36 matches, ranking 16th in the Premier League standings, 3 points ahead of Leeds United in the relegation zone and 1 point more than the 17th Everton (37 matches), and has not been relegated successfully.
Let’s take a look at the starting lineup of both sides in this game.
Arsenal started in the 4-3-3 formation, with Jesus, Trossat and Saka forming a trident, with Zaka, jorginho and Odegard as midfielders, viol, Gabriel, Ben Wright and Thomas as four defenders and Ramsdale as goalkeeper. The total value of the first eleven people is 550 million euros.
Basically, it is all the main attack. From the starting lineup, Arsenal have no intention of "releasing water", but they still have to fight.
Nottingham Forest starts the 3421 formation, with center Awoniyi, two sides Danilo and White, midfielders Lodi, ohrel, Yates and hollier, three central defenders Nyahart, Felipe and voller, and goalkeeper navas. The total value of the first eleven people is 160 million euros.
After the game started, Arsenal took the lead in launching the offensive. The 11th minute, Trossat DeZhiSai, Jesus shot, navas attacked and blocked the ball. In the 17th minute, from Arsenal’s right corner, Saka drove to the restricted area and Jesus headed the ball to the top.
In the 20th minute, Odegard made a mistake in returning, and was countered by Nottingham Forest. Ramsdale attacked and Gabriel chased after him, but he still failed to destroy the attack. Awoniyi hit the door and succeeded. Arsenal are 0-1 behind.
Behind the score, Arsenal continued to strengthen their attack, but it didn’t work. In the 30th minute, Jesus shot high. The 61st minute, Ben Wright assists to the frontcourt, Saka hits the door and is saved by the goalkeeper.
In the end, Arsenal lost 0-1, and still scored 81 points in 37 games, sending Manchester City to lock the Premier League title three rounds ahead of schedule. Guardiola’s team can fully prepare for the Champions League final and the FA Cup final.