The suspense is in the air and while Manchester City fans are already in cloud 9 to witness their club make history, Arsenal fans are on the other hand are in prayers that City falters.
The big question is who takes the Premier League title home.
According to the BBC, it remains anybody’s game to win as replica trophies will be at both ends.
However, former Manchester City and Arsenal defender Gael Clichy says both sides must “respect” their matches on the final day of the Premier League season, with the title still able to go to either side.
City are ahead of the Gunners by two points before they play West Ham on Sunday, meaning Mikel Arteta’s side must win against Everton to have any chance of being crowned champions.
Clichy, who was a member of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’, also won two Premier League titles with City and believes the Gunners will have a tougher test on the 2023-24 finale.
“The bar is so high that you can’t expect a team of Arsenal and City’s calibre to go and drop points,” he says on the latest Planet Premier League podcast.
“We are talking about the most competitive league in football and City are playing West Ham at home and they haven’t got much to play for.
“But there is history behind that. There is a history that you can fail if you don’t perform and don’t respect the game.
“I would like to say it will be a little bit more difficult for Arsenal because Everton, with everything they have faced with the deduction and the performances they have done, what they have achieved is magnificent. They will want to go there and prove a point.
“Those points are not a given to any of the teams, but the fact they have been playing so well, you cannot think they will be dropping points at this stage of the season.”
There’s no chance of West Ham doing anything. What do they have to play for? They’ve played their last game at home, they’re not playing for Europe or anything like that, and they’ve already had a win at home to give David Moyes a send-off.
What’s at stake for Manchester City is history and the best teams always find a way to win.
While for former Premier League forward Clinton Morrison feels Arsenal may have to wait for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to leave before they can win the title.
The Gunners have pushed the defending champions close in the title race for the second consecutive season, but head into the final game two points behind and requiring a favour from West Ham.
“They are not far away. They need Pep to go and when he goes they will win the title, it’s as plain and simple as that,” said Morrison on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Friday Football Social.
“Arsenal have been fantastic and any other season, or if Manchester City weren’t in the league, they win the Premier League because they have been fantastic under Mikel Arteta.
“They will rue the Aston Villa game. Losing that Aston Villa game was the turning point, but credit to them this season.
“The players they have brought in have all made an impact. Havertz has been outstanding and there is a role for him in that team, but they still need a number nine and I think they will go get that person in the summer. When they do get that they will be competing with City again and pushing them right to the wire again.”
Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker agreed, adding: “It is that simple [they need a number nine]. You can see why they have been linked with Alexander Isak from Newcastle because they need that.
“When you think they lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Arteta says ‘we don’t have a striker who is going to score 25 goals’ – there is your answer. He knows it. The top teams need that in their side.”
