EPL Gameweek 24 Review: Arsenal Pour More Misery on Pep

We review the pick of the action from Gameweek 24 of the English Premier League, as title-chasing Arsenal made a big statement.

Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City: Gunners “Humble” Champions City 

Manchester City just about stayed in the Champions League picture when labouring to victory over Club Brugge in midweek. Still, their disappointing season took another knock at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. 

Pep Guardiola’s men have been better of late, though familiar issues resurfaced in North London. Like against Chelsea the week before, a defensive error gifted their opponents an early lead before they suffered an embarrassing second-half collapse. 

Much like in Paris 10 days ago, when surrendering a two-goal lead, City quickly down tools in the second half, shipping four goals after Erling Haaland had headed them level. It’s hard to believe that this is the same side that sealed a fourth straight EPL title back in May, and they face a fight to finish in the top four. 

City sits fifth at the time of writing on 41 points, two behind Chelsea in fourth. Fifth place will likely be enough for Champions League qualification, but they face a fight for that too, sitting level with Newcastle and just one point above Bournemouth. Trading at 1.53 to finish in the top-four with Betway, there is little value in backing them to pull it off at the moment.  

Arsenal rather mischievously played “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar at full-time, a nod to Erling Haaland’s comments after their 2-2 draw in September, though they still trail Liverpool at the summit.

Liverpool can go nine points clear if they win their game in hand with Everton in midweek (1.45 with Betway), but the brief for Arsenal is clear. They must keep winning if they are to win their first EPL crown in more than 20 years, though odds of 4.50 show it’s an uphill battle. 

Mikel Arteta’s men travel to Anfield on Gameweek 36, hoping to still be in the hunt when that fixture rolls around. Still, in three competitions, it could be a busy period between now and then.  

Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton: Seventh Heaven for Flying Forest 

It continues to be a rollercoaster season for Nottingham Forest, who responded to last week’s thumping at Bournemouth by storming to a record victory over Brighton.

The visitors weren’t necessarily poor going forward, coming close on several occasions early on, but they couldn’t live with the pace and power of Forest’s front line. Three goals came courtesy of Chris Wood, who now has 17 this season, as Forest tightened their grip on a top-four spot. They are now at +160 with SportingBet to pull off a finish which felt unthinkable in August.

While fans were delighted, it came at a huge cost to Nottinghamshire pub The Gedling Inn, which promised its customers a free drink every time the ball hit the net. Seven goals later, the landlady was left with a bill of just under R35,000 for her generosity! 

This defeat was Brighton’s heaviest for 67 years, as their push for European football stalled rather spectacularly. They now sit seven points behind seventh-placed Bournemouth, who occupy the final spot, which could bring European qualification this season. 

The Seagulls’ most realistic path into Europe might be through the FA Cup, which carries with it a route into the Europa League. Their home tie against Chelsea on Saturday evening won’t be easy (+190 to win in 90 minutes), though victory would see them trade significantly shorter than the current odds of +2500 with SportingBet.

Ipswich 1-2 Southampton: Saints Crank up Pressure on Tractor Boys

It was a crucial game at the wrong end of the EPL table, with Everton, Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton facing off, respectively. 

With Southampton looking doomed on just six points heading into this, it felt like an ideal opportunity for Ipswich to strike, having fought bravely so far this season.

However, it proved to be a lacklustre performance from the hosts, as they struggled to break the Saints down. The Tractor Boys have conceded 14 goals in four successive defeats and are suddenly as short as 1.28 to suffer the drop with YesPlay. 

It isn’t over yet, though a gap is forming between the bottom four and everyone else, with 17^th-placed Wolverhampton (3.00) sitting two points clear of Leicester (1.14). Ipswich are just one point further behind, though their next league game is a daunting trip to Aston Villa.  

Southampton stopped a run of six successive defeats with this victory, giving manager Ivan Juric his first win since taking charge in the process. They remain overwhelming 1.01 favourites to go down, meaning you must put on R100 to win R1!

Sitting 10 points behind Wolves, they could pull off a miracle, but they must move fast. Up next is a home game against Championship side Burnley in the FA Cup, for which they are 1.68 favourites to pull off back-to-back wins.