It’s now 105 days since Manchester United slowed down Manchester City’s title hunt, with a 2-0 win over their rivals. And after 100 days of no football activities in England, the Premier League finally returned on Wednesday with Aston Villa hosting Sheffield United.
Mirkel Arteta led his charges to take on his former boss, Pep Guardiola. The much-anticipated encounter, touted to be a battle of tactics, turned out to be a nightmare for Arsenal, with David Luiz picking up a red card on a night Arsenal was utterly outplayed.
Premier League leaders Liverpool, with more than 25 points lead at the top, played to a barren draw against bitter rivals in a Merseyside derby. And while Jurgen Klopp’s charges looked blunt in front of goal, the Reds have amassed assailable points that guarantee them the Premier League title.
The Premier League might have restarted, but still, several issues need to be resolved.
How will teams ensure Coronavirus doesn’t sneak into their respective camps? Will Arsenal manage a top-four finish?
And what of the fans? Will they be allowed back to the stands any time soon?
Arsenal
The Gunners suffered a heavy defeat in their opening fixture, with goalkeeper Leno sustaining a nasty injury. Their top scorer Aubameyang looked a pale shadow of himself, failing to inspire the North London to a positive start.
The novel coronavirus hit the North London team in March, with their boss the victim. Consequently, through a unanimous decision by the league managers, the season was indefinitely suspended.
Arsenal looks like they will be playing the Thursday football again with nine games left to the end of the season. They now have a new boss in Arteta, and their Sunday’s defeat against Brighton Hove and Albion is just a pointer to deep-lying problems at the club.
A top-four finish might be a tall order for them.
Chelsea
During the lockdown, RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner finally agreed to cross over to Stamford Bridge, ending months of speculations about his future. Frank Lampard can also smile after their diminutive midfielder Ngolo Kante started contact training.
The Blues survived an early scare in their opening game against Aston Villa to come out 1-2 winners.
Frank Lampard will be proud of his first season at the club, with so many young players flourishing under him. They are firmly in the top four race but will have to dig deep into the last game to wade off a stiff challenge from Manchester United.
Manchester United
Nigerian International Odion Ighalo agreed to a loan contract extension, meaning he will be at United until January 2021. However, the club seemed to have been adversely hit by the corona pandemic after they announced a 28m pounds loss. And the figures are expected to go up still.
Their premier league restart began with a one-all draw against Tottenham. Ole Gunnar Solskjer will, however, be pleased with Pogba’s performance on a night Harry Maguire looked entirely out of place.
The Red Devils sit fifth in the premier league standings, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. A top-four finish looks possible, but they will also pray that the CAS upholds City’s ban from European football.
