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The Little Increasingly Hefty Book of Football Cliches tells us the Premier League is a marathon, not a sprint. Wrong! These days, it tends to be both. In his first spell at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho unwittingly shared the groundbreaking insight that points won in August counted the same as those earned in April and May. Aspiring champions emerged from the blocks accordingly and it became normal for the best teams to reach 90 points in a 38-game season. On one glorious occasion, they hit three figures.
The best Arsenal and Manchester City can manage this year is 85 points. They haven’t been good enough to sprint all season – at times it’s been an old-fashioned slog – but now it’s time for one of the teams to open their legs andir class. The title race is effectively a five-game mini-league, with Arsenal and City level on points and goal difference. City are top of the table because they have scored three goals more than Arsenal.