The Little Increasingly Hefty Book of Football Cliches tells us that the Premier League is a marathon, not a sprint. Not any more! In his first spell at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho shared the extraordinary 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.
That won’t happen in 2025-26, with 85 points the highest total that Arsenal and Manchester City can reach. But after slogging through the first 33 games of the season, they have no choice but to sprint the last five. The title race is effectively a mini-league, with Arsenal and City level on points and goal difference. City are top of the table on goals scored.
Both teams have won league titles by the barest of margins. The impossibe drama of Michael Thomas and Sergio Aguero’s title-winning goals understandably obscures some of the detail. City beat Manchester United on goal difference in 2011-12. And in 1988-89, Boring Boring Arsenal final above Liverpool on goals scored.
It may not come down to goal difference. Both teams have tough away games in the run-in and the chances are oneof them will drop points. But it should surprise nobody if they win the lot; if so, popcorn sales will go through the roof because we have never seen that kind of extended goal-difference shoot-out in a English title race.
