Arsenal Leads the Race for Premier League Title with 50 Points from 19 Games

Manager Mikel Arteta called Arsenal’s season “extraordinary,” a sentiment few would argue with.

Following a 3-2 victory over Manchester United on Sunday, the Gunners hit 50 points from 19 league games, an unprecedented achievement for an Arsenal team at the halfway point of the season.

Arteta’s team now sits five points clear at the top of the league with a game in hand over second-placed Manchester City, and the two top teams have yet to face each other this season. “It doesn’t get much better than that, that’s the reality,” the Spaniard said after the win against United.

“I believe we deserve the points we have. We’ve played well enough to win most of our matches, but there’s still a lot we can improve on.” The match against United was a strong test of Arsenal’s title aspirations.

Marcus Rashford’s stunning goal put the visitors ahead, but the Gunners quickly equalized seven minutes later with Eddie Nketiah’s header from Granit Xhaka’s cross.

With the score tied at halftime, Bukayo Saka took the lead for Arsenal with a brilliant long-range shot, mirroring Rashford’s goal. The England international’s left-footed strike was beyond David de Gea’s reach – his seventh league goal of the season, which he later described as his best ever.

Saka celebrated by mimicking Rashford’s first-half celebration with a finger to his temple. However, United responded as Lisandro Martinez headed in Aaron Ramsdale’s save to equalize at 2-2.

While United seemed content with a draw, Arsenal kept pressing for a winner. Saka hit the post, and Nketiah had a shot saved by de Gea before finally scoring the decisive goal with a flick in the 90th minute.

The Emirates Stadium erupted, and Arsenal’s Premier League title ambitions gained more momentum. It has been nearly 20 years since Arsenal last won the league title, dating back to the 2003/04 season when Arsène Wenger’s “Invincibles” went unbeaten with 26 wins and 12 draws.

Even that legendary team didn’t achieve the 50 points this current squad has at the halfway mark, a milestone only reached four times before – by Manchester City in 2017/18, Liverpool in 2018/19 and 2019/20, and Chelsea in 2005/06.

For Arsenal fans, this season has been a dream come true. Aside from winning the FA Cup four times between 2014 and 2020, the club has been marked by inconsistency and underachievement in recent years.

When Arteta led Arsenal to consecutive eighth-place finishes in the Premier League during his first two seasons, many believed the club’s struggles would continue indefinitely.

However, the league’s youngest squad – with an average age of just over 24 – has exceeded all expectations, with their only loss coming against United back in September. Concerns about Arsenal’s squad depth or star power compared to rivals have not materialized.

Ukrainian international Oleksandr Zinchenko has been a standout since joining from Manchester City last year, former loanee Martin Ødegaard has contributed eight goals and five assists in the league, and Xhaka, often seen as undisciplined, has excelled this season.

Gabriel Jesus, another summer signing from Man City, started strong before an injury interrupted his season, and the recent addition of Leandro Trossard from Brighton has further bolstered Arsenal’s attacking options.

“Today [against United] we showed we can play at another level,” Saka told Arsenal Media. “We can perform under pressure. “It’s the earliest in the season we’ve gone behind and we fought back, and we kept pushing until the last minute to get the breakthrough.”

Before Arsenal and Manchester City clash in the league, they will face each other in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday. A win there would make the prospect of winning multiple trophies – a distant thought at the season’s start – feel very tangible.