Manchester City's not getting caught anytime soon

To be the best, you've got to beat the best. But can this league beat a club that works like this?

From the first kick of the ball Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium, a coronation sort of feeling set in.

But it wasn’t the coronation Arsenal fans were hoping for, the official recognition of a new challenger to tyrannical Manchester City’s long-established Premier League throne. This party was one Manchester City had thrown for itself, and invited Arsenal to, knowing full well what would happen.

Set trap. Watch trap work. Blow rivals away.

For all the talk of bottling on Arsenal’s part, it’s unrealistic to say anything other than a City title is the expectation in this league. Despite Arsenal’s nearly 90-point pace, Manchester City never truly lost ground on the Gunners. They’re now closer than ever to a fifth title in six years, the type of hallowed ground typically only occupied by main attractions in uncompetitive leagues such as PSG, Bayern Munich or Ajax in the modern game. These are clubs that have monopolized their domestic games through either outsized investment or aggressive local recruiting that starts early, and the result is that they win over and over again (and yes, I know Bayern and Ajax aren’t currently winning their leagues. This season has very much been the exception in the Bundesliga and Eredivisie of late).

Given Arsenal’s form, it’s hard to know where exactly they’ll finish. They’re just seven points away from a guaranteed top-two place, so that seems likely. Finish there and they’ll join a sad list of other sides who’ve had ridiculous seasons — as in, some of the best the club has ever seen — in vain, just to watch City lift the trophy in May.

Liverpool last season lost twice, and that wasn’t good enough. In 2018-2019, they lost just once and still finished second.

If Arsenal can gain just 8 more points over the final 5 games, they’ll be the closest second-place finisher other than those two amazing Liverpool sides during this maniacal run. And that would be 11 points off first.

Yes, Arsenal suffered key injuries down the stretch. But it wasn’t just Rob Holding who was outplayed en route to the 4-1 loss. The entire squad met its match, as did the manager. And unfortunately for ascendant clubs like ours, and the Premier League as a whole, this is and remains City’s league, and it will until the day comes (if ever) that regulators step in.

The gulf in quality on the pitch was noticeable Wednesday. But it’s important to note how the clubs got there. Some sad-but-true facts from the tale of the tape:

• City’s starting XI represented approximately £561 million in transfer fees paid, or about £51 million per player.

• Arsenal’s starting XI totaled £299 million, or £27 million per player.

  • Even subbing in Saliba for Holding would bring Arsenal’s number to £322.5 million. Hell, put Pepe in there for Saka and it’s still not £400 million.

• City’s starting XI represented £2.44 million in weekly wages (yes, I know wage data is difficult to verify. We’ll use the same source for both clubs.) That’s £222,000 per week, per player. And it doesn’t include the very large bonuses that Erling Haaland was given outside of his weekly wages, by the way.

• Arsenal’s starting XI makes £1.27 million per week, or about £115,000 per player.

Assuming (incorrectly, but patronize me) that every transfer fee was amortized over five years, City’s starting XI would have a yearly cost of about £239 million. Arsenal’s would be £126 million.

It’s common knowledge that Manchester City bought their way to success, but the gap is such that opposing fans are left to plead for sovereign nation-states to purchase their club. With that money and some semblance of a plan, any club could compete almost instantly. Just look at Newcastle.

Sure, City have recruited well. But they’ve missed on some names, it just hasn’t mattered. Their cash on hand allows them to do whatever they want whenever they want, like recruiting the best coach in the world to manage their side, and give him the absolute best scouting and training resources available.

Being the richest club also allows City to make bank on player sales. Wealth is leverage, and City don’t need to sell players to make cash. It’s a great negotiating position.

All of this is to say the Premier League is in a sad state. City aren’t stopping, either. They’re looking at the nearly €150m Jude Bellingham and €80m Josko Gvardiol for this summer, among others. Those fees are huge, and the wages will be, too.

(City absolutely do not need a LCB, by the way. But that won’t matter.)

So many Arsenal fans hold City as the standard. If you can’t beat City, you haven’t accomplished anything.

I don’t wish to rain on anyone’s parade, but in an environment like this, it’s highly unlikely to happen, at least consistently. And that’s even if Arsenal bring in two of that Mount/Kudus/Rice/Caicedo group David Ornstein mentioned pre-game.

The “not as good as City” talk is already permeating Arsenal fans’ discussions and isn’t likely to die off. I’ve already had multiple tell me City are proof Arsenal need a striker like Haaland, like those come up every summer and as if the club didn’t commit more than £100m in fees and wages to one and £25m to another just nine months ago.

More likely, Arsenal will have a trajectory like Liverpool’s, where the high times are high but they’re followed by some times that are a lot less fun. The best way to avoid it will be remaining nimble in the market and finding players who can take over for aging talent, something Liverpool have struggled to do.

Meanwhile, City will have replaced Kevin De Bruyne with the next-best playmaker in the world, Haaland will have signed for Real Madrid but been replaced by Victor Osimhen, or whoever is the best non-Norwegian striker out there at that point.

I have had the time of my life following this side, I truly have. I’m hoping for 15 more points this season, and I do expect Arsenal to be close to, if not on, this level again next season. This side, even without reinforcements, would be competitive in the Champions League. I’m so impatient to see what it could accomplish there after a couple of key additions. I’m literally already trying to project which pot we’ll be in for the draw.

As for the Premier League, there’s a massive elephant in the room that needs addressing. A second entered the room last summer and is only going to grow, while a third is certainly trying to force its way through the doorframe.

I guess the upside, if there is one, is that more of these sports-washing operations will create more competition for City.