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The Premier League title race is going right down to the wire, and I wouldn’t rule out Arsenal still going on to win it, despite their recent wobble.
There are still many twists and turns to come, and Manchester City still have to go to Everton and Bournemouth away — those are the two hardest games left. If they come through those two, then I feel like City will win the title. But from what I saw from Arsenal at the Etihad they took the handbrake off, played attacking football, and were unlucky not to get something.
Clinton Morrison: 'Gabriel vs Haaland, I loved it. That's what football is all about'
If you had to push me on who I think will come out on top, I’d say City. Arsenal cannot afford to drop points in their next two games against Newcastle and Fulham. If they do, then the race will be over.
The controversial moment from that Man City-Arsenal game was the headbutt incident involving Gabriel and Erling Haaland. I think that's a clear sending off, and I don't understand why the referee or VAR didn't get involved. That inconsistency with refereeing and VAR is what frustrates people. But I'll say this, I thought the battle between those two was magnificent. That's what football's about, and what I grew up watching, two top players going at it toe-to-toe in a proper physical battle. I loved it.
Gabriel went over the top, and credit to Haaland - most footballers now would fall down rolling on the ground holding their face. He stood up and fronted it. Gabriel got away with one, and it probably helped Arsenal. If he'd been suspended, it would have been a big problem because his partnership with William Saliba is so good.
Moving on to what’s going on at Chelsea, and I must say I was surprised by their decision to sack Liam Rosenior. He was widely criticised, but you look at all the managers since this hierarchy came in, they've all struggled and arrived with decent pedigree.
I thought Enzo Maresca was a good manager there, and was surprised when he left. Liam's a good manager too, but that performance against Brighton didn’t help him when he was trying to prove himself as the right man for the job.
They weren’t just beaten, they got battered. The scoreline could have been more convincing and Brighton were outstanding.
It didn’t help him that the likes of Cole Palmer, Reece James or João Pedro weren’t available, as they are three of their best players. I also think some of their other players are probably fortunate to be playing for a club like Chelsea. It looks like they're not going to qualify for the Champions League, the gap is too big now. I would’ve liked to have seen Liam given until at least the start of next season, by which time he could’ve brought in a few players and built from there. But he didn’t get the time to do that.
They now have a huge FA Cup semi-final against a Leeds side in good form. They’re almost certainly safe from relegation, and Leeds fans will be dreaming of seeing their side in the final after watching that Chelsea performance. It's a semi-final I'm really looking forward to.
One team which certainly isn’t safe from the drop is Tottenham. If they don’t beat Wolves, they’re as good as relegated. I did see a good performance against Brighton, and I am seeing signs of improvement under Roberto De Zerbi. He should have come straight in after Thomas Frank rather than Igor Tudor coming in first. But this is the perfect time to play Wolves, who are really struggling. Wolves have probably got one eye on next season in the Championship and I think Tottenham will win the match.
It will be so interesting when they play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the penultimate game of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tottenham beat Chelsea, given how poorly they’re playing at the moment. It could be a result which keeps them in the Premier League, and the hatred between the two clubs is massive. However, that will all be irrelevant if Spurs don’t beat Wolves!
Finally, I’ll end this week by reflecting on the outstanding job which Frank Lampard has done in winning the Championship title with Coventry City. The chairman has backed him, and they’ve gone from strength to strength after making some shrewd additions. A special mention also has to go to Mark Robins, who laid the foundations for what they went on to achieve this season. I’m very pleased for Frank, because he’s a good guy and you want to see good people succeed.
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