Another weekend of European soccer is in the books, and it provided us with lots to talk about. For a start, Arsenal dropped points from a dominant position to give Man City another edge in the Premier League title race. In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich were held to a draw by Hoffenheim, except Borussia Dortmund blew a 2-0 and 3-2 lead at struggling Stuttgart to keep the Bavarians in charge of the title race with weeks remaining
In LaLiga, Barcelona‘s goal drought continued against Getafe, though the title still seems destined to end up at Camp Nou in Xavi’s first season as manager. Not bad. Elsewhere, there were talking points galore for Man City, Chelsea, Napoli and Tottenham.
It’s Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.
Arsenal held at West Ham, which means Premier League title race is most definitely on
For the second straight week, Arsenal let a two-goal lead vanish and found themselves coming away with a point. If, against Liverpool, you could chalk it up to the Reds’ furious second half, then Sunday’s draw against West Ham is more concerning, and not just because Bukayo Saka missed a penalty that would have put them 3-1 up and probably killed the game.
Goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard put Arsenal 2-0 up within 10 minutes against an opponent that was coming off a Thursday night away game and had been hugely inconsistent all season (which is why they’re just four points clear of the drop zone). In those circumstances, it’s simple: you have to execute and control the game, but Thomas Partey gave the ball away, leading to a penalty, which Said Benrahma converted. And less than two minutes after Saka missed his spot kick, another defensive error opened the door for Jarrod Bowen to make it 2-2.
