Arsenal as Real Madrid! Why are matches decided in the last minutes of the game?

North London fans have been waiting for a Premier League trophy for 19 years. In that time, Arsenal have been in contention for the highly prized trophy several times over the Christmas period. In the current season, thanks to late goals, they are also leading the competition after two-thirds of the games played. Will the team around coach Mikel Arteta make it to the end ? And how do the North London footballers emulate Real Madrid?

26 games. 20 wins. 59 goals scored. And 63 points. Fantastic numbers. And not only are the Gunners still at the top of the Premier League with a five-point cushion on Manchester City, but their style of play has also convinced pundits and fans of rival teams.

A place in the limelight despite an unusually large number of losses is not free for the Citizens. In the current season, they have already decided the victory four times in the last minutes of the matches. In the first case it was a home duel with Fulham. The home side clearly dictated the pace of the game, after a mistake by stopper Gabriel Magalhaes and a precise finish by Aleksandar Mitrovic the visitors took the lead.

However, that didn’t last long and thanks to captain Martin Odegaard the game was level eight minutes later. The decisive goal was scored by Magalhaes, who made up for the mistake of conceding a goal. In the 86th minute, after a corner kick and a hesitation by goalkeeper Bernd Leno, he made the final 2-1.

The remaining three matches with the winning goal from the 90th minute onwards were played between 22 January and 5 March this year. At the end of the first month, Arteta’s charges enjoyed a three-point win in the Round 21 showdown with Manchester United. That match was decided at the Emirates Stadium by Eddie Nketiah’s 90th minute goal.

In the next match it was a comparison of forces with the team from Birmingham, i.e. Aston Villa. After not a good first half, the “Canaries” came on after the break and thanks to a beautiful shot by Jorginho in the 93rd minute and a lucky bounce of the ball off the head of Villans keeper Emiliano Martinez, the ball ended up in the net. Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli added an insurance goal in the 97th minute.

In the last case, it was a duel with Bournemouth. Although Arsenal were still 0:2 down in the 60th minute, they took all three points thanks to goals from Thomas Partey, Ben White and finally Reiss Nelson’s 97th minute strike.

And the reason? Or rather reasons? What drives the representatives of the red and white jerseys in pursuit of the type of victory we know from Real Spain? I would cite the presence of Oleksandr Zinchenko as the main one.

He was on the pitch in all the games mentioned except the one with Fulham. During the game and more than once he has been encouraging both his teammates and the Gunners supporters.

Odegaard is trying to do something similar. He has taken on the role of captain brilliantly. According to many experts (Martin Minha in the Czech Republic, Micah Richards abroad…), his influence on the Londoners’ game is crucial.

Also important is the much mentioned transformation of Granit Xhaka. The team’s manager Arteta also deserves a lot of credit. Since the start of the season, across the board, the approach to individual games, and training, has changed dramatically.

Although there are still 12 rounds to go, it is Arsenal who are currently considered the biggest candidate to win the trophy for the winners of the best league in Europe.

Source: Canal+Sport, WhoScored