24 hours that pushed Arsenal to the brink of a Premier and Champions double

[AP Photo]

In the space of 24 hours, Arsenal’s bid for a Premier League and Champions League double was given liftoff.

Without even playing on Monday, Mikel Arteta’s team seized control of the title race as Manchester City was held to a surprise 3-3 draw with Everton. And on Tuesday (yesterday, Macau time), Arsenal booked its place in the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

That painful 2-1 loss to City on April 19 suddenly feels like a distant memory as Arsenal closes in on silverware on two fronts.

“I’m a strong believer in knowing what this team’s capable of,” midfielder Declan Rice told Amazon Prime. “I think after that City game, it wasn’t a title-defining game in my opinion. We lost, we didn’t want to lose, but it definitely wasn’t done.”

After a run of one win in six games in all competitions between March and April, Arsenal looked to be crumbling under the pressure of a title run-in, having finished runner-up in the Premier League three years in succession.

But now the momentum is back with the London club after back-to-back league wins and the victory over Atletico to ensure it will meet either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on May 30.

“That’s the twists and turns of elite sports and, and football in particular, and you have to be at it because you never know what the next moment or opportunity is going to bring to you,” said Arteta, whose only trophy at Arsenal has been the FA Cup in 2020.

Arsenal is five points ahead of City in the league, having played a game more with three rounds remaining.

It means Arteta is four games away from delivering Arsenal fans their first Premier League title since 2004 and a first-ever Champions League title.

“It’s so good after so many years to give that joy back to them and see that pride in their eyes — is beautiful to watch,” Arteta said.

Rice said the pain of missing out on the title three years running and losing in the Champions League semifinals to PSG last year has added to the character of the team.

“Where this club’s come from over the last few years, and what we’ve been building, the narrow losses that we’ve had in the Premier League, going out of cup competitions, things that hurt you as a player…” he said. “The manager’s taken full control. We’ve kept building, kept adding good quality to the squad, we kept pushing each other.

“And in this competition and in the Premier League, we’ve gone full throttle and we find ourselves in a very good position with less than a month to go.” JAMES ROBSON, Football Writer, MDT/AP