20 May 2026 18:06:42
Usually, I don't have a problem with other teams winning the league, as over the course of 38 games, the best team usually wins. But I really don't think that's the case this season. Ignoring the fact that both Liverpool and City have been well below their usual standards this year (thus allowing Arsenal to stumble over the finish line despite their shaky form as of late), I can't help but feel like the league was handed to them.
In a season where VAR has repeatedly been criticized for a total lack of consistency, the one thing that has consistently happened is that Arsenal have got the rub of the green. They haven't got a single red card despite committing multiple stone-wall red card offenses (I can think of two in the last few weeks alone) and are seldom penalized in either box despite their players manhandling the opposition every chance they get. Without VAR intervention (or if the rules had been applied correctly in the first place), there's no what they win the league this year.
They have some great players (I'm a big fan of Rice and Reyna and am still sick to my stomach that we signed Onana and Mount for around the same price that summer), but their unique brand of anti-football football is horrible to watch and a terrible advertisement for the Premier League. Now that the FA has gifted them their title, we can only hope that they decide to take a look at the rules regarding set pieces ahead of next season.
Congrats to Arsenal, though, I guess. They all count, even the ones that are undeserved.
20 May 2026 21:55:34
Wow, lime flavored grapes much?
21 May 2026 03:17:09
I don't think so, no.
As I said above, beyond the initial disappointment of us not winning the title, I've never really had too much of an issue giving the winners their plaudits and recognizing that they deserve their trophy. This year feels different, though. It feels like a loss for football, rather than just a loss for Manchester United.
21 May 2026 04:39:20
I agree, seven, the football in this league this season has been dire 90% of the time, and Arsenal have contributed to that big time, along with the standard of refereeing and VAR. The EPL has become very poor, and they keep trying to shout best league in world... what they actually mean is most hyped overpaid league in the world, where athletes triumph over skill & talented footballers.
Arsenal have added to this medley of diabolical corner routines that resemble a wrestling match, but I blame the authorities just as much for allowing it to happen... managers get booked for being out of their box; Jose gets reds for being out of his box. Arteta gets the whole length of the pitch, but that's ok.
21 May 2026 07:09:27
The standard is so bad that three of our teams are in European finals. Villa comfortably won theirs last night; congratulations to them.
What is happening, and has been for a while, is that the traditional middle-of-the-table teams are becoming very good because of all the money in the game. There is no easy game in the Premier League.
Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford, and Sunderland have played some outstanding football this season.
If the standard was so bad, there are 19 other teams who could have taken advantage of it, but didn't, so no sour grapes or bitterness, congrats to the team who found a way to win.
21 May 2026 09:32:41
I think that's harsh, Arsenal struggled over the line, but they have been the best team. They got nervous, so reverted to a pretty basic approach, but they're worthy winners. The grappling happens with many teams. It needs sorting out.
Arteta's antics also need addressing, the running on the touchline and the s***housery we see, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve the title. I expect them to win it again, likely playing with more freedom.
21 May 2026 09:34:31
Unfortunately, if you wanted to win the league over the last 7 or 8 years, you needed City to be off their game. Taking the aesthetics of "decent" football out of it, winning the league with mid 80 points used to be the norm, City, and for a couple of years Liverpool who chased them, raised the bar to aim for somewhere in the high 90 point region to win a league. Something United only managed a handful of times (90 plus points). Not saying we couldn't/wouldn't have been able to reach those targets with competition pushing us, just that most of the time we never needed to.
You'll see a few teams winning the league with 85 points over the next while as the competition evens out.
As for Arsenal, they found a way for their team to be effective. They've won the league and are in a European final. One thing I've noticed over the years reading football fans' opinions online is that the winners are often belittled.
If you were to read about United in the 90s/00s, we bribed refs, cheated, Fergie timed our way to titles whilst Arsenal revolutionised football.
The facts were that Arsene got Arsenal to be champions with a technically and physically impressive team, but United were simply better and could match and beat them toe to toe.
Arsenal fans shape the narrative that "we play the best football" as a coping mechanism for losing. Every team to finish 2nd has a sob story or takes the moral high ground or creates a comfort blanket to explain the external circumstances to why they can't get over the line. Fact is, every winning team has their detractors. People say City are boring, Liverpool's title wins have a narrative that they had no one challenging them and failed miserably to retain them, etc.
Arsenal have had the rub of the green and next year, if they sort out the corner fiascos, they might struggle, but this year they've amassed more points than anyone, have answered questions under pressure, and deserve to lift the league title.
Someone has to win the league every season.
21 May 2026 09:39:14
Really good post, Mumbles. Good team Arsenal. Only scored a couple more from corners more than United. ?
21 May 2026 14:56:06
Whoever finishes top of the pile deserves to be champions. It's no fluke. Arsenal deserve it. At times they played attrition football to get to the title, but they also played some really good stuff too when they built the lead that ultimately led to their triumph.
No sour grapes from me.
We need to learn to take defeat gracefully and admit without rancour when a team is better.
21 May 2026 15:15:06
Yeah, Salford, they played some good stuff too, no doubt about it.
It's no fluke. They were the best team this season.