So far, the football season has been strange.
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And it’s not just about Arsenal being at the top of the Premier League.
Yes, that was quite amazing to witness. With 11 games remaining, Mikel Arteta’s men are five points ahead of champions Manchester City.
In Italy, Napoli, led by Victor Osimhen, is cruising to the Serie A title.
Everything else is going as usual. Paris Saint-Germain leads Ligue 1 while Bayern Munich leads the German title race.
This season is notable for hosting the first-ever winter World Cup in November and December of 2022.
The Qatar tournament caused havoc on the football calendar in more ways than one.
It was injuries for some. Gabriel Jesus suffered a knee injury in their meaningless group match against Cameroon. The Brazil striker was the driving force behind Arsenal’s rapid start in August.
Jesus made his comeback last weekend in a 3-0 win over Fulham.
His absence could have easily derailed Arsenal’s charge, but Eddie Nketiah stepped up and performed admirably in his place. Leandro Trossard’s January arrival from Brighton has also added a new dimension to Arteta’s attack.
Following this weekend’s league games, players will travel around the world to represent their national teams during the international break. There will be at least two more matches.
This brings up the issue of exhaustion.
“I think everyone is fatigued,” says Deji Faremi, co-owner of Busy Buddies and a sports analyst, to the DAILY POST.
“In England, Arsenal’s elimination from all other competitions may be a blessing in disguise. The city may need to set priorities.
“Same thing in Spain where Real Madrid probably have to wave goodbye to the league – as they’ve done a few times in the past – to focus on the Champions League.
“Bayern Munich does not have the same issue. Despite their Champions League commitments, they’ll be good enough to stay in the title race.”
Then there’s the question of whether FIFA, the world football governing body, could have done a better job with the scheduling.
Faremi doesn’t think so.
“The reality is that we will only have more games.
“Football won’t stop, and the people running the game think having more games is the way to go.
“It’s March, and as much as we don’t want international football back at this time, especially after the peak we experienced just three months ago,” he explained.
