ALL of a sudden April 1st is upon us and the Premier League title’s final destination comes into view. Who will be the April fool and who will be on a spring roll?

In time, we may look back on the events of today’s fixtures list as the crucial deciding moment in the 2022/23 season.

Top of the table Arsenal face Leeds United this evening, but they could be forgiven if their attention was momentarily distracted by events, in the early afternoon, up in the Etihad in Manchester, where Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions face last year’s runners-up Liverpool in a clash that may make or break the Catalan manager’s ambitions of a third title in a row and fifth crown in six seasons.

Indeed, the next few weeks of this new month is shaping up to be a critical period in the title run-in, with Jurgen Klopp's side possibly playing the pivotal role as kingmakers one way or the other. No sooner will Liverpool have finished their encounter against Man City then they prepare to host Mikel Arteta’s title hopefuls Arsenal, at Anfield, the following Sunday. Should these two encounters fail to clarify the situation at the table’s summit, then April 26 probably will be the deciding factor when the top two meet at the Etihad.

Turning points

Man City's win at the Emirates back in February was seen as a momentum swing in the title race, when the defending champions claimed the points on the pretenders' home field. But as has been the case for many teams this season in the Premier League, City threw away that momentum advantage in the subsequent slip-up at Nottingham Forest and an impressively perfect response from Arsenal in subsequent Premier League games gave the Gunners a healthy eight-point cushion with just 10 games remaining in the season - one more than City.

A first title since 2003/04 is now tantalisingly within the grasp of Arteta, but we have seen such scenarios whipped away from contenders in the cruellest of manners before. Just ask the Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool fans who have had their title hopes ripped from their grasp by Guardiola’s boys in more than a few occasions over the past five or six years, despite record point totals as runners-up.

Consistently inconsistent

Speaking of inconsistent runs, well Klopp’s men have written the book about spoiling momentum this season. And the Reds’ rollercoaster form may be key to this title outcome. Liverpool have shown that a 7-0 victory over Manchester United cannot always confirm a result against relegation-troubled Bournemouth the following week.

If one was to guess the way events might play out in the coming matches you might not be surprised to see Liverpool put both title contenders to the sword and then come a cropper against lowly Nottingham Forest themselves, later in the month.

Playing into Arsenal’s favour is that Liverpool will travel away again after the trip to Manchester, to the recently revitalised Chelsea next Tuesday, with the battle for fourth very much key to both sides, before they return to Merseyside to host the Gunners the following Sunday.

Three high-profile encounters immediately after an international break will test the mettle of an already depleted, due to injury, Liverpool squad by the time Arsenal come to town.

Countering such optimism for the Gunners, is the question will Erling Haaland be playing against Liverpool this morning? The prolific Norwegian did not travel with his nation for their Euro 24 qualifiers and missed training on his team-mates' return from international duties. This may just be precautionary or it could be a problem for the injury prone striker. Even so, City have shown they can thrive even without their record goalscorer. Nevertheless, it is always preferrable to have such an ace in your pocket when Liverpool come to town.

See it through?

But another question raised, is that despite Arsenal’s strong position in the table, can this management and players with so little experience of a title run-in bring home the spoils this season?

Arteta’s squad is largely made up of young players who have never been in this position before, while Man City, as we’ve said, have won the league in four of the past five seasons.

For an Arsenal side which wilted at crunch time last season, their resilience is going to come under scrutiny and Arteta’s lads will be tested like no other time before. That scrutiny starts today at home against a Leeds side who have caused some surprises this season and who are desperate to avoid being dragged into the relegation battle.

Can Arsenal see this one over the finish line? Events across April will tell us a lot.