The unlikely headache Thomas Tuchel and England do not need

Yet that is exactly what looms if Arsenal and Manchester City are dragged into a playoff at the end of the title race. On paper, a decider between the league’s two strongest squads looks unlikely in truth, but it would be an incredible spectacle and one which neutral fans would relish. 

For Tuchel, it is something else entirely. It represents another high-intensity match, both physically and mentally, for a group of players he will want at their peak on a global stage. 

Arsenal and City supply a number of his England squad, and a playoff would add load, risk and recovery demands on the very players he needs most. Notwithstanding the effect on one set of players, which would leave them psychologically floored. 

This complication is magnified by Europe. Tuchel may not publicly say it, but privately he will be far happier seeing only Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest still in the Euro mix. Even that is far from ideal, but add a Premier League title playoff involving Arsenal and City, and the cumulative effect starts to look uncomfortable.

Arsenal, in particular, would be caught in a perfect storm. A title playoff on top of European commitments stretches the season beyond any sensible threshold, for a squad already running on fumes. Recovery time shrinks, training becomes little more than maintenance and the threat of injuries increases.

Tuchel has already seen how thin the margins can be when elite players arrive with fatigue rather than fresh legs and sharp minds. From his perspective, this is the kind of problem he can do without. Tuchel’s preparation relies on certainty. He needs to know not just who will be available, but in what condition they will report. 

History offers plenty of warnings. Teams often go out of tournaments as fine margins tilt the wrong way at the wrong time. Fatigue-related errors, soft-tissue injuries and players operating at 90 per cent rather than full capacity are familiar themes.

If a playoff does happen, Tuchel will adapt – he always does – and England’s World Cup prospects do not hinge on a single match in May, yet they could easily be compromised by its consequences.

An Arsenal v Manchester City playoff might be a spectacle. For England’s head coach, it would feel more like an unwanted game with high consequences. 

It sounds far-fetched, but a Premier League title playoff between Arsenal and Manchester City is not fantasy – it is written into the rules.If the season ends with the two sides level on points, level on goal difference and level on goals scored, the league does not stop there. Instead of defaulting to historical position or alphabetical order, it digs deeper, comparing only the matches Arsenal and City played against each other.

If those head-to-head games cannot separate them – the meeting at the Etihad would have to end 1-1 meaning same points, and the same number of away goals – the regulations allow for just one outcome. A playoff. One match, on neutral ground, with the champions decided on the night. 

A playoff remains unlikely. But if Arsenal and City refuse to be split all the way to the finish line, English football would stage a spectacle it has never seen before – and hand its national coach a headache he simply does not need.