Arsenal On Notice!According to The Athletic, although the Premier League has not confirmed anything, Man City have been found guilty of 114 out of 115 charges for financial rule breaches.Don’t be surprised if Arsenal are one of several top-flight clubs already in consultation to see if they would have a case for compensation.In the short term, this could help the Gunners retain their title, with a points deduction and fine the most likely punishment for the league leaders.Longer term, though, sanctions could include a points penalty that essentially ensures relegation, previous trophies being stripped away, transfer bans and even, but less likely, expulsion.Before Gooners get excited, though, this could be dragged on for years, or even longer, considering how long it took to get to this point.An initial 12-week hearing wrapped up in December 2024. Legal experts have since said it’s unprecedented for a panel to take so long to reach a verdict.City’s stance has always been that they are innocent and, while they will never publicly admit this, they are paying some of the best lawyers in the country to drag this out.A legal team, though, who have ultimately failed to provide the irrefutable evidence to prove their innocence which they stressed existed.Would the Premier League really want a huge punishment?My assumption was that all parties would compromise and make a deal under the table.The guilty party doesn’t fight a punishment that is harsh enough for the Premier League to show the rest of the division that it has acted, but nothing serious enough to have any lasting impact.That way, England wouldn’t be hurting one of its most lucrative brands.Does the Premier League really want to have to admit the Aguero moment only happened because of cheating?It’s a bit hard marketing yourself as the best league in the world if you do that. No one benefits from hurting your own brand, including the Gunners.This would be a take-it-or-leave-it offer: give us a slap on the wrist or carry on a battle against a legal team with unlimited funds.That’s why, while it’s idealistic for fanbases to imagine Man City being dropped to the bottom of the pyramid, the reality is that if the punishment is something the club can’t come back from, common sense for them would be to appeal.Do the Premier League really want, or can they afford, this dragging on?Yet was that when the Citizens were assuming they would get away with the serious charges, or only be found guilty on a few of the lesser ones?The only hope is that, unless they really are adamant of their innocence, from a PR point of view, those in power on the blue half of Manchester think it’s not worth doing any more damage to their image by fighting a losing battle.If they as a club think their legacy was questionable before, this is going to be hard to live with.(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)What happens to City’s legacy?Forget comparing the 1999 and 2023 Treble winners anymore.Don’t ever say the Centurions were a better achievement than the Invincibles!Rightly or wrongly, every manager and player during this period will have an asterisk next to their name.I would be fuming as a City fan because, with the resources they had, they didn’t need to cheat to get to this level.Some will argue any trophy since 2009 to this current day should be removed from the Etihad cabinet because cheating to build their squad has had a domino effect.The actual timeframe they are accused of manipulating their financial income is 2009-2018. In that period, they lifted three titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup.BBC Sport reports there is little appetite within the Premier League, both the organisation and its clubs, for City’s past titles to be stripped or new champions announced.Unless they are dramatically successful in their appeal, the body of work from Mancini, Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola is tainted, no matter what is official or not official.Likewise, a City fan still lived those moments. You can’t force them to pretend that a 3-2 win over QPR didn’t happen.No one associated with Liverpool or Man United will cry if another title is added to their Wikipedia page, but that’s all it would be.There wouldn’t be a street parade, so is the juice worth the squeeze?Rewriting history becomes very messyRemember, football is a business. The priority is to make as much money as possible.So while the Kroenke family wants to see a competitor bleed long-term, all owners are impacted if the division’s integrity takes a battering.That’s what will happen if we go down the rabbit hole of retrospectively rewriting history.Do we tell Mr Wenger a League Cup medal is in the post because his loss in the 2018 Final is now void?Would that be fair on the sides City knocked out in the earlier rounds?Is it as simple as all runners-up to City in the league now taking the crown for that year, or do we need to add up how many points they took off each side?What happens if you beat City that season? Are we only giving points back to those who lost and therefore editing the whole table?What do we do to reimburse anyone relegated by six points or less who can now blame two defeats to Man City?It’s too messy.I would guess the 19 current clubs in the Premier League are more interested in hurting Man City’s future than their past?Remember, though, the CFG is owned by a royal and the vice president of a country.He’s used to getting his way in far more serious conflicts than sport. He has the wealth to find any loopholes that exist if he wants to appeal, which is why, if the punishment is proportionate to the crime, let’s hope Man City have enough class left to admit defeat and take the consequences.To be continued?Dan SmithWhat do you think, Gooners? Should the focus be on punishing Manchester City’s future, or should football also try to address what happened in the past? 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