With just a few weeks left until history is made and the Premier League title winner is decided, the season-long title contenders, Arsenal and Manchester City continue to battle it out. The Gunners dropped crucial points against 20th-placed Southampton at The Emirates earlier this week. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s recent form has been totally opposite to that of Arsenal.
The Citizens could well and truly finish with a treble this season. After seeing off the challenge of Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola’s side has successfully qualified for the semi-finals of the UCL for the 3rd time in his tenure. With what was regarded as one of the toughest ties for City in recent history, Haaland and his team passed the test with flying colors with an aggregate of 4-1 in their favor.
Manchester City are the first team to reach an FA-Cup Final without conceding a goal since Everton in 1965/66 😮💨🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/MMxvHo6Yv2
— City HQ (@City_HQs) April 23, 2023
Continuing their run of success, Manchester City added icing to the cake as they thrashed Sheffield United 3-0 to become the finalists of the FA Cup as well. The shift from Arsenal’s season to now City chasing the treble has been absolutely crazy.
Arsenal’s recent downfall
The Gunners have been absolutely top-notch this season, no doubt about it. But their recent form is certainly very worrying and a dent in their hopes of the Premier League title. Arteta’s side looks drained both mentally and physically. The lack of squad depth and congested fixtures due to the Europa League has added to the fatigue of players. While an embarrassing loss against Manchester City at the Emirates last month has demotivated the young squad mentally.
Do you agree with Gary Neville? 🤷♂️#AFC #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/FNHWVbMTBR
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) April 23, 2023
At this crucial stage of the season, lack of experience within the squad is playing a critical role. Bar the former Manchester City players, Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, other players have not been in this position earlier, so they don’t know how to handle the pressure.
On the other hand, there are numerous serial winners in Manchester City. The likes of De Bruyne, Gundogan, Mahrez, and Dias have all been here.
How Manchester City have an upper hand over Arsenal in the race for the Premier League Title
The most obvious and significant difference between the two sides apart from mentality is Erling Braut Haaland. The Norwegian has had an absolutely monstrous debut season in the Premier League. Haaland has eased his way into winning the Golden Boot this season with over 30 goals in just 28 games.
Erling Haaland has scored 35 goals in 27 Champions League games in his career.
48 goals in 41 games as Manchester City player this season.
…and counting 👽✨ #UCL pic.twitter.com/saOuoXLBNd
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 19, 2023
Not only Haaland but the likes of Mahrez, Grealish, and Rodri have been in tremendous form too. Apart from this, Arsenal has a tougher run-in towards the end of the season as compared to Manchester City. The most challenging one is the trip to the Etihad. Other than that, the Gunners are yet to play away games including, Newcastle, Brentford, and Brighton.
Manchester City has no major injuries in their squad, thanks to their ultimate squad depth. Pep has a variety of players to choose from and rotates the lineup accordingly. A luxury that Mikel Arteta has thoroughly missed throughout the course of the season.
With both Saliba and Tomiyasu injured, the Gunners currently possess a very leaky defense. Rob Holding has not been up to the mark, costing Arsenal some very crucial points at this stage of the season.
If Arsenal can still come out on top after the many concerns they face at the moment, then they will be deserving champions. But City’s current form and past record just make it inevitable that they will be able to fight harder for the Premier League title.