Manchester City are familiar with battling Arsenal for the Premier League title.
Specifically, the Gunners have finished second behind City in the two previous seasons.
Going into further details, in the 2022/23 season, Mikel Arteta’s side finished five points behind the Blues.
The previous campaign saw the gap get cut to just two points, as Pep Guardiola’s team had to secure a final-day victory against West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium to seal their fourth consecutive Premier League trophy.
With the champions now in second place in the league table, three points above Arsenal and one behind Liverpool, they will undoubtedly have their eyes fixed on Sunday’s big Premier League clash between their two title rivals.
Looking ahead to this game, one pundit and former top-flight star has made an interesting claim about a potential twist in the title race involving the current top three teams.
Paul Merson makes title race claim that will interest Man City
Speaking to Sky Sports, Paul Merson outlined what he thinks could happen in the title race if Liverpool beat Arsenal – who have some big injury problems – on Sunday.
He said: “This is a big football match, a huge football match. I’d go as far as to say if Arsenal get beat here I think they’re out of it, I really do.
“And if people you know say oh there’s 29 games left, after Man City beat Southampton they’re going to be six behind them and if they lost this they’d be seven behind Liverpool.
“These teams put up figures, don’t look like they’re going to get beat by the lesser teams, the gulf’s massive. I think this is a huge game.
“You’re talking [Bukayo] Saka, [Martin] Odegaard, [William] Saliba, you put [Declan] Rice in the equation there, they’re big four players, they’re big four players and if them three are not playing I think Liverpool have got to make hay while the sun shines.
“I don’t see a better opportunity for Liverpool than this coming this weekend if them players are not fit to play for Arsenal.”
Ilkay Gundogan said City deserved to beat Arsenal at the Etihad
Having snatched a late equaliser to draw 2-2 with the Gunners back in September, Ilkay Gundogan said City should have beaten Arsenal rather than get just one point, giving this assessment on the matter.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster, to be honest with you. Do I believe we should have won that game? 100 per cent.”
“Of course, I was a little bit disappointed that we didn’t get the three points. But when you see and you watched the game and you see we scored in 90 plus seven or eight [minute], I don’t know, the equaliser, of course, you take the point.”
“You don’t want them to beat you, especially at your own stadium, especially with the way they have played. In the second half, they didn’t have another option to be honest with you. Because not just playing with one less man and stuff but playing against us with one less man for more than 45 minutes, I think it’s just an incredible task, you know.”
“And credit to them, I think they did really well, they defended really well, they were on it, they defended as a team, as a unit, very aggressive, always using their hands, their bodies to avoid things happening and they did really well.”
Even though it may be early to write Arsenal out of the title race if they lose to Arne Slot’s on Sunday, the fact that Merson has done so highlights how highly he rates City and Liverpool.
Looking ahead to the weekend, while Guardiola will only be concerned with how his side fare against Southampton on Saturday, everyone at City will undoubtedly be intrigued to see what the outcome will be for Arsenal’s showdown with Liverpool.
