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Arsenal have bottled the league again and Manchester City are still the inevitability they\u2019ve always been under Pep Guardiola.<\/p>\n
Hold on, aren\u2019t they level on points?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019re right, I got carried away there for a second. Let\u2019s try again: City\u2019s win over Burnley on Wednesday saw them leap into top spot by virtue of having scored more goals than Arsenal and puts them in pole position to win the title and consign Mikel Arteta\u2019s men to second place again. But don\u2019t fear, Gooners, there\u2019s still a case to be made for you.<\/p>\n Yes, Arsenal have been just not quite good enough in recent seasons. <\/p>\n Yes, momentum has swung firmly in City\u2019s favour. <\/p>\n Yes, Guardiola\u2019s side tend to win all their games in the run-in and break hearts of their closest challengers.<\/p>\n And yes, the atmosphere around Arsenal can be toxic and bleeds onto the pitch.<\/p>\n However, there are still opportunities for Arteta\u2019s side to pile pressure on City. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\tYou’re reading an extract from Metro’s football newsletter In The Mixer\t\t\t<\/h2>\n Get more punchy analysis, transfer talk and our take on the week\u2019s biggest stories direct to your inbox every week.\u00a0Sign up here, it\u2019s an open goal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Much has been made of the psychological edge City have gained by closing the points gap over the past few matchweeks, but Arsenal play twice before Haaland and co dust off their boots again \u2013 two wins would put six points between the sides ahead of tricky games for Guardiola against Everton, Brentford and Bournemouth, three teams still fighting for European qualification. <\/p>\n This is not the City side of old. Draws against Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Spurs in recent months are testament to that. This is not the Premier League of old, either. The big teams slip up more than usual. <\/p>\n So, there\u2019s still a chance?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s no getting away from it: Arsenal should have been clear by now. They\u2019ve dropped the ball a number of times when they\u2019ve had the chance to put some distance between them and the rest and are paying the price.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an inherent pessimism that lives in all football fans that is no stronger than in those of an Arsenal persuasion. <\/p>\n You can\u2019t blame them, recent failures have conditioned them to expect dreams to be crushed, in a sad, Pavlov\u2019s dog kind of way. But recent results could actually relieve some of that pressure. <\/p>\n The past few months have been spent worrying about what would happen if City caught up. <\/p>\n They have, but Arsenal now know exactly what they need to do to have a chance to win the league. The problem is that City do too and while the vibes say they coast to another title from here, in reality it\u2019s much more of a coin toss than that. <\/p>\n One slip is all it takes. Strap in.<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on \n
![\"Manchester](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2271588121.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594\")
\t<\/div>Who do you think will win the Premier League?<\/h3>\n
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