Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson thinks Man City could find themselves out of the title race even if they do beat Leeds this weekend.
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said that he doesn’t believe the Gunners can be caught if they do secure all three points against Chelsea:
“If Arsenal win, the title race is over! I expect Manchester City to win this weekend, but even then, a win for Arsenal puts everything to bed.”
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Mikel Arteta’s side would be on 32 points if they do beat Chelsea, while City will still be 7 points adrift if they secure victory versus Leeds.
It is by no means an insurmountable gap – after all, a Guardiola team has managed to claw back an 8-point deficit on the same opponents in the past – but it would still be a tall order.
Man City must find greater consistency
One of the key reasons why many, like Merson, don’t believe that the Cityzens can catch Arsenal is due to their inability to put a run of wins together.
The 3-0 win over Liverpool before the international break was meant to kickstart their title challenge, but they have since lost to Newcastle.
On top of that, a much-changed team surrendered meekly at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League midweek, leaving questions over whether this group of players can play well on a consistent basis.
What are the current Premier League title odds?
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal are heavy favourites to secure their first league title in over 20 years with odds of between 4/9 and 2/5.
City’s defeat to Newcastle saw their price lengthen to between 3/1 and 10/3, while second-place Chelsea are not regarded as serious contenders at this stage, with bookies placing odds of 12/1 to 16/1 on them finishing top of the table.
Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here