Arsenal's pursuit of a first Premier League title in 22 years took a major blow on Sunday in a 2-1 defeat by Manchester City, but they are still in the driving seat
Martin Odegaard of Arsenal (L), Declan Rice of Arsenal (C) and Eberechi Eze of Arsenal look dejected
Arsenal have lost consecutive league games(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images)
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Arsenal are still overwhelming favourites to win the Premier League title, despite suffering defeat at the hands of Manchester City. Stats experts Opta have revised their prediction after City's 2-1 win on Sunday - and it makes good reading for wounded Arsenal fans.
Erling Haaland's winner at the Etihad Stadium cut the gap at the top of the table to three points, with City able to leapfrog the Gunners when they face Burnley on Wednesday. Arsenal have now lost four of their last six games in all competitions and are wobbling at a crucial point in the campaign as they search for a first Premier League title in 22 years.
In recent weeks, Mikel Arteta has seen his side lose the Carabao Cup final to City, be knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Southampton and suffer back-to-back losses in the league. However, they still hold a three-point lead over City and will attempt to get back to track when they host Newcastle on Saturday.
Arteta has called for calm after Sunday's defeat and Opta's stats echo his belief that they can still get over the line. The Gunners were given an 85.2 per cent chance of lifting the trophy before kick-off and that has only dropped to 73 per cent in defeat, with City's chances increasing from 14.8 per cent to 27 per cent.
Both sides have other competitions to contend with alongside the league, with Arsenal facing Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League, while City face Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. Opta believes, though, that Arsenal still have a significant edge due to the difficulty of their remaining fixtures.
Arsenal's five league games are all against sides in the bottom half of the table: Newcastle, Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace. Whereas, City play Europe-chasing Everton, Bournemouth, Brentford and Aston Villa, as well as Burnley and Palace.
Asked about the title on Sunday, Arteta said: "I believe today, I believe on Wednesday, a week ago, because I see them every day and I know the level that we have. But today, if they need to be more convinced, I think they are now more convinced.
Mikel Arteta manager / head coach of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium
Mikel Arteta has five league games left to get over the line(Image: Getty)
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"They were talking about it in the dressing room. It's a new league now. They were a game in hand. We have three points of advantage and five games to play. So everything is still to play for. So we know how much we want it and we're not going to stop and we're going to go again, that's for sure."
Asked whether it could come down to goal difference, with Arsenal on +37 and City on +36, he added: "Let's see what happens. It's the Premier League. First of all, to win a game in this league, it's extremely tough.
"I mean, the fixtures that we both have, it's going to be tough for both of them. You know, we would have already 80 points or 85 points like happened in other seasons. This is not the case. We will prepare game by game and learn from what happened today and do better."
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