Arsenal vs Man City: Premier League heavyweights clash in title race showdown

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in a high-stake Premier League showdown at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Man City travel to North London eager to close the gap in the title race. They currently sit six points behind Arsenal but remain in contention across multiple competitions, including the Champions League, where they secured a 3-1 win over Club Brugge to reach the play-offs.

To advance further in Europe, City will need to navigate a tough tie against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Arsenal secured automatic qualification for the last 16 after topping their group with 19 points—eight more than City.

Despite Guardiola’s insistence that City have yet to hit top form, they have lost just once in their last eight games, marking a significant turnaround from their early-season struggles, which included five consecutive defeats.

Heading into Matchday 24, Arsenal trail league leaders Liverpool by six points, having played an extra game, leaving them with little margin for error.

Arteta’s men ground out a gritty 1-0 win at Wolves last week despite playing a man down for nearly 50 minutes following Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card. João Gomes’ dismissal later levelled the numbers before Riccardo Calafiori struck the winner.

The Gunners have lost just two of their last 20 matches in all competitions—falling to Newcastle in the League Cup semi-final first leg and exiting the FA Cup in a penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United.

In the Premier League, Arsenal last suffered a loss 14 games ago, when Alexander Isak’s strike sealed a 1-0 win for Newcastle at St. James’ Park in early November.

Since Arteta’s first league match in charge, Arsenal have received more red cards (19) than any other side but ranks just 23rd out of 27 teams for fouls per game (10.1).

The Gunners are currently on a 13-match unbeaten league run (W8 D5) and have collected more points (29) than any other side from Matchday 11 onwards. They last went 14 games unbeaten in the Premier League under Unai Emery between August and December 2018.

Key Stats
According to Opta, Arsenal are favourites, winning 46.2% of match simulations compared to City’s 28.1%.

Man City have lost just one of their last 40 Premier League matches from January onward—their 1-0 defeat to Brentford on the final day of the 2022-23 season.

Erling Haaland has found his scoring touch again, netting five goals in his last five Premier League appearances—two more than in his previous 13 games combined.

With both sides in strong form, Sunday’s clash at the Emirates promises to be a pivotal moment in the title race.