ARSENAL will remain favourites to win the Premier League no matter what the result against Manchester City on Sunday.
The Gunners travel to the Etihad to take on ‘s side in a huge title showdown this weekend.
Arsenal will remain favourites to win the Premier League no matter the result against Man City Credit: Getty
Pep Guardiola has claimed the title race will be ‘over’ if his side lose Credit: Getty
Win and will go nine points clear of City and seemingly have one hand on the trophy already.
But lose and City will be just three points behind Arsenal with a game in hand, shifting the momentum in the favour of Guardiola’s team.
Arsenal will still have full control of the title if they earn a draw too, but it seems that the result is unimportant anyway – at least if Opta’s supercomputer is to be believed.
Their model suggests that Arsenal will still be favourites to lift the Premier League trophy next month regardless of the result.
If Arsenal lose on Sunday, Opta claim they will still have a 69 PER CENT chance of winning the league.
That would be in spite of the fact that City would be able to go level on points with their rivals by winning their game in hand against .
If Arsenal are to draw Sunday’s title clash, Opta has the Gunners as having an 89 PER CENT chance of winning the league.
A share of the spoils would absolutely be a superb result of Arsenal, not least because it would mean they would maintain their six-point gap at the top of the league.
However, if they are able to win at the Etihad, Arsenal can increase their chances of lifting this year’s title to a whopping 98 PER CENT.
The nine-point buffer that would give the Gunners would mean they would only have to collect a maximum of 10 points (3W 1D 1L) from their final five matches to guarantee the title.
has said his team have no intention of playing for anything other that a victory when they head north on Sunday.
Asked about what a draw could do for his team, Arteta said: “We’re going to prepare the game to win it, that’s for sure, and we see that as a big opportunity for us.
“We’re not going to spend one second talking about that [drawing]. We prepare every game to win, that’s where we are and we’re going to continue to do the same.”
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola told his players that their hopes of winning the league will be over if they fail to win this game.
He said: “If we lose, it’s over. But the other two results, knowing that Arsenal lost to Bournemouth, we still have games to play.”
There is perhaps a level of pressure building on Arsenal to go to Man City and ‘earn’ the league title with a win.
But, when looking back on the data, it is clear that winning away to your title rivals is an anomaly and not an expectation.
In the last 10 Premier League seasons, only two eventual champions have beaten the runners-up away from home.
That was Man City’s centurions in the 2017-18 season and their treble-winning side in the 2022-23 season.
However, Arsenal can take some real confidence from their recent meetings with City in the league that could help inspire them to victory.
Mikel Arteta and Co have not lost to City in their last FIVE Premier League matchups.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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