Arsenal and Manchester City are set to square off this weekend in what is a title decider for this season’s Premier League.
The Gunners have been leading the way in the race for the majority of the campaign, occupying top spot since October 4 when they beat West Ham 2-0.
Mikel Arteta’s side will not be remembered as vintage champions due to their style of play; however, the players, staff and fans alike will not care as long as they get across the line to lift the title at the end of May.
The only thing standing in their way appears to be Pep Guardiola’s side this weekend, who can move within three points of Arsenal with a game in hand if they secure a victory.
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Jamie Carragher has highlighted how important this fixture is for Arteta and his side in lifting the Premier League, particularly due to his managerial record in April compared to that of Guardiola with Man City and their experience of dealing with title run-ins being key.
Writing in his column for the Telegraph, the former Liverpool star said: “The stakes are high for both clubs and managers, but there is an inescapable sense that the pressure is even greater on the league leaders.
“For Mikel Arteta, the implications of falling short will be more serious; the validity of his approach hinges entirely on whether he is a Premier League or European champion over the next two months.
“Experience and know-how go a long way then.
“Guardiola has that: the memories of previous title wins mean City head into the next six games with absolute conviction they can win, even though they are just as likely as their challengers to drop points.
“For Arsenal, it is the opposite. Their record of 12 losses in April under Arteta – the most in any month under his management – cannot be shrugged off as irrelevant. It suggests they are a team that wilt under pressure.
“Grinding out results mid-season is different because the consequences are not as black-and-white. By comparison, City have won just shy of 80pc of their April fixtures under Guardiola.”
Carragher believes the tension around the Emirates is clear for all to see as the players were met with a chorus of boos following a defeat to Bournemouth last weekend despite still being nine points ahead of City at the time.
As the Gunners put another boring performance in midweek as they progressed to the Champions League semi-final, the 2005 winner felt the draw with Sporting CP and the reaction from the players, particularly Declan Rice, made it seem like they had been eliminated.
Carragher put a lot of this down to their ‘Jose Mourinho’ style approach, as fans will only accept this as long as they are winning games and silverware.
The former Liverpool player believes this is due to Arteta and Arsenal feeling scars from their defeat to Man City in 2023.
Carragher said: “For seven months, Arsenal supporters have tolerated increasingly unconvincing victories more than they have embraced them. There has been an ‘end justifying the means’ mood at the Emirates ever since Arteta shifted strategy to follow a path to become more like Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea than Guardiola’s City, under whom he honed his craft as a coach.
“Arteta’s vision is now one monumental win against a title rival from paying off. His problem is that failure will be received so unsympathetically that Arsenal’s supporters would make their team the most criticised runners-up in history.
“We should remember that Arteta chose to redesign Arsenal because of a harrowing experience at the Etihad in 2023.
“Still in the title race, Arsenal travelled to Manchester and tried to go man-for-man with City, pressing high all over the pitch. The apprentice took on the master and was exposed, losing 4-1. Arteta was seen as naive and over-ambitious. Those scars have been obvious in the way Arsenal have prioritised defence ever since.
“A year later, Arteta returned to the Etihad with a vastly different approach, drawing 0-0 and standing accused of lacking courage, as there was a feeling City were there for the taking. City still won the league, but Arteta was heartened enough by the performance that he has never veered away from this caution in the most consequential fixtures.”
Defeat for Arsenal this weekend feels like they may be handing the title to Man City, despite this leaving Guardiola’s side three points behind the Gunners.
There is a feeling City will kick into gear like they have done since the appointment of the Catalan manager and march towards their ninth title.
Carragher believes that should this happen, this could have serious long-term consequences for Arteta and his Arsenal moving forward.
He said: “Finishing second in 2026 will undoubtedly be a failure. This is supposed to be Arsenal’s time, but the final push to win a major trophy is always the toughest. Football is full of examples of teams that suffered a near miss and put on a positive spin about the next season. More often than not, that next step is backwards.
“Arsenal have managed to avoid that so far. Psychologically, it would be tougher to recover this summer, and there is a greater chance of longer-term consequences if trust in the manager begins to evaporate.
“Whether Arsenal get the job done this season or not, Arteta will be under the most severe pressure of his reign to have a tactical rethink over the summer.
“As a winner, he can do that by design and with absolute authority.
“If he and his players are licking their wounds once more, changes in tactics and personnel will be due to public demand and from a position of weakness.”
Topics: Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Jamie Carragher, Premier League
Brendan McGilligan