Arsenal vs Man City: The Title Race Heats Up

Despite being 12 points clear at the start of April, Arsenal have found themselves in a very close title race going into a crucial match against Man City on Sunday, 19th April. Man City are very much hot on Arsenal’s tails and will be eager to claim their sixth Premier League title in the last 10 years.

They both have very different styles of play, with Arsenal focusing on set piece delivery and defensive expertise, while City have been maintaining Guardiola’s signature possession-based football, that break teams down using pinpoint-accurate passing.

The title race has the potential to go down to the final game of the season, and all eyes will be eagerly watching how it will play out. Let’s explore each team’s chances of lifting the Premier League trophy as we enter the business end of the season.

Arsenal on Top Form

As of April 2026, Arsenal are still favourites to win the league, with Man City trailing close behind them. All other teams in the Champions League positions have a very outside chance of winning, with the nearest teams around them having around 500/1 odds on sports betting sites.

That is mainly because of Arsenal’s dominance at the start of the season. By early October, Arsenal were firmly at the top of the league, with a four-point gap on Bournemouth. They manage to capitalise on the poor form of current holders Liverpool, who have struggled trying to defend their title. Man City also had some poor early results, including losing to Tottenham Hotspur, which Arsenal took advantage of.

Arsenal quickly became known for their outstanding defence, matching a 37-year club record by keeping seven clean sheets in their first ten matches. They also went a whole month where they won every single game without conceding a goal.

This was due to the fantastic centre-back partnership of Gabriel and Saliba, who excel at defending corners as well as attacking them on the other end of the pitch. This defensive record is also because of the attributes of goalkeeper David Raya, who has widely been considered one of the best in the league.

Man City Comeback – Who Will Win the 2025/26 Premier League?

It all looked set for Arsenal to win the league at a canter; however, a few poor results in recent weeks have led to Man City gaining momentum to catch them. It started with Arsenal losing the Carabao Cup final against City, which many suggested would have huge psychological effects going into the last few games of the season.

An unprecedented loss against Bournemouth and Man City beating Chelsea 3-0, means that Arsenal will have to be on top form to keep their top of the league position by the end of the season.

If it does go to the wire, Arsenal will face Crystal Palace at the end of the season, who are no strangers to upsetting the applecart. They prevented Liverpool from winning the league in 2014 with the famous ‘Crystanbul’ 3-3 game to hand the title to none other than Man City. Could this be a case of history repeating itself?