A rather lackluster Premier League season is gearing up for a massive finish as Manchester City chase down Arsenal for the English crown.
A month ago, the Premier League title race was beginning to look like a runaway for the Gunners. After defeating Everton ahead of the international break, Arsenal were nine points clear atop the table, dreaming of lifting a quadruple.
Mikel Arteta’s men have imploded since, losing to City in the Carabao Cup final, crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton and defeated 2–1 by Bournemouth at home—leaving the door open for Pep Guardiola’s reinvigorated side to strike.
The Cityzens battered Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, securing a 3–0 win and a critical three points to make up ground on the league-leaders. They now trail Arsenal by six points, but have a game in hand that could dwindle the gap down to three.
With only a handful of games left to play, the fight for the Premier League title could come down to a photo-finish, especially if Arsenal cannot come out on top in what should be a mouthwatering visit to the Etihad next weekend.
Arsenal, Man City’s Remaining Premier League Games
|
Arsenal (70 points) |
Man City (64 points) |
|---|---|
|
Man City (A) – April 19 |
Arsenal (H) – April 19 |
|
Newcastle (H) – April 25 |
Burnley (A) – April 22 |
|
Fulham (H) – May 2 |
Everton (A) – May 4 |
|
West Ham (A) – May 10 |
Brentford (H) – May 9 |
|
Burnley (H) – May 17 |
Bournemouth (A) – May 17 |
|
Crystal Palace (A) – May 24 |
Aston Villa (H) – May 24 |
|
– |
*Crystal Palace (H) – Date TBC |
*Game still to be rescheduled after prior postponement.
A trip to Manchester comes at a particularly cruel time for Arsenal. The Gunners have suffered three defeats in their last four matches and now must take on a scorching City side in what could be a game that decides the Premier League title.
City will be brimming with confidence after their Carabao Cup triumph over the league-leaders, and will be the better rested of the two sides since they are out of the Champions League.
Arteta’s men then get to return home for matches against Newcastle United and Fulham. Two wins at the Emirates would help the Gunners breath a little easier, considering their next two opponents are relegation-battling West Ham United and Burnley.
Arsenal end their campaign at Crystal Palace. Despite their dismal spell in December and January, the Eagles have since rediscovered their form and that is trouble for the league-leaders, who previously needed penalties to get past Oliver Glasner’s men in the Carabao Cup when they were nowhere near their best.
After City host Arsenal, they head to Turf Moor for what should be a routine outing against Burnley. A much trickier bout with Everton comes quickly after. The Toffees have only lost two of their last seven matches at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Guardiola’s men then return to Manchester for a battle with Brentford. Despite sitting in seventh place, the Bees are winless in their last five matches across all competitions and likely don’t have the firepower to cause real problems—the same is true for Crystal Palace, whose rescheduled game against City still does not have a set date and time.
Danger awaits at the end of City’s slate. They first must make the trip to Vitality Stadium to take on a Bournemouth team that already conquered Liverpool and Arsenal in 2026.
Then, City close out the season against fourth-place Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side already won the reverse fixture 1–0 and could be incentivized to repeat their October performance should a positive result be required to secure Champions League soccer next season.
