Key Takeaways
- Arsenal have not won at the Etihad since 2015 and another loss would hand City the title edge.
- Mikel Arteta has only one cup to show after six seasons; Sunday is his best chance to change the story.
- Three points will take Arsenal five clear with four games left and end talk of a mental block against City.
Mikel Arteta walks into the Etihad on Sunday knowing a single victory can silence years of doubt. If Arsenal win, they open a five-point gap at the top with only four matches left. More importantly, it would be the first time since 2015 they leave Manchester with three points and the first time in two decades they look like true champions.
A draw would keep the race alive, yet history warns Arsenal not to sit back. Last season they played for a stalemate at the same ground, praised for tight defence after the 4-1 rout of 2023. City still overtook them and lifted the trophy by two points. Arteta called that day “a big step forward”, but the final table called it second place again.
Since the Spaniard took charge in December 2019, the club has added just an FA Cup won in an empty stadium. They have lost finals in the League Cup, fallen in Europa and Champions League semis, and crashed out of this season’s FA Cup to Southampton. Beating the best has become the last missing piece. Arsenal have taken only 12 points from the current top six; every champion since 2000 has averaged 18.
Between May 2023 and August 2024 Arsenal went 22 league games unbeaten against the traditional big six, a record run. Still, the trophy cabinet stayed shut. As Gary Neville puts it, “To be kings you must land a punch on the champions.” Sunday is the ring, City are the champions, and Arteta must finally swing.
The manager now enters the final 12 months of his deal. Each clash with Pep Guardiola is billed as pupil versus teacher, and the pupil keeps failing the last exam. Win, and Arsenal believe. Lose, and the same old questions return.