Can Manchester City catch Arsenal in the Premier League title race?

With the World Cup drawing to a close, it’ll soon be time to direct our attention to the Premier League once again. The domestic campaign was left on something of a cliff-hanger before we broke up for Qatar, but with the action getting underway again on Boxing Day, we’ll soon get a clearer picture of how the 2022-23 season is going to pan out.

Of course, most of the attention will be focused on the race for the title, and it will come as a surprise to many to see Arsenal sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table. Mikel Arteta’s side made an outstanding start to the season, and that seems to have sparked real belief that they can hold their own and deliver a first league title since Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ of 2004.

Threatening that achievement is the menacing presence of Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side have won the title in four of the last five seasons. Simply put, they know what it takes to get the job done in the latter stages of a campaign. Arsenal will need to prove that they have the nous and resilience needed to maintain their excellent form through to the end of the season.

You feel that the first couple of months after the restart will be crucial if Arsenal are going to maintain their position at the top of the table. They currently sit five points ahead of City, which is a decent buffer, but things can change quickly if the Gunners were to slip into a bad run of form. Arsenal face West Ham United in their first game back on Boxing Day, whilst City face a trip to Leeds United on December 28 — games you would expect both title challengers to win.

Despite Arsenal having that five-point lead at the top of the table, it is Guardiola’s side who are still the title favourites in the Premier League betting odds. That is largely down to the embarrassment of riches at their disposal as far as their squad is concerned. The strength in depth in the City ranks is difficult to compete with, and over the course of an entire 38-game season, Arsenal will find it tough to keep up the pace.
There is also the Erling Haaland factor. The Norwegian has hit the ground running in a way that few could have anticipated, and you’d expect his goal-scoring excellence to be the difference in City picking up victories where they otherwise might have dropped points.

A player of such quality also motivates the rest of the group, and City’s squad is full of such attacking riches that the slightest marginal gains can make a huge difference when all’s said and done.

It will take a monumental effort from Arteta’s side to sustain a title challenge, but the longer they can stay in contention the more belief they will gain. Indeed, you only need to look at Leicester City’s triumph in the 2015-16 season to understand the power of belief and momentum in a title race. Those intangibles are what Arteta must harness if his team is to keep City at bay.