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MANCHESTER. — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged fans to turn up the volume in their top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow night as his side look to take control of the English Premier League football title race.
Arsenal have lost significant ground in recent weeks, with three successive draws leaving them five points clear of City but having played two games more.
“Wednesday is a final against a team that has been the best team in England so far and is five points ahead of us,” Guardiola told reporters.
“I know even though they have drawn the last three games, the way they play in big, big parts of the game, it is difficult to stop . . . It’s a massive, important game for us. We know winning will give us a step to putting it completely in our hands.
“The Premier League is 11 months working, working, working. And we want to take this opportunity. We cannot do it alone. Hopefully all the Etihad will be full three hours before the game.”
Guardiola has previously criticised the club’s supporters for failing to get behind the team. After a 4-2 comeback victory over Tottenham Hotspur in January, Guardiola said fans had been “silent for 45 minutes”.
Like a sky blue juggernaut, Manchester City have begun to fill Arsenal’s rearview mirror and tomorrow night the reigning champions have the chance to begin their over-taking manoeuvre on the road to a fifth English Premier League title in six years.
A match that has loomed on the fixture list for months as a likely title-decider now feels like a must-win game for an Arsenal side whose hold on the summit is coming loose.
While treble-chasing City have been churning out the wins, just as they usually do at the business end of a season, Arsenal’s young pretenders have been struck by vertigo.
They could have been going to City with a double-digit points lead but after surrendering 2-0 advantages to draw consecutive away games 2-2 at Liverpool and West Ham United, they were then held to a frenzied 3-3 draw by bottom club Southampton on Friday.
After that rip-roaring contest, in which Arsenal needed late goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka just to salvage a point, the players slumped to the turf and their fans filed away wondering if the dream of a first title since 2004 was fading.
Arsenal still have a five-point lead with six games to play but City have two matches in hand and look irresistible having collected 25 points from the last 27 on offer.
According to statistician Simon Gleave of data company Gracenote, Arsenal’s draw with Southampton left them with a 21 per cent chance of dethroning City, while Guardiola’s side now have a 79 per cent probability of finishing top.
Football has a habit of delivering twists and turns, however, and despite their recent jitters Arsenal remain in a position few could have imagined at the start of the season.
And while Mikel Arteta would have much preferred a bigger cushion heading to the Etihad Stadium, at least his players now know exactly what is required tomorrow night — victory.
“I cannot wait, these are the games you want to play,” Arteta said in the wake of Friday’s draw. “When everything is at stake you have to go there to win.”
Arsenal’s remaining fixtures
April 26: Man City (A) – Premier League, kick-off 9pm
May 2: Chelsea (H) – Premier League, kick-off 6.30pm
May 7: Newcastle (A) – Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm
May 13: Brighton (H) – Premier League, kick-off 4pm
May 20: Nottingham Forest (A) – Premier League, kick-off 6.30pm
May 28: Wolves (H) – Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm — Reuters
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter