Arsenal contend with Premier League bogeyman Man City in bid to break drought

The last time Manchester City lost an English Premier League match in the month of April was in 2021, when they shockingly tumbled 2-1 to Leeds United. This is the Mount Everest that Arsenal have to contend with in their bid to snap a league trophy drought of more than two decades.

Even that loss five years ago by Pep Guardiola’s men was inconsequential, as the gap between themselves and the chasing pack was already insurmountable. The blue side of Manchester would eventually finish first, 12 points ahead of second-placed Manchester United.

As the 2025/26 season inches closer to conclusion, the shoe is on the other foot for Guardiola’s charges. Instead of cantering to another comfortable league win, the Cityzens are chasing. It’s something they love doing, the pursuit. Arsenal have been victims of this a few times, so they know it very well.

Will history repeat itself?

In the 2022/23 season, Arsenal dominated for large chunks as City chased them. However, as the league neared conclusion, City shifted into what has become typically ruthless back-end form since Guardiola joined the club in 2016.

The Manchester club went on an 11-game winning streak to eventually topple the Gunners and win the league. In that season, Arsenal held an eight-point advantage in the month of April. One of the matches that saw them relinquish their advantage was a 4-1 thrashing by City.

On the back of a weekend where Arsenal were vanquished 2-1 by Bournemouth and City brushed aside Chelsea 3-0, the buzzwords are momentum and experience.

Ahead of a crucial contest against City on Sunday, 19 April, analysts and pundits have opined that, on the back of the Bournemouth defeat of Arsenal, City are now in control of the race because of City’s experience in these situations, in addition to Arsenal’s past capitulations under the tutelage of Mikel Arteta.

Currently, the gap between the two teams is six points, while City have played a match less.

“Arsenal are gone and all of the momentum is with Manchester City. At some point, you’ve got to beat your rivals to win the league. I’ve not seen them do it; they don’t win big games. I can’t see anything other than a City win on Sunday, I just can’t,” former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast.

This was echoed by Scholes’ former United teammate Wayne Rooney on his podcast. The former England striker said: “City will be able to stay a little calmer than the Arsenal players. They [Arsenal] will be worried because when you go on a run and lose a few games, you start thinking: ‘Where’s the next goal, the next win going to come from?’ That negative mindset really has an impact on your performance.”

Champions League factor

The fact that the Gunners managed to grind out a 1-0 aggregate victory in the semifinals of the European Champions League against Portuguese side Sporting will be a major confidence booster. The Londoners are the only English side remaining in the competition, and they are undefeated.

More so, the fact that Arsenal have mostly done away with their flamboyant and flashy soccer style this season means they cannot be written off.

For years, Arsenal were known as one of the most entertaining sides in the global soccer community. However, they never had the results to match this visually appealing style. In the 2025/26 season, Arteta’s men have ditched this for a more straightforward and effective approach. They now know how to win dirty, which is the mentality required in their battle against City.

Proud Arteta

Arteta is refusing to be drawn into debates around momentum, though, even as doubts emanate from the Gunners’ own fanbase. The “Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible” lookalike still believes his team’s mission is very much possible.

Indeed, on paper, this still has the potential to be Arsenal’s greatest season. They can win the league for the first time since 2004, as well as clinch the Champions League for the first time.

“I wish that we were doing an Arsenal documentary this season. If you filmed the last few days and everything that has been said about us, you would think Arsenal is in the bottom three of the league table,” Arteta said. “Please, enjoy where we are as a club. If someone doesn’t want to do it, so be it. We are enjoying it a lot.”

On City’s infamous April form, Arteta said: “We cannot control that, what we can control is our performance, like we’ve done over the last nine months. So, anything that is said when you suffer a defeat, especially at home, you have to accept it. That’s it. There are no excuses, there is no this or that. All the things that I hear are about how we’re going to stand up, first of all, individually, and then as a team, to change that immediately.”

In February, Arteta’s mentor and friend Guardiola was asked during a press conference what advice he would give to the Arsenal boss in the run-in to the league title race, based on his past experiences. The ultra-competitive City coach simply said: “I don’t remember. I’m not here to give advice to Mikel.”

While he is not willing to dish out advice, Guardiola knows exactly what is required. He will be drilling it into his players for the remainder of the season.

As for Arsenal and Arteta, they will need to dig deeper than mineworkers and find their own winning will to strike the Premier League gold which has eluded them for decades. DM