Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has now told Arsenal the key ‘difference’ that he sees in the Premier League title race this season compared to their race last term.
The Citizens and Gunners are once again locked in a fight for the top-flight title. Manchester City beat Arsenal in the title race last season after the north London outfit collapsed in their final games. But their tussle for the title this term looks set to go all the way to the final day.
Arsenal enduring a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest last May saw Manchester City clinch the crown with three fixtures to spare. It was the Gunners’ penultimate game of the season. Yet it also came amid a run of three wins in their final nine games to end the 2022/23 campaign.
Arsenal are playing catchup in the Premier League title race this season
A 2-2 draw at Liverpool and a 2-2 draw at West Ham United after leading 2-0 in both, plus a 3-3 draw with Southampton, started Arsenal’s late-season collapse last term. Mikel Arteta had them atop the table with an eight-point lead on Manchester City before visiting Anfield.
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The Citizens only had one match in hand on the Gunners entering their final 10 fixtures, too. But Arsenal failed to see out their lead last season and now find themselves playing catchup this term. Manchester City may sit a point behind Arsenal but they have one fixture in hand.
Nathan Ake feels Manchester City controlling the title race is a key ‘difference’
Arsenal need Manchester City to drop points during their final four fixtures to win their first Premier League title in 20 years. The Citizens see out their bid to win a record fourth straight title against Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham through the month of May.
But Ake does not believe Manchester City sitting behind Arsenal in the Premier League table currently actually ‘matters’. The Gunners being the club playing catchup is a key difference in the title race this season compared to last. It also hands the Citizens control of their destiny.
“For me, it doesn’t matter really,” Ake said, via quotes by football.london. “It’s in our hands, so we’re not depending on what they do. That’s the difference from last year. We were still depending on what they were doing.
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“This season, it’s in our hands. We know if we win the next four, we are champions. The only thing we have to do is focus on the next one. I think everyone’s got the experience.
“But, in the end, experience doesn’t really make a difference. It’s about now, what we do now. At the moment, it’s going well but we know what we have to do in the end – win four games and we can be champions again.”
Arsenal will end their quest for a first Premier League title since the 2003/04 Invincibles with fixtures against AFC Bournemouth, Manchester United and Everton. Arteta will likely have to oversee a perfect end to their term for the Gunners to stand any chance of winning the title.