It's all change at the top of the Premier League as Manchester City have overtaken Arsenal and that could be an ominous sign for the rest of the season.
After learning a tough lesson in a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, not only were the Gunners beaten by City for a third time across all competitions this season but the result also meant they were no longer in control of their own destiny with regard to the title race.
The scenario ahead of this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures was that even if Mikel Arteta's side record wins over Chelsea, Newcastle United, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves it won't be enough to be crowned Premier League champions if Man City do the same in their remaining seven games.
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So with Arsenal needing to remain perfect and hoping for a favour or two from elsewhere, all eyes were on Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon with Pep Guardiola's team arriving in the capital with the incentive of going top of the Premier League table with another victory.
Now, there had been a trend this season to hand Gunners supporters hope of a twist in the title race. On both occasions that City beat the north London outfit they failed to win their very next game - losing 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur and drawing 1-1 with Nottingham Forest.
However, it wasn't to be a third slip-up. Despite the best efforts of ex-Spurs loanee Carlos Vinicius and the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, goals from Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez gave the visitors an eighth straight victory in the Premier League as they hit top form at the business end of the campaign.
As a result, there has been a change at the top of the table as Man City now lead the way - for the first time since February after winning at the Emirates Stadium - on 76 points with Arsenal a point behind and knowing they can reclaim top spot - albeit for 24 hours - if they beat Chelsea on Tuesday night.
Whilst the Premier League has new leaders, the challenge for City remains the same. 90 points will be enough to retain their crown and they can reach that total by winning four and drawing two of their remaining fixtures against West Ham United (on Wednesday night), Leeds United, Everton, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford.
Arsenal, on the other hand, can also reach 90 points - which was enough in the 2003/04 Invincibles season - but due to having an inferior goal difference they would need Man City to drop five points which works out to be four wins, a draw (and a loss) from their remaining games thus finishing on 89 points.
With that said, today's result at Craven Cottage has provided the Gunners with even more clarity. Five wins from their remaining fixtures in addition to the Cityzens drawing and losing at least once is the dream scenario where Arteta's side come out on top in this season's exciting, yet unexpected, Premier League title race.
Arsenal's remaining fixtures
02/05 - Chelsea (H)
07/05 - Newcastle United (A)
14/05 - Brighton (H)
20/05 - Nottingham Forest (A)
28/05 - Wolves (H)
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