Riyad Mahrez has won three Premier League titles with Manchester City - but the quest for their next title sees him crossing paths with the team he almost joined.
Mahrez was a key part of the Leicester City side which shocked the world to win the Premier League in 2015/16, prompting top clubs to pick apart their side. But Mahrez was one player the Foxes were determined to keep, blocking a move to Arsenal which was “nearly all done”.
Instead, Mahrez headed to Manchester City in 2018 and has enjoyed huge success since then. However, he has since opened up on the frustration he felt when his Arsenal move fell through.
Now, five years later, he finds himself at the heart of a title battle with the club he almost joined with the Gunners racing clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Mahrez told France Football in 2019: "After the title, if I'd left for a top team, it wouldn't have been the same story.
"For me, it's clear that I lost two years at the highest level. I lost two years! Because instead of arriving at City at 27, I could have been there at 24, 25.
"Leicester blocked me. They told me: 'You're not leaving, you're not leaving’.
"My agent had spoken to [Arsene] Wenger who really wanted me. It was nearly all done with Arsenal in 2016. I was really frustrated.
"It wasn't easy to go from being the best player in the Premier League to being a part of a team fighting against relegation. It's not the same job. Everyone is waiting for you around the corner.”
Arsenal’s emergence as the main title challengers is no surprise to Mahrez, who name-checked Mikel Arteta’s side as a threat far before they were on most people’s radars in an early prediction now ringing true.
“This season I think Arsenal are very good,’ Mahrez told CityTV in October, before adding: “All of the top six, really.
“Even Liverpool, they are away from us at the moment, but I still think they can be there at the end of the season. All the top six (and Liverpool) can challenge us for the Premier League and all of the other trophies.”
Whilst Liverpool have tailed off, City are still facing a huge challenge, with their weekend defeat to Manchester United leaving them
Speaking before the Premier League resumed after the World Cup break, Mahrez said: "We have to hit the ground running.
"We are not currently top of the Premier League and that is where we want to be. We will take it game by game but our aim to try to win another title.
"There are lots of strong teams in England who could still win the league so we are not just focused on Arsenal, although they have been very good so far.
"If we want to win the league, we will have to be ready as soon as the league starts again."
