Hope. That's all Arsenal have right now. To be crowned Premier League champions they require three straight wins and for Manchester City to stumble at least twice.
To their credit, the Gunners are showing signs of taking full advantage should the latter scenario does occur. Following a run of four games without a win - including 2-2 draws against Liverpool and West Ham United despite leading 2-0 in both - they've responded by beating Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Victory at St James' Park ensured Mikel Arteta's side remain within touching distance of Man City, albeit having played a game more, and it was a performance that the Spaniard felt sent a message to the league leaders that they are not giving up hope of winning the title.
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"That we are there, that we want to keep digging," he said in the post-match press conference. "The prize is there, not too far. The only thing we can do is keep insisting and not turn our backs and lose focus on something else. Be determined every single day. Let's keep going and see what happens.
Now, Arteta will be well aware that each fixture that passes with a Man City victory, makes the Gunners' task of being crowned Premier League champions for the first time since the 2003/04 Invincibles season all the more difficult as they are relying on other teams to take points off their title rivals.
Despite Sam Allardyce's big talk, he could not inspire Leeds United to victory over the Cityzens on Saturday, although Rodrigo's consolation does mean the Gunners now trail Man City by 14 on goal difference which could be a deciding factor at the end of the season if both teams end up finishing on the same number of points.
Arsenal's maximum points total is 90 whilst Pep Guardiola's side can reach 94 were they to win every single one of their remaining four fixtures and this cushion in addition to their superior goal difference means they can afford to drop four points and still be crowned champions.
Simply put, City require eight more points to win a third straight Premier League trophy and that works out to be three more wins or two wins and two draws. All Arteta's side can do at this point is win their remaining games and hope the upcoming Champions League ties have an impact on the title race.
Having said that, a dream scenario for the Spanish tactician has potentially emerged when looking at each side's run-in. The Gunners have Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and Wolves whilst City welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium but face Everton, Brighton and Brentford away from home.
Interestingly, if the results from the reverse fixtures this season are repeated then Arsenal will get their hands on the Premier League trophy because they took maximum points from their games whilst City beat Chelsea and Brighton but drew with the Toffees and lost to Brentford.
Of course, with the way Guardiola's side are playing right now it does seem unlikely they will drop the five points required for the Gunners to be crowned champions, but knowing Everton and Brentford are capable of rocking the boat does at least offer a glimmer of hope with regard to a twist in the title race.
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