Arsenal and Man City fixtures compared as Paul Merson picks out where points could be dropped

Arsenal and Manchester City are locked in a Premier League title race and ex-Gunners midfielder Paul Merson has compared the two sides’ fixtures for the rest of the season

Paul Merson has poured fear into Arsenal’s next two matches after the Gunners missed the chance to move seven clear at the top of the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s side were held to a 2-2 draw at bottom club Wolves on Wednesday, despite racing into a two-goal lead through from Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie.

But the division’s basement boys produced a stunning fightback, with Hugo Bueno halving the deficit before Tom Edozie scored a dramatic 94th-minute leveller to prevent the Gunners from sealing a much-needed win in the title race.

While Arsenal are still five points clear of second-place Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s side do boast a game in hand while still needing to play the Gunners at home too, and they have started to hit some form ahead of the run-in.

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Now, when looking at the remaining fixtures, ex-Arsenal midfielder Merson dissected his former club’s schedule. The Gunners’ next two fixtures against Tottenham and Chelsea feel pivotal in the title picture, according to Merson, who said he would rather have City’s upcoming two against Newcastle and Leeds.

“Football is about timings, you play teams at certain times in the league,” Merson told Sky Sports. “You can look down at West Ham in 18th, but that might be their game where they’re fighting for survival or they might have won five on the trot and are in the middle, safe and on holiday. You just don’t know with the timings of the games.

“Aston Villa could already be in the top four, cemented, might be in the Europa [League] final and they’re done, so that game [for Manchester City] doesn’t look as hard as it does on paper.

“So, it’s difficult. I always look at the next two; Arsenal have got Chelsea and Tottenham, they are two difficult games, more so than Newcastle and Leeds [for City]. No disrespect but you would take Newcastle and Leeds over Spurs and Chelsea to start with.”

Conor Coady is more confident that Manchester City are going to have a stronger end to the season, due to past experiences when in a title race and getting across the line in bigger matches.

“I think Merse is exactly right and we’re going to go on to another side in a minute but the big thing I always go off is past experiences, how teams finish, we know how Manchester City and we know how Pep Guardiola finishes,” the Charlton defender added. “He is a monster at finishing strong.

“They will be looking at this (points won in final 12 matches) and think this is a bit of us, so we look at how they finish seasons and it’s unbelievable.”

Arsenal have Tottenham (A), Chelsea (H), Brighton (A), Everton (H), Bournemouth (H), Manchester City (A), Newcastle (H), Fulham (H), West Ham (A), Burnley (H) and Crystal Palace (A) remaining.

As for City, they have Newcastle (H), Leeds (A), Nottingham Forest (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (A), Arsenal (H), Burnley (A), Everton (A), Brentford (H), Bournemouth (A), Aston Villa (H) and Crystal Palace (H) to go.

Villa are three points behind City in third but it does have the feeling that it’s a two-horse race for the title, at this stage. Manchester United are five points adrift of Villa in fourth, meanwhile.

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