Former Premier League star, Danny Murphy has said that Arsenal have a big advantage over Manchester City in the Premier League title fight this season.
The Gunners achieved their fifth consecutive league victory over the weekend, with Declan Rice scoring two goals to help them win 3-2 on the road against Bournemouth in a tough and competitive match.
Mikel Arteta’s team now have a six-point advantage at the top of the league because Manchester City lost two points against Chelsea, thanks to Enzo Fernandez’s equalizer in the final minutes of the match at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal have come in second place in the league in each of the past three years, but they are now in a great position to finally break that jinx and win their first championship since 2004.
Arsenal’s strong performance at home has helped them get a lot of points, but they also have the best record when playing away.
Arteta’s team still needs to play against City at the Etihad Stadium in April, and that match could have a big impact on the title race.
But on the other hand, Guardiola’s team still have to face tough away games against Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea in the second half of the season.
Murphy is sure that City’s tough schedule will give Arsenal an advantage in the title race.
“You can say City have a lot of good players and depth, but right now, you’d be surprised if Arsenal messed it up this time, I would,” he said to talkSPORT.
“Arsenal have faced many top teams away from home; only City are remaining.”
When talking about Guardiola’s team, Murphy had other worries, he said, “When I watch City, even in the game against Chelsea, they do amazing things, but then suddenly there are weaknesses all over the field.
“They’ve been doing well lately, so you can’t ignore them, but when it comes to defense, you think you can beat them. When you watch them, they give up chances, but Arsenal usually don’t – they have the best defense.”
Murphy thinks Arsenal’s strong defense and good depth will be one of their biggest strengths in the last part of the season.
“Madueke was really active in the first half against Bournemouth and was ready to play, causing a lot of problems for the opposition. Obviously Saka will play before him, but he’s making the manager consider, ‘maybe I can let Saka rest sometimes, he doesn’t need to play in every match.’
“And all of a sudden on the left, who is his first choice now? Eze has scored three goals against Tottenham in the last month, but he hasn’t played any minutes in the past few games. This is the strongest team.”
Meanwhile City would want to apply pressure on Arsenal by winning against Brighton on Wednesday night.
Arsenal will face a tough challenge at home against the defending champions, Liverpool, on Thursday.
