Suddenly only six points separate Arsenal and City atop the Premier League table.

Man City are chasing Arsenal in the Premier League title race. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

A rather lackluster Premier League season is gearing up for a massive finish as Manchester City chase down Arsenal for the English crown.

A month ago, the Premier League title race was beginning to look like a runaway for the Gunners. After defeating Everton ahead of the international break, Arsenal were nine points clear atop the table, dreaming of lifting a quadruple.

Mikel Arteta’s men have imploded since, losing to City in the Carabao Cup final, crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton and defeated 2–1 by Bournemouth at home—leaving the door open for Pep Guardiola’s reinvigorated side to strike.

The Cityzens battered Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, securing a 3–0 win and a critical three points to make up ground on the league-leaders. They now trail Arsenal by six points, but have a game in hand that could dwindle the gap down to three.

With only a handful of games left to play, the fight for the Premier League title could come down to a photo-finish, especially if Arsenal cannot come out on top in what should be a mouthwatering visit to the Etihad next weekend.

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Arsenal, Man City’s Remaining Premier League Games



Man City are edging closer and closer to Arsenal atop the table. | Rob Newell/CameraSport/Getty Images

Arsenal (70 points)

Man City (64 points)

Man City (A) – April 19

Arsenal (H) – April 19

Newcastle (H) – April 25

Burnley (A) – April 22

Fulham (H) – May 2

Everton (A) – May 4

West Ham (A) – May 10

Brentford (H) – May 9

Burnley (H) – May 17

Bournemouth (A) – May 17

Crystal Palace (A) – May 24

Aston Villa (H) – May 24

–

*Crystal Palace (H) – Date TBC

*Game still to be rescheduled after prior postponement.

A trip to Manchester comes at a particularly cruel time for Arsenal. The Gunners have suffered three defeats in their last four matches and now must take on a scorching City side in what could be a game that decides the Premier League title.

City will be brimming with confidence after their Carabao Cup triumph over the league-leaders, and will be the better rested of the two sides since they are out of the Champions League.

Arteta’s men then get to return home for matches against Newcastle United and Fulham. Two wins at the Emirates would help the Gunners breath a little easier, considering their next two opponents are relegation-battling West Ham United and Burnley.

Arsenal end their campaign at Crystal Palace. Despite their dismal spell in December and January, the Eagles have since rediscovered their form and that is trouble for the league-leaders, who previously needed penalties to get past Oliver Glasner’s men in the Carabao Cup when they were nowhere near their best.



The Citizens have the head-to-head edge over Arsenal in 2025–26. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

After City host Arsenal, they head to Turf Moor for what should be a routine outing against Burnley. A much trickier bout with Everton comes quickly after. The Toffees have only lost two of their last seven matches at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Guardiola’s men then return to Manchester for a battle with Brentford. Despite sitting in seventh place, the Bees are winless in their last five matches across all competitions and likely don’t have the firepower to cause real problems—the same is true for Crystal Palace, whose rescheduled game against City still does not have a set date and time.

Danger awaits at the end of City’s slate. They first must make the trip to Vitality Stadium to take on a Bournemouth team that already conquered Liverpool and Arsenal in 2026.

Then, City close out the season against fourth-place Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side already won the reverse fixture 1–0 and could be incentivized to repeat their October performance should a positive result be required to secure Champions League soccer next season.

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Ninety minutes away from a second straight Champions League semi-final, Arsenal host Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s men would have likely taken a draw at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the opening encounter, but super substitute Kai Havertz popped up with a late winner in a 1-0 first-leg victory.

Havertz’s strike could very well prove critical after the events of the weekend, as Arsenal’s Premier League title charge suffered a potentially major setback in a 2-1 reverse to Bournemouth.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up all of Arsenal’s latest injury and suspension news ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Sporting, who edged out Estrela Amadora 1-0 in the Primeira Liga last time out.

Riccardo Calafiori

Status: Major doubt

Type of injury: Unknown

Possible return date: April 15 (vs. Sporting)

After missing training on Thursday, Riccardo Calafiori was absent from the loss to Bournemouth with an unexplained injury, one that has also rendered him doubtful for Wednesday’s second leg.

Martin Odegaard

Status: Minor doubt

Type of injury: Unknown

Possible return date: April 15 (vs. Sporting)

Likewise, Martin Odegaard did not make Saturday’s matchday squad after picking up a knock in the first leg, although he was seen arriving with the team at the Emirates, suggesting that his issue is not overly serious.

Bukayo Saka

Status: Major doubt

Type of injury: Knock

Possible return date: April 15 (vs. Sporting)

Bukayo Saka is still recovering from the unspecified issue he sustained on international duty with England, and his chances of making the cut in midweek are currently slim.

Jurrien Timber

Status: Minor doubt

Type of injury: Groin

Possible return date: April 15 (vs. Sporting)

Similarly, Jurrien Timber has not featured for the Gunners since before the latest international hiatus, and the Dutchman’s status for the midweek game is still clouded in uncertainty.

Mikel Merino

Status: Out

Type of injury: Foot

Possible return date: Unknown

Mikel Merino underwent an operation to treat a foot fracture a couple of months ago, and the midfielder is bidding to make his comeback before the end of the season and in time for the World Cup.

ARSENAL’S SUSPENSION LIST

Arsenal have no players suspended for the second leg, but Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi would miss the first leg of any semi-final if they pick up a yellow card here.

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Arsenal announced on 13 April 2026 that Arteta had agreed to a three-year contract extension, securing his future at the Emirates Stadium. �

The Spanish manager, who took charge in December 2019, had entered the final year of his previous deal, but both the club and Arteta were keen to continue their project together. �

Sky Sports

🔥 Why Arsenal Renewed His Contract

Arteta has transformed Arsenal into one of the top teams in England again:

Back-to-back Premier League runners-up finishes

Return to the UEFA Champions League after years away

Mikel Arteta declared that he still has “so much ambition” at Arsenal, but said there was no rush to agree a new contract.

The Spaniard’s existing deal in north London runs until the summer of 2027, raising the prospect of him going into next season with less than a year left to go.

Arteta and Arsenal are relaxed over the situation and have put off serious talks for now, with the full focus on delivering a first Premier League title in 22 years.

Those discussions are expected to pick up in the summer and while that has created some uncertainty, Arteta made it clear that he still views the job as a long-term project.

“Yeah, I’m fully committed here,” Arteta said. “I’m really happy and I feel good. My family is good.

“I still have so much ambition and things to do in this football club and for now we are in a good place.”

On whether there had been fresh talks with the club, Arteta responded: “No, there’s no news on that.

“I think we have no time to discuss that now. The full focus is on what we have to do from here until the end of the season.”

Arteta is currently the second-longest serving manager in the Premier League, behind only Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

He has now been in charge at Arsenal for more than six years and although a new contract would take him towards the decade mark, Arteta is reluctant to look too far into the future.

“This is the job,” he said. “It’s about the present, what you do on the day. Give your very best and feel that you are the person as well that can lead and inspire the group to achieve great things for the club.

“At the moment I feel that way and hopefully when I feel that way for the rest of the week, with a great outcome at the end of the season.”

The manager was instead keen to focus only on Arsenal’s match at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, when they can move 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League before title rivals City head to Chelsea on Sunday.

Arteta issued a rallying cry to the Arsenal supporters, urging them to defy the lunchtime kick-off and create a raucous atmosphere.

“The closer we get, the relevance and importance of the match increases, obviously, and tomorrow is a big day for us,” Arteta said.

“The players know it, our supporters know it. 12:30 kick-off. It’s an early kick-off, so get up early, have an early breakfast, bring your lunch, bring your dinner.

“Let’s go all together for it because it has to be a big day.”