Three ways Arsenal vs Man City can affect Manchester United

Arsenal will face off against Manchester City at the Emirates today in what is one of the most hotly anticipated Premier League fixtures of the season.

Much has been made of Arsenal‘s title race this season, with pundits such a Gary Neville claiming they don’t have the bottle to maintain their lead, while others have rubbished this notion and said Arsenal are favourites for the title.

Almost the entire season, it has been Mikel Arteta’s men who have set the pace, with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United playing catch-up from almost minute one.

The title race, of course, has mostly been suggested to be between Pep Guardiola’s and Mikel Arteta’s sides in a two horse race. Some have suggested that Erik ten Hag‘s squad are outside shouts for the title, but considering that United have only won two of their last five Premier League fixtures and currently a game ahead of City and two games ahead of Arsenal, those shouts feel more fantasy than reality.

United have played Arsenal twice already this season, defeating them 3-1 in a fantastic display at Old Trafford and conceding a last-minute winner by Eddie Nketiah at the Emirates in a 3=2 heartbreak loss.

Man City and Arsenal have played each other once already this season, with a 1-0 FA Cup victory at the Etihad seeing the home side progress to the fifth round.

The game, obviously, has three different outcomes: A City win, Arsenal win, or a draw. Each of these three results will have a different affect on Manchester United’s ability to either climb the table to second or sink them further into third place.

Scenario 1: Arsenal victory

Should Arsenal emerge victorious, this would put them in firm stead as favourites to lift their first Premier League title since 2004. It would see Arsenal climb to 54 points, with 22 games played – a pace that would see them finish the season on an incredible 93 points.

For United, that would mean the gap between third and first increases to eight points, and with 15 games left of the Red Devils’ Premier League season, this gap may become just too big to try and close down come May.

This would, however, mean Manchester City are on equal games played with United, and just two points ahead. The two fixtures between the clubs in the league this season, a 6-3 win for City at the Etihad and a 2-1 victory for United at Old Trafford, mean it is all to play for between the two clubs.

Scenario 2: City victory

Manchester City winning against Arsenal at the Emirates is by far the most intriguing storyline. The chasing side putting off an unlikely victory to gain three points on the title leaders, putting them level on points with Arsenal a game in hand… and a reverse fixture still to play.

For those on the Red side of Manchester, a City triumph would see both City and Arsenal five points ahead of United. It would leave both clubs tantalisingly far away from Ten Hag’s men, with United almost certainly needing to go on a brilliant winning run in order to catch either side.

Arsenal, remember, will still have a further game in hand on United at the end of this fixture no matter what result.

Scenario 3: A draw

Spoils shared at the Emirates would see both sides earn a point; but chances are both sides would also see it as two points dropped.

A draw would put Arsenal 6 points ahead of United with a game in hand, while City would be three points ahead with equal games played.

United’s goal difference (+10) is significantly lower than either City’s (+34) or Arsenal’s (+28), meaning even if United were able to get themselves level on points with either club, they would still need to grab a further point somewhere else in order to jump ahead of them in the table.

Erik ten Hag’s men should not be looking at their title chances – the more pressing battle comes from below, with United needing to secure Champions League qualification as their main priority this season. It was clearly set out back in August that United’s aims comprised of qualifying for the 2023/24 Champions League season and competing (and hopefully winning) a trophy.

Ten Hag and Co. are so far well within this, sitting seven points off Tottenham in fifth and have their place booked in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United on 26 February.