Arsenal are gone – Paul Scholes says Man City have the momentum in title race

By Press Association Sport Staff

Paul Scholes believes “all the momentum” is with Manchester City in the Premier League title race as the former midfielder claimed “Arsenal are gone”.

The Gunners’ lead at the top was cut to six points at the weekend after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth while City claimed an emphatic 3-0 win at Chelsea.

City, who have played one game less than Arsenal, can eat further into the deficit when the top two meet in a mouthwatering showdown at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

And Scholes, who won 11 top-flight titles during a glittering career with Manchester United, envisions the league trophy heading back to City for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

“I just think Arsenal are gone and all of the momentum is with Manchester City,” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast.

“At some point you’ve got to beat your rivals to win the league. I’ve not seen them do it, they don’t win big games. I can’t see anything other than a City win on Sunday, I just can’t.”

Manchester City underwhelmed last season as Liverpool ended their run of four straight league titles and Pep Guardiola’s side have struggled for consistency in this campaign.

However, having been eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid, City defeated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, thrashed Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final then put Chelsea to the sword.

“Pep has had to coach this team in the last six months more than he’s ever had to do in years and years,” Scholes added. “The teams he’s had (in the past), he’s just had to sit back and watch.

“Now in this last six to 12 months, he’s had to coach them. The likes of (Jeremy) Doku and (Rayan) Cherki, he’s got to talk them through games a little bit and he’s not really done that for a while.”