Manchester City players are more composed watching Arsenal in this season’s title race knowing they are still in control.
City travelled to Nottingham Forest last February having just beaten Arsenal at the Emirates to top the table, but having watched from the away dressing room as the Gunners came from behind to beat Aston Villa they then squandered a lead at Forest to be forced into chasing again. It would be the end of April before they would retake the lead.
Having watched Arsenal beat Spurs in the North London derby on the coach into the City Ground on Sunday, there would be no slips from the reigning Premier League champions this time as Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland gave them a 2-0 win. While they remain a point behind Mikel Arteta’s side owing to having played one game fewer, defender Nathan Ake spoke about the added clarity in the squad at the moment.
“For me it doesn’t matter really. It’s in our hands so we’re not depending on what they do,” he said. “That’s the difference from last year, we were still depending on what they were doing. This season it’s in our hands. We know if we win the next four we are champions. The only thing we have to do is focus on the next one.
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“Obviously it would be nice if they dropped some points. We focus on ourselves and it’s in our hands. That’s the only thing we can focus on.
“It’s about now, what we do now. At the moment it’s going well but we know what we have to do in the end — win four games and we can be champions again.”
City were without Ruben Dias and Phil Foden through illness on Sunday while Ederson had to be taken off at half-time as a challenging schedule for the squad continues to hamper selection calls. Elimination from the Champions League has at least presented free midweeks for the next two rounds of matches though, giving the Blues more preparation time than they are used to.
That could be pivotal in ensuring City are at their best to break down their final four opponents in the league: Wolves, Fulham, Spurs, and West Ham. The players were feeling the strain at Forest and Ake looked visibly relieved when asked about the extra time off.
“It’s been hard, it’s been tough. Even after Brighton, all the travelling and stuff. We could feel it a bit today but now it will be nice to have a few days’ rest and prepare for the next one,” he said.
“It’s so close but it’s also so far away. I think every game is going to be a tough one. It felt like today people expect us to win but it’s never easy these kind of games.
“Next week we have another that will be tough and the only thing we can do is game by game. I know it sounds cliched but it is the only thing I can do.”
