Arsenal told which two fixtures will decide Premier League title race | OneFootball

Any dropped points will prove crucial in neck-and-neck title race

Meson has seen enough from the win over Newcastle at the weekend to convince him that the Gunners are closing in on the title.

Arsenal have again played one more game than City, who had the weekend off title-race duties as they reached the FA Cup final by beating Southampton at Wembley.

The Gunners play again before City next take to the field, meaning a win over Fulham on Saturday will see them move six points clear at the top before Pep Guardiola's side face off against Everton on Monday evening.

And Merson believes a six-point lead will be too big for City to close, albeit with two games in hand.

Mikel Arteta

PA

"If Arsenal win next week against Fulham at home, Arsenal will win the league," Merson told Sky Sports after the win at the Emirates.

"That’s what I think. I’ve said all season that they’ll win it. It is getting tight, but I think if they can go six points clear… Everton away is a difficult game for Man City when six points behind."

But fellow pundit Gary Lineker disagrees, insisting the game after Fulham is where Arsenal could come unstuck.

A trip to relegation-threatened West Ham could prove to be a banana skin for title-chasing Arsenal, who are struggling to create in attack while also proving less-than-convincing in defence.

"Arsenal are just not really creating at the moment and they weren’t like this in the first half of the season," Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast.

"They were so impressive so I don’t know if it’s nerves or a confidence thing but they look so edgy. Of course the result is the most important thing and they managed to get the three points.

They’ve got pretty much as good a record as almost anyone since the turn of the year so that will be a tough one for Arsenal

Gary Lineker

"They might go six points ahead of Man City before they play again and Arsenal’s last four games are very winnable.

"They have Fulham at home and then West Ham away, now that will be tricky. West Ham are fighting for their lives and playing well at the moment.

"They’ve got pretty much as good a record as almost anyone since the turn of the year so that will be a tough one for Arsenal.

"Burnley at home, you’d strongly fancy Arsenal to win that one and then obviously Crystal Palace away on the final day of the season.

"So overall I would say Arsenal have got slightly easier fixtures than Man City but we know that City down the stretch are usually pretty good.

"I think it’s pretty much 50-50, isn’t it? I would say it’s pretty much 50-50 between Arsenal and Manchester City."