Thierry Henry sends stern Manchester City title race warning to Arsenal | OneFootball

Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry has warned his former club and Mikel Arteta that there is no room for complacency in the title race wherein Manchester City are involved.

The Gunners extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points on Sunday as a sensational Eberechi Eze hat-trick grabbed the headlines in a stylish 4-1 victory for Arteta’s side against north London rivals Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

It has been a next to flawless start for Arsenal to the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, with Liverpool suffering from the after-effects of making one change too many to a squad and City undergoing a period of transition themselves after a sliding doors squad reshuffle.

City suffered two defeats in their opening three games of the league season but a run of 11 wins in 14 games in all competitions since September saw the Blues enter the November international break just four points adrift of Arsenal in second place.

Guardiola knows his side can ill-afford many more slip-ups early in the season as City compete against an Arsenal side that strengthened further in the summer and is reaping the rewards of the shrewd acquisition of Eze, who is in devastating form and is leading the title charge in north London.

Manchester City’s return to Premier League duties this weekend ended in disappointed fashion as Harvey Barnes’ brace helped inflict a fourth league defeat of the season on the Blues, who now sit in third place in the league table – seven points below Arsenal.

City have it all to do if they are to overturn their indifferent start to the season and put a serious run together to fit Arsenal tooth and nail for what could be a fifth Premier League title win for the Blues should they lift the trophy in May 2026.

And while Arsenal have a very encouraging early lead in the title race, Gunners and France legend Thierry Henry has warned his former club and Mikel Arteta that they can never be too comfortable at the top of the table when it is Manchester City they need to keen an eye on over their shoulders.

“If you’re an Arsenal fan, that (Manchester City) is exactly the team that you don’t want on your shoulder – because they know how to win,” Henry told Betway, as quoted by Goal.

“It’s not great as an Arsenal man to see them coming back to their level. They look like a team about to go on a run. I think Pep (Guardiola) had to deal with having two new assistants (Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure) and a new way of playing.

“What you were hoping for while City made that adjustment is that Arsenal could go ahead and take some points and that’s exactly what happened. But it was always going to be a battle.”

Manchester City will be desperate to return to winning ways against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening, wherein a win can take the Blues a step closer to a place in the Round of 16 stage of the competition.