‘Unique’ title pressure on Arsenal explained that Man City have never faced | OneFootball

Former Premier League club CEO Keith Wyness has explained the “unique” pressure on Arsenal in the title race, which Manchester City have not had to face.

Arsenal are flying high at the Premier League summit. With seven games left to play, they have a nine-point gap on serial champions Manchester City – who have a game in hand which could cut that gap to six points if they win.

That would still leave the Gunners in a commanding position, though they do still have to face City in the league, and when the pair have been fighting for the title in the past, a loss to the Manchester outfit has been massively detrimental to Arsenal’s hopes.

But the size of the gap this season and how well the north Londoners have been playing means things feel different this time.

There is still pressure on, though, which former Aston Villa and Everton CEO Wyness has explained to Football Insider.

He said: “There’s a unique sort of Arsenal pressure, because they’ve been living with this sort of cloud over them for so long now of being the bridesmaid.

“Everybody always mentions that everything to do with Arsenal is, will they fall again? It’s something that they’ve had to live with that’s uniquely Arsenal. I don’t think Leicester had that pressure when they were going on to win the title that year.

“Man City certainly wouldn’t have had it because they’ve done it. It’s this one sort of focus on Arsenal that they live with every single week in the media. And no doubt it’s telling. Look, there is pressure on them and it gets in their heads.

“They can’t turn anywhere. Social media, mainstream media, it’s there. It does get in their heads a little bit. I don’t think there’s much more that they can do in terms of, [Mikel] Arteta and the squad. They’ve just got to be mentally strong and get through this.

“If they did finish with one or even two trophies this season, they’re in the hunt for both and those are the big ones, then that’d be a good season.”

Arsenal are also leading after the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Sporting CP, having last season reached the semis.

They have never won the elite European competition, but having finished second in the Premier League for the past three seasons, if they’re to get over the line in one but not the other, it’s the domestic competition that Arsenal will be most eager to tick off.