‘Can sense it’: Mikel Arteta issues Arsenal dressing room claim on title race after defeat

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta ‘can sense’ his players still feel they can win the Premier League title this season. He also has ‘more belief’ they can do it despite losing to Manchester City.

The Citizens won 1-3 at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday after goals from Kevin De Bruyne (24’), Jack Grealish (72’) and Erling Haaland (82’). Bukayo Saka (42’) got Arsenal level with a late, first-half penalty. But further defensive errors in the second period cost the Gunners.

De Bruyne broke the deadlock after the Belgian took full advantage of a careless backpass from Takehiro Tomiyasu. Oleksandr Zinchenko also turned the ball over in some dangerous areas. While a loose pass from Gabriel Magalhaes gifted City possession for Grealish’s goal.

The result moved Manchester City above Arsenal at the top of the table on goal difference. Arteta’s team still hold one game in hand over Pep Guardiola’s squad. But the Gunners are now three games without a win having, at worst, only gone one game previously this term.

Arsenal are also without a clean sheet in their last four fixtures since they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. The north London derby and a goalless draw with Newcastle United returned the Gunners’ only shut-outs during six Premier League matches since the turn of the year.

LOSING TO MANCHESTER CITY GAVE ARTETA EVEN MORE BELIEF ARSENAL CAN WIN THE TITLE

Arsenal will now try to put the defeat to Manchester City behind them when Arteta’s team visits Aston Villa on Saturday. The Citizens are also on the road away to Nottingham Forest at the weekend. The two teams are also still to meet at the Etihad Stadium come April 26.

Manchester City are now atop the Premier League table for the first time since November 5, though. Yet Arteta has even more confidence in his players winning Arsenal’s first title in 19 years after the defeat. He also feels his players still believe they can pip City to the crown.

“I have more belief than I had before the game, with the performance and the level the team put in against City,” Arteta told BBC Sport. “They wanted to play a different game than the one we played and with the crowd we have, we can do it.

“They still have it [the belief], I can sense it. They feel they can do it. The difference was in the boxes, they had three chances and they put them away. We had chances and we didn’t put them away.”