The 2025/26 season isn’t the first time Arsenal and Manchester City have battled for the Premier League title.
The Gunners are currently five points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side at the top of the table, but the Sky Blues are pushing hard with their game in hand.
Many believe City will pip Arsenal to the Premier League crown again, just like they did in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.
However, I remember what happened in the first of those title races, and that will almost definitely not happen again this season.
Fill the blanks: There will be __ points between Arsenal and Man City at the Etihad.
I remember what happened when Manchester City won the 2022/23 title race against Arsenal
Arsenal were the best team in the Premier League for most of the 2022/23 season.
The Gunners spent 248 days as the league leaders, starting in August and staying there until April of the following year. By doing so, Mikel Arteta’s side set the unwanted Premier League record of most days spent in first place without going on to win the title.
Manchester City, who eventually won it, were only on top for 28 days, and I remember exactly why they pipped Arsenal to the title.
William Saliba suffered a back injury on the 16th of March in the first 21 minutes of a Europa League game against Sporting CP.
The Frenchman, who was one of the best players in the league that campaign, missed the remainder of the season as a result. Arsenal dropped points in six of their 11 games without him.
Even Saliba admitted that his injury is what cost Arsenal the title. He told Canal Plus recently: “I think the last three seasons, especially the first season, I think my injury was a factor.
“We didn’t have a deep enough bench like this year. I think my injury hurt.”
That sort of issue is no longer a concern for Arsenal.
How much did Arsenal’s win vs Tottenham make you believe that we can win the Premier League?
History will not repeat itself in the 2025/26 Premier League title race
The title race this season looks like it will go down to the wire, and there is a chance that Manchester City will pip Arsenal to the crown again.
Even if that happens, it will not be due to any potential injury to Saliba.
In 2023, Arsenal had Rob Holding as the backup. Now, we have Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie ready to step into central defence if something happens to the Frenchman.
The likes of Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and even Christian Norgaard can also step in if required.
Of course, the last thing I or any other Arsenal fan would want is an injury to Saliba or anyone else, but Andrea Berta has built a squad that’s more than capable of dealing with any adversity.
That could make the difference in the title race this season.
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