Pep Guardiola’s worst fear about Arsenal could be about to come true

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Arsenal’s rivals Manchester City and Liverpool both suffered defeats in their first game back after the November international break.

Pep Guardiola’s side lost 2-1 to Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday evening, and just a couple of hours before that, the defending Premier League champions were beaten 3-0 at home by Nottingham Forest.

That puts Arsenal in the driving seat to win the title.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	ArsenalArsenal	11	8	2	1	20	5	15	26
2	ChelseaChelsea	12	7	2	3	23	11	12	23
3	Manchester CityManchester City	12	7	1	4	24	10	14	22
4	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	12	5	5	2	16	9	7	20

Pep Guardiola had one major worry about Arsenal, and it could come true now

Arsenal have found themselves in a fantastic position in the Premier League title race.

The Gunners started this weekend four points clear of Manchester City and eight above Liverpool. Both teams have played their games, but the gap remains the same.

Guardiola was fine with the four-point gap before his side’s defeat to Newcastle, but he did say that Arsenal could run away with the title, like Liverpool have in the past, if the difference in points increases.

He said, as per Metro: “The truth is a team as strong as Arsenal is in the last seasons, not just this season, so impeccable in so many, many things, that feeling that I had in the past when we’ve fought incredibly against Liverpool, I had the feeling they would not drop many points.

“And if they can take a lot of distance, it will be difficult to catch up with them, similar like Liverpool last season.”

Guardiola’s fear could come true now if Arsenal beat Tottenham on Sunday. That would take the Gunners seven points above City and 11 higher than Liverpool, which could prove to be too big a gap to overcome.

Mikel Arteta will be very aware of this going into the North London Derby on Sunday.

Arsenal have a chance to eliminate the Premier League title race pressure

The criticism about Arsenal from some pundits and rival fans is that they crumble when the pressure begins to mount in the business end of the season.

The fact that the Gunners haven’t won the Premier League in over two decades could be the reason behind that mental block.

There are fears that the same could happen again, but Arsenal have the chance to completely eliminate the pressure.

With Liverpool and Manchester City repeatedly slipping up, Arteta’s men should focus on going on an incredible run that would increase the gap significantly.

That would help them wrap up the title race by March, so the pressure in April and May becomes non-existent.