Rodri’s words when he spoke about Arsenal’s mentality issues after the 2023/24 Premier League title race seem rather ironic when comparing them to his comment after matchday 30 of the 2025/26 campaign.
The Premier League title is not won, but it’s impossible to deny that Arsenal have one hand on the prize.
Mikel Arteta won’t see it that way, as there are still six games for the Gunners to play before the Premier League schedule ends, including a trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City.
Arsenal’s win over Brighton felt poignant, and the North Londoners repeated that feeling on matchday 30 by beating Everton before Man City drew against West Ham.
The results at the Emirates and the London Stadium drew some doubt from the Man City squad regarding their chances.
- READ MORE: Four winners and two losers from Arsenal’s win vs Everton, including Max Dowman and seven-shot star
Rodri thinks Manchester City are all but out of the Premier League title race
Arsenal’s win and Man City’s draw mean that, according to Opta’s supercomputer, the Gunners now have a 97% chance of winning the league.
Be brave: Was this the matchweek that we won the league?
Though City have a game in hand on Arsenal and are yet to play the Gunners, to some in Pep Guardiola’s squad, the race is all but done.
Speaking to the media after Man City’s draw against West Ham, Rodri gave an honest take on the Premier League title race, instead looking at the ‘other competitions’ City are in.
“We are alive in other competitions, and on Tuesday we have a massive game [against Real Madrid], that I really believe we can turn around. The players who play have to score.”
Speaking specifically about the race for the Premier League title, the midfielder said:
“Maybe [the title race is over], yes, maybe no. We’re not going to drop hands, we’re going to keep fighting. We know it’s going to be difficult because we have this experience of what you need to win at the end.
“I think the distance is too far, but we’re going to fight until the end. Now is a moment of no regrets.”
Rodri’s comments are ironic compared to what he said about Arsenal’s mentality
Rodri’s take was not just honest, but gave off a defeated tone, something that’s rather ironic given how he slammed Arsenal’s mentality two seasons ago.
Rodri’s changed his tune. 🤭 What do you make of this comment?
For a player who prides himself on being part of a club that, he believes, has shown a stronger mentality than Arsenal in the past, Rodri surprised many with his view.
Rewind to when Man City won the title in 2024 and review what Rodri had to say about Arsenal.
“To be honest, I think it’s in here [pointing to his head]. It’s the mentality,” he told Optus Sport regarding why Arsenal did not win the league.
“Arsenal, also they deserve [to win the league], they did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here [pointing to his head again].
“When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said: ‘Ah, these guys, they don’t want to beat us, they just want a draw,’ and that mentality, I don’t think we would do it the same way.
“And we caught them. At the end, if you give us one point, we will win the last seven, eight games even though it’s so tough. So I think it comes down to mentality.”
It came down to mentality then, and it’ll be the same two years on, just with the shoe on the other foot.
Perhaps Rodri needs to take a leaf from his own book and show greater mentality than to submit to Arsenal’s nine-point lead in the title race.
For the Gunners, his words are bliss, as Man City are clearly wounded and far from their usual self.
All things considered, it really could be Arsenal’s year.
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