Last Sunday, Manchester City took a significant step toward taking control of the Premier League title race by defeating title rivals Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
The victory, achieved by goals from Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland, coupled with a 1-0 midweek victory over struggling Burnley, moved the Citizens back to the top of the Premier League table.
A familiar story at the top
Since he was appointed City’s head coach in 2016, Pep Guardiola has faced some familiar rivals for the Premier League title. For much of that time, Liverpool had been their biggest rivals, winning two titles in the last decade, including last season.
However, excluding last season, Arsenal have been City’s biggest rival for the English top-flight crown. The Gunners actually finished above the Citizens last season, finishing as runners-up to Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
The previous season, Arsenal also finished as top-flight runners-up, two points adrift of Guardiola’s team. The season before was a similar story, as Mikel Arteta’s team finished second, but this time five points adrift of City.
The two best teams in the league
The table doesn’t lie. The two teams are first and second place in the table, separated by only City’s superior goal difference. It is unbelievably close, but it would be churlish to claim that the pair are not the best two teams in the league.
If we are talking about consistency over the past few campaigns, Arsenal and City have been the best two teams. Fighting for titles tends to create new rivalries that never existed before.
This was the case with Liverpool and Manchester City during Guardiola’s reign, and this is now the case for Arsenal and the Citizens.
Add in the fact that City’s Guardiola was a mentor and friend of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, and you get an even more interesting rivalry. Rather than dislike or rivalry, it’s based on a master vs apprentice dynamic, with respect at the heart of the relationship, even if their relationship has changed since Arteta joined Arsenal.
No matter who claims the English top-flight title this season, it is hard to see the pair not battling it out against each other for the crown in season 2026/27.