Manchester City had their first encounter with Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend for the 2024\/25 campaign.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta\u2019s side have finished second behind City\u00a0in the two previous Premier League seasons.<\/p>\n
The Gunners had finished five points behind the Blues in the Manchester club\u2019s Treble-winning campaign, whereas the gap was closed to just two points last term.<\/p>\n
While last weekend\u2019s game ended in a 2-2 draw, City were dealt a big blow in the first half as Rodri suffered a knee injury which Pep Guardiola has bow revealed will keep him out for the rest of the season, leading pundit Paul Merson to share his thoughts on how Rodri\u2019s\u00a0injury could impact the title race and what he feels would be the main difference between City and Arsenal\u2019s credentials to win the trophy.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI still don\u2019t believe Arsenal are favorites for the title now after the injury to Rodri.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at the substitutes that Manchester City have, and look at the size of that squad compared to Arsenal, who were bringing on Gabriel Jesus, who City actually let go, there is certainly a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Out of their five league games prior to their away match against Newcastle United, City have won four and drawn one, scoring more goals (13) than any other side in the division but conceding five along the way.<\/p>\n
While Merson highlights City\u2019s squad being stronger than Arsenal\u2019s in terms of the individual players they have, the fact that the Blues have won six titles over the past seven years shows that those players have the experience and knowledge of what it takes to win the Premier League.<\/p>\n
Even though the Manchester club will have to get through the remainder of the campaign without Rodri, who started 50 games for them across all competitions last season, the best thing they can do is focus on each game as it comes and do their best to not get into the habit of dropping points.<\/p>\n
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