CITY'S DECLINE COULD HASTEN PEP DEPARTURE

Once the question of his future hangs over the club, it poisons everything

- camondunphy

THIS is a huge result. Arsenal have pulled six points clear of Manchester City, their only real challengers, and in football, six points is a gulf.

Chelsea's injury-time equaliser was monumental. If City had won, they'd be four points behind. Instead, they are six. That is not a margin to sniff at. That is a slap in the face.

And Pep Guardiola? The man looks haunted.

There is already talk of him leaving, and it is becoming more than gossip. Once the question of his future hangs over a club, it poisons everything.

Players sense it, media magnify it, and even a team this talented can fracture.

City, yesterday, were brittle. The only team with the history, depth, and technical ability to stop Arsenal all of a sudden looks human. Up until May 2024, they were like a machine.

Not anymore, though. And here is why.

The problem is this City side lacks the fire of Pep's best teams. The Barcelona team of Messi, Xavi etc; the Bayern team of Muller and co; the early City teams they were almost unplayable.

This City? Skilful, yes. But not ruthless. Watching them yesterday, the stakes were high -and they looked small. Guardiola knows it too. The league is Arsenal's to lose.

Arsenal, right now, are hard to stop and even harder on the eye. Mikel Arteta has a team playing more like a latter day version of George Graham's Arsenal rather than Arsene Wenger's showstopping sides of 1998, 2002 and 2004.