Doku Says City-Arsenal Clash Could Decide Premier League Titlenewsline24

Jeremy Doku calls Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium a “title decider”, after Manchester City cut the gap to six points with a 3-0 win at Chelsea that kept the Premier League title race tight heading into the final weeks.

The forward struck in the second half at Stamford Bridge, with Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi also scoring, as Manchester City overpowered Chelsea after a tense opening period, taking full advantage of Arsenal’s 2-1 home defeat against Bournemouth to close in on the leaders.

Pep Guardiola’s side still have a game in hand on Arsenal, but first host the leaders at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, 16:30 BST, in a match Doku believes could decide the destination of the Premier League title, given there are only a handful of fixtures remaining.

Asked on Sky Sports if the Manchester City meeting with Arsenal is a Premier League title decider, Doku replied: “I think so, yeah. There are six or seven games left. If you win this game, it’s a big punch towards them. If we lose, it’s in their hands, and we have to wait for them to lose. But if we win, it’s in our hands. I would prefer to have it in my hands!”

Manchester City’s recent league form underlines why Doku feels confident about the Premier League title race. Over the past five seasons, from 2021-22 onward, Manchester City have been almost flawless in the run-in, rarely dropping points once the final 10 league games begin.

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Across those last five Premier League campaigns, when playing within their last 10 matches, Manchester City have lost just once in 43 games, winning 32 and drawing 10. In the current season, Manchester City have been beaten only once in 19 league outings, winning 12 and drawing six.

Manchester City and Arsenal Premier League title pressure

That sequence includes a nine-match unbeaten Premier League run, with six wins and three draws, which is Manchester City’s joint-longest streak without defeat in the 2025-26 campaign, yet Doku insists no one took victory at Chelsea for granted, despite the push for the title.

Doku detailed how Manchester City handled that pressure, stating: “First of all, we need to recover now, and then we’ll analyse Arsenal again. I’ll look at what my task will be, and their weaknesses and their strengths. Then we’ll believe;we did it already. They will come with hunger; they don’t want to just give it to us, so we have to take it. Trust me, we’ll be well-prepared.”

Reflecting on the Chelsea performance, Doku said the match added to the sense of pressure in the Premier League title contest. “We knew there was a lot of pressure before this game, against a good opponent. The first half was not easy. They were well-organised, and we knew we had to keep on going. We started the second half very well, very sharp. After the first goal, the game was more open, and we did well. I’m also happy we didn’t concede.”

Doku also watched Arsenal’s surprise defeat and felt it underlined the nature of the Premier League title race. “I watched the Arsenal game, and when I saw them lose, I saw that the Premier League is really unpredictable. We were also focused on our own game. Winning here is not a given, so the fact we did it today is exceptional.”