Who will win the Premier League title? Manchester City and Arsenal meet live on Sky Sports

The Premier League title is in Arsenal’s hands. That’s a fact. Win all their games and the Gunners will be champions. They’re six points clear with just six games remaining, and they’ve been top since October. Despite that home defeat to Bournemouth last Saturday, they’re as nailed on as they can be to get their hands on the trophy in May. Right?

Well, you’d say so, if it weren’t for Manchester City. The serial Premier League winners – eight titles since 2012, including four in a row between 2021 and 2024 – are in second place and they host Arsenal this Sunday, live on Sky Sports. If they can win at the Etihad, that lead will be down to three points; if they then win their game in hand, it would be serious squeaky-bum time for Arsenal. Let’s not forget they were in similar positions at this stage of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, and ended up second. To Manchester City.

So it becomes all the more important for Mikel Arteta and his team to come away from Manchester with a result. And the more you think about the various factors, the more intriguing both this match and the title run-in become. Will City’s victory over Arsenal in the EFL Cup final have any bearing on the teams’ tactics or approach? Will Arsenal’s extra European games take a significant toll? Will Pep Guardiola’s vast experience of winning titles (12 in three countries as a coach) give City the edge? Will Arteta, Guardiola’s former assistant at City, be spurred on by the thought of besting his mentor?

Everywhere you look, you’ll find compelling off-the-pitch narratives  – to the point that it’s easy to forget the games are played, er, on the pitch. Man City and Arsenal are comfortably the best two teams in the Premier League this year, so what would a combined XI of their players look like? Scroll down to find out – and keep scrolling to see our reasoning. We may not know what’s going to happen at the end of this season, but we’re pretty sure this team would win the league at a canter…

Gigi Donnarumma and David Raya have been the best two keepers in the league this year – we’ll be taking no questions on this – but it’s tricky to separate them. Donnarumma is probably the world’s finest shot-stopper whereas Raya comes with a better range of passing skills. Arsenal have conceded fewer goals and Raya has more clean sheets, but raw numbers aren’t always useful for rating keepers because they depend so much on the team’s tactics and the defence’s effectiveness. We’ve gone for Raya because of his importance to Arsenal’s success: in his absence, they lost the EFL Cup final and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães have re-established themselves as the Premier League’s top central defensive pairing. The Franco-Brazilian duo are both strong in the air and comfortable on the ball, as well as being – stop us if you’ve heard this – key to Arsenal’s goal threat from attacking set-pieces. Injuries have prevented City having a similar consistent core, although Marc Guéhi has impressed alongside Ruben Días since arriving in January.

It’s curious that no player has quite nailed down a starting place at full-back, although Jurriën Timber was having a solid season before his knee problems. After a period of using centre-backs at full-back, this season Guardiola has tried converting midfielders and it’s paid off, with both Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly making impressive contributions to both defence and attack. 

Xabi Alonso wanted Martín Zubimendi as his headline summer signing when he took over as Real Madrid coach. He didn’t get him, but he did get his P45 six months later. Coincidence?! The Spain midfielder may not be the flashiest of players, but his calm assurance and excellent distribution at the base of midfield have given Arsenal a dimension they lacked. He has also liberated Declan Rice to become more of an attacking force, and the England man’s influence has been clear as Arsenal maintained top place.

After an early burst, Tijjani Reijnders hasn’t had the impact City fans hoped for, while Rodri has not regained Ballon d’Or-winning form on his return from an ACL injury. Bernardo Silva has been typically neat and tidy in his swansong season but our favourite City player to watch is Rayan Cherki, a veritable bargain at £30.5 million from Lyon last summer. With his extravagant skills and superb vision, he’s second in the assists table this season, and we hope he graces the Premier League for many years.

Is it fair to say Erling Haaland has had a quiet season by his standards? No, it is not fair – 46 goals in 50 games for club and country isn’t a quiet season by anyone’s standards. Perhaps it’s because the Norwegian striker leads the league in missed chances, but it’s telling that Haaland missing chances is memorable. In world football, he’s still the player you’d want on the end of those chances. (If Harry Kane isn’t available.) Viktor Gyökeres has done OK but he’s just not in Haaland’s class.

In the wide positions, Bukayo Saka definitely is having a relatively quiet season: nine goal involvements so far, compared with his 25 in both 2022/23 and 2023/24. But even a subdued Saka is still Saka and he ranks highly for xAG (expected assists, which are apparently a thing). An honourable mention to Noni Madueke, who has certainly overcome Arsenal fans’ scepticism. Meanwhile, January signing Antoine Semenyo was an instant hit in a City shirt, adding goals and dynamism. He was arguably the best player outside the top two before moving to Manchester and his levels haven’t slipped.

The Premier League fixture between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium is on Sunday 19 April at 4pm on Sky Sports Premier League HD (CH 502). Don’t have Sky Sports? Explore our latest sports package deals.