Wednesday’s game at Etihad Stadium is absolutely massive — as big as it gets — and Arsenal’s form over the past few weeks means it’s a must-win for them.
You look at those three games, 2-0 up against Liverpool, 2-0 up against West Ham and then they were losing against Southampton, the bottom team in the Premier League, 3-1. That's not good enough.
Arsenal have had a wonderful season but it reminds me of what happened last year when they were in a great position and things went wrong at the business end of the season, Tottenham pipped them to a Champions League place.
They’ve made huge progress but the foundations of inexperience are still there. They’ve still got one of the youngest squads in the Premier League. Tell me a team that's got one of the youngest teams in the league that wins things — it doesn't happen.
You need a good blend of experienced players and young players. Arsenal don't really have that. They haven't been in this kind of crunch situation before, whereas you look at Man City and they've got generals in their team.
The keeper Ederson has been here before. They've got Ruben Dias, who’s big in the Champions League and has played in massive games for Portugal. Kyle Walker is a full international with loads of caps. Kevin De Bruyne has won leagues, Bernardo Silva… I could go on. Then there’s Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan — you’ve got a great blend of youth and experience.
William Saliba injury not to blame
William Saliba’s injury has come at a dreadful time but you can’t pin everything on that.
Arsenal have been one of the lucky teams this year. They haven't really changed their starting lineup. The only players who really got injured were Gabriel Jesus, who was out for a long time, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was pretty much on the bench anyway.
To say Arsenal are in this situation now just because Saliba got injured… no one was talking about injuries and when Jesus was out because they were winning games. I think the situation just got to Arsenal more than anything. Man City are breathing down their necks.
Pep Guardiola’s men haven’t been great this season but have clicked into gear at the right time. City are turning teams over now but they’re in this position because they've been able to grind out results. There have been games where you think it's not happening and then they'll score a free-kick or a penalty, 1-0.
Erling Haaland can be one of the greatest goalscorers ever
Haaland is obviously a huge part of that. His performances have been consistent. The reason he had a bit of a dip in January and February was that players around him had lost form. De Bruyne, when he came back from the World Cup, wasn't on it. Now he's now he's back on it, Haaland’s scoring again.
The thing that I most admire about him is he's quite happy to not touch the ball for 90 minutes. Then the ball comes in a box: one touch, one goal.
Harry Kane has got 24 goals in the Premier League, a fantastic season. Everyone would be talking about it if it wasn’t for Haaland.
I like Kane's overall game because he gets involved in the play a lot more than Haaland, who’s not a very good football player. His technique is not great, he doesn't have a great first touch, but what he does have is really good movement and he's an excellent finisher.
To me, Harry Kane's definitely the best striker in the Premier League and one of the top two in the world because of his all-round game. But I can’t take anything away from Haaland.
He has had an unbelievable season. I think he could go down as one of the greatest goalscorers ever.
That’s the guy Arsenal have to stop by cutting off the supply line to him. It’s a massive task in a massive game. As big as it gets.
