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By chance or choice
'By chance or choice, they have clicked' - why Man City will be champions
Manchester City's win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday was an absolutely thrilling game to watch and analyse - not the cautious and cagey tactical battle I thought it might be.
Given they were the team who really needed to win, I expected City to be the ones to go after Arsenal from the off and that Mikel Arteta's side would have to weather the storm.
That kind of happened, but the reply from Arsenal to equalise immediately took the wind out of City temporarily.
Arsenal regained their poise and there was not much in it for the rest of the first half.
After half-time City came out brilliantly, but the way Arsenal responded - even before they went 2-1 down - is the way a top team should.
In the past the Gunners have been accused of being too pragmatic in games like this and not going for it enough, but this time they started committing more and more men forward, being braver on the ball and getting quality balls into the box.
They hit the woodwork twice and were right in the game at the very end - when Kai Havertz had that late chance, he really should have scored.
I have heard lots of criticism of Arsenal recently - how they have bottled it in games or are falling away again when it matters - but that was certainly not the case here.
It was a disappointing result for them, but when they review this game in the cold light of day they cannot be disappointed with the performance.
They had a real go at City in the second half and created some really good chances.
Gabriel came within the width of a post of making it 2-2 and Eberechi Eze came even closer when he hit the inside of the upright. If the ball goes across the line instead of bouncing along it, then it is Arsenal who are ahead.
On a different day they could easily have won this game, they would be nine points clear and we would all be saying the title race is done.
The reason Arsenal will be kicking themselves is because we did not see this intensity when they lost at home to Bournemouth last week.
Maybe that was because they are playing a lot of games at the moment and energy was a factor, but I think it is more to do with mindset.
You know as a player that when you play City away you have got to be at it, and you find the extra you need physically and mentally to match them. You have to, because you know how good they are.
It is different when you are at home to a team like Bournemouth on a sunny afternoon and part of you is thinking 'we are better than these'.
You expect to be beating them and, when you are not, you have got to somehow find a way within a game to change momentum.
I was at Emirates Stadium for the Bournemouth game, and I did not see the energy and urgency from Arsenal that I saw at Etihad Stadium.
Yes, Arsenal have messed up recently, but not this time.
As I said on Match of the Day, this title race is a long way from being over and the Arsenal players just have to keep together now.
They are still top and the worst-case scenario when City go to Burnley on Wednesday is that they go above Arsenal on goal difference.
That is still a wonderful situation for Arsenal to be in. They could go out and beat someone 4-0 - they are certainly capable of that because we have seen them bash up Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid this season.
Arsenal have to refocus and remember they could still be champions of Europe, not just champions of England.
They have still got so much to be fighting for.
I understand it might be difficult to feel positive about their position - I have been there, when you feel like the other team have all the momentum and you have none - but Arsenal still have a chance to turn that around, and I can see them winning all five of their remaining games.
This is not the same City team as years gone by - for example, when they were matching Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool win for win and ending up with more than 90 points to take the title.
This season City have had some really strange results from out of nowhere, against teams you would not expect.
But, despite their inconsistency for most of this campaign, there are three reasons I would edge towards City to win the title.
Firstly, they are out of Europe, which means they are fresher. That definitely helps at this stage of the season.
Another thing that makes me believe they will get over the line is Pep Guardiola seems to have found a settled XI, which is very unlike him.
That is probably because City are usually playing twice a week, every week, so he has to chop and change.
But for the past three matches since the international break, Guardiola's only change has been in goal - James Trafford played against Liverpool in the FA Cup, just as he did against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.
Whether it is by chance or by choice, Guardiola has found an XI that works together and seem to enjoy playing together too.
The front four has clicked, the central midfield combination of Rodri and Bernardo Silva is lovely - how can it not be with those two? - and their backline has really come together.
City have scored nine goals in those three games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and conceded only one. Guardiola has a great bench if anyone gets injured, but his team picks itself at the moment.
On top of that, big players turn up in the big moments - and Erling Haaland will surely make a difference too.
Arsenal have lost two league games on the spin, so the next time they step on the pitch, at home to Newcastle on Saturday, they are going to have doubts instead of momentum and confidence.
No matter how much quality their players have and how good their preparation, tactics and everything else is, what they have to deal with now is pressure.
Their fans are turning up at the Emirates as nervous as kittens and transferring their fears and frustrations to the players.
City, though, are not under any pressure because they are in a situation they probably never expected, and they have also won the league so many times recently.
There was a time during Sunday's game when I thought it was not going to be their day. It was 1-1 and they had hit the woodwork twice after Gianluigi Donnarumma's mistake let Arsenal back in the game.
You think that way when you are watching a game more than you do if you are playing in it, and City certainly never had a negative attitude.
They were relentless with the way they attacked when it was 1-1 and, rather than sit back, they kept attacking when they went 2-1 up.
I was talking to MOTD pundit Wayne Rooney after Sunday's game and he said Sir Alex Ferguson used to tell Manchester United to do the same. It was a case of "go and score another", and never shut up shop and be cautious.
City's relentlessness comes from their manager too, and also having top quality players with an elite mentality like United did.
On top of that, it definitely helps having a lot of players in their team who have won so much.
Their players look so comfortable, even the ones who have not won anything. Rayan Cherki just seems to be enjoying himself.
The desperation you see from Arsenal is not there. City's fans are not worried - they are just enjoying it.
Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
Source: BBC
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