Manchester City, Arsenal meet in potential Premier League title decider

Arsenal is discovering the brutal reality about going toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the final stretch of a Premier League title race.

Arsenal is discovering the brutal reality about going toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the final stretch of a Premier League title race.

Perfection is pretty much essential. And at the moment, Arsenal is far from perfect.

Three straight draws — the most recent coming at home against Southampton, the league’s last-place team — has seen the long-time leaders lose the initiative, but not quite first place.

Arsenal’s credentials are being seriously questioned ahead of the ultimate test in English soccer and what many are billing a title decider: An away match against City.

“We really want it and we are going to show it again tomorrow night, but you have to deliver in the right moment the right performance, and it has to be perfection," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Tuesday. “Because that’s what this last level demands — absolute perfection.”

It’s something City is getting used to producing at this stage of the season. Just ask Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, whose team fell short of the title despite posting points totals of 97 (in 2018-19) and 92 (in 2021-22) while up against the City juggernaut.

In the first of those duels, City closed the league campaign with 14 straight victories to win the title by a point. Last season, the difference between the teams was also a point after City went its final 12 games unbeaten, winning 10 of them.