Craig Burley on Arsenal: ‘They just keep throwing City a bone, don’t they?’

Arsenal drew their game against Brentford 1-1 on Thursday, keeping Manchester City interested in the Premier League title race. Arsenal are currently top of the table with 57 points, and Manchester City are second in the table with 53 points. Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley said that Mikel Arteta has the best squad in the league and should be easing through to the title, but they are throwing City a bone. “They just keep throwing City a bone, don’t they? [The loss to] Manchester United at home was unexpected. Couple of others like Forest away, Brentford also a good side, but they had won the last four there, if I’m not wrong. And they still keep throwing that bone City’s way just to keep them from being demoralised,” Burley said on ESPN. “When you put somebody seven, eight or nine points behind, it demoralises them as the chasing team. I’m not saying Arsenal are bad. They are the best squad in the country, best team in the country. But they just keep giving Guardiola’s team something to hang on to,” he added. After the win against Liverpool, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was optimistic about City’s chances. “We are six points behind. OK, it is a big gap, but many things can happen, so it’s better to have the three points. Who knows if six points is enough [for Arsenal], but 13 games is a lot and the FA Cup is coming, the Carabao Cup final too, the Champions League is back in March and injuries will happen,” Guardiola said. “There are also other teams playing for things [like] European positions, fighting against relegation and playing against teams in a relegation battle means they are trying a lot to survive and it is a proper game. So 13 games from experience is a lot of time. It [the run-in] is so, so difficult, but the important thing is to be there. All we can do is breathe down the neck of Arsenal, being there, and try if they slip, if they make something [a mistake], use it.”

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