Scholes Backs City to Pip Arsenal in Title Fight: 'They Don't Win the Big Ones'

Paul Scholes has thrown his weight behind Manchester City to claim the Premier League crown this season, expressing serious doubts about whether Mikel Arteta's Arsenal can overcome Pep Guardiola's outfit in their head-to-head battle.

The Gunners' weekend capitulation at home to Bournemouth—a 2-1 reverse at the Emirates—has left them nursing a six-point lead over City, who hold a game in hand. That advantage is looking decidedly fragile as the two sides prepare for what could well be a title-settling collision at the Etihad this Sunday.

Arsenal's troubles mount when you consider their recent form: they're reeling from a Carabao Cup final defeat to City last month and crashed out of the FA Cup to Southampton. While they salvaged some pride with a 1-0 victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, the narrative around the club has turned decidedly sour.

"All the momentum is with City," Scholes observed. "At the end of the day, you have to beat your rivals. I've not seen them do it—they don't win the big games."

Nicky Butt, Scholes' former Manchester United teammate, echoed the sentiment on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, suggesting that the psychological weight of chasing a title can be crushing. "Until you've won it or got over that hurdle, it's an absolute nightmare," Butt said. "You're just thinking you're going to let them down again, especially with Pep in charge and the number of titles he's won."

Not everyone is ready to write Arsenal's epitaph, however. Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has pushed back against the mounting criticism of Arteta, arguing that the manager's track record speaks for itself. Balague contended that the Premier League's celebrated competitiveness cuts both ways—you can't simultaneously celebrate the league's brutality whilst dismissing sustained title challenges as insufficient.

More fundamentally, Balague suggested that failure in elite sport isn't about losing matches; it's about giving up. Arteta, he insisted, has consistently responded to setbacks with renewed hunger. The journalist drew a parallel with Diego Simeone's tenure at Atlético Madrid, pointing out that even a managerial great can rack up years of title challenges without winning every prize on offer. Balague expressed conviction that given Arteta's trajectory, he would ultimately accumulate more league titles than Simeone.

"Arteta may or may not win the league this year," Balague wrote. "He may not lift the Champions League this year or next. But as long as he keeps pushing, keeps trying, keeps competing at this level, failure isn't what this is."

Still, with Sunday's showdown looming large and City breathing down their necks, Arsenal face a test that could define their entire season.