Shearer's Arsenal Concern: Can Gunners Find Goals to Topple City?

Arsenal's five-point advantage over Manchester City remains intact, but Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has raised a question mark over their firepower as the Premier League title race enters its final stretch.

The Gunners edged Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday in a nervy encounter, with both goals arriving from set-pieces following Pedro Neto's dismissal. This came after City's routine 1-0 victory over Leeds United on Saturday, keeping the pressure firmly on Mikel Arteta's side with nine matches remaining.

Shearer's worry isn't about Arsenal's current standing—it's about their ability to break teams down through open play. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the former England captain acknowledged the suggestion that the Gunners need sharper attacking output, though he tempered his criticism with a dose of pragmatism.

"I'd much prefer to still be in their position," Shearer explained. "If they win every game then they win it. They found a way against Chelsea, they weren't brilliant, but their set-pieces have done it for them again and there's nothing wrong with that."

Yet the mental toll of a title scrap is real, Shearer warned. "They're going to be nervy, they're going to be edgy because of the pressure that they're under. It's a huge ask, it is tough mentally and physically. It drains you."

Over on the awards front, Gary Lineker has cast his vote for player of the season—and it's gone to an unlikely candidate given the title battle's dramatics. Bruno Fernandes, with seven goals and 13 assists in the Premier League, has earned Lineker's backing for his all-action displays.

"Bruno just goes everywhere, where he can get half a yard to put in a great delivery," Lineker said. "He's an outstanding player, one of the players of the season so far."

Manchester United's midfield maestro was on display during their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, a performance Micah Richards described as initially sluggish. But once Fernandes imposed himself on proceedings, the difference was stark.

"When Bruno Fernandes gets a grip of that game, you talk about spaces and where he goes, he's so clever," Richards noted. "He doesn't just go in the middle, he sees where everyone is, he always uses his full-back or his winger and then they play back to him where he's got that time to cross."

Richards highlighted Fernandes' scanning ability and positioning intelligence as the real difference-maker. "He's always scanning about, where the best places are to be, where he can affect the game."