Rooney Refuses to Write Off Arsenal Despite City's Etihad Victory

Wayne Rooney is having none of the doom-mongering surrounding Arsenal's prospects, maintaining that the Premier League title fight has plenty of drama still to unfold despite Manchester City's 2-1 triumph at the Etihad on Sunday.

Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki got the Citizens over the line, sandwiching Kai Havertz's equaliser in a match that leaves Pep Guardiola's side just three points adrift of Mikel Arteta's outfit. With a game in hand, City can move top if they dispatch Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday evening.

While plenty of pundits have already begun penning Arsenal's epitaph, Rooney sees a different narrative still playing out. The former England captain reckons the title race will twist and turn before its conclusion, and he's backing Arsenal to remain slight favourites despite their slip-up.

"I've been in this situation myself," Rooney explained. "You need to win all your games, you look at your fixture list and think you should take this one or that one, but football doesn't work that way. What matters now is which team keeps their head best between now and May. That's your champion."

Guardiola, meanwhile, struck a cautious note despite his side's positive showing. The City boss acknowledged Arsenal's competitive qualities and warned against complacency, pointing to the demanding run-in ahead. Fixtures against Bournemouth away, plus encounters with Everton, Brentford, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, represent serious obstacles to navigate.

"The table speaks for itself," Guardiola said. "They've been the best. But we have Wednesday and a chance to close the gap if we win. That's our focus."

Arteta, despite the defeat, remained bullish about his team's chances. The Arsenal manager highlighted his side's resilience in fighting back from a goal down and stressed that the difference lay in the fine margins at both ends of the pitch. He acknowledged they created the better opportunities but failed to convert them when it mattered.

"One hundred per cent, we still believe," Arteta insisted. "We did many things right. We controlled the game where we wanted to. The reality is we didn't take our chances, but there's a lot to take from this."