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Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes his old club still have a major advantage over Manchester City in the Premier League title race, despite dropping to second in the table on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
City\u2019s 1-0 win at Burnley relegated the Clarets but, more importantly for Pep Guardiola\u2019s side, saw them leapfrog the Gunners into top spot with only five games of the season remaining.<\/p>\n
The two teams are now level on 70 points and goal difference, with Man City<\/strong> top by virtue of goals scored, although Merson feels the result at Turf Moor is not quite as bad as it could have been for Arsenal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n And his latest column for Sky Sports<\/em>, Merson<\/strong> believes there is every chance the title could be decided by goal difference and that City failed to boost that as significantly as they could have done against the Clarets.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Guardiola \u2018hated\u2019 Man City vs Burnley as \u2018opportunity\u2019 missed in title race<\/strong><\/p>\n He said: \u201cArsenal\u2019s performance was good at the Etihad, but they lost a game they couldn\u2019t afford to lose. You don\u2019t need to be playing well and losing football matches. From absolutely nowhere, Manchester City are top of the league. It\u2019s scary.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Arsenal play twice before City do and could go six points clear again \u2013 and they\u2019ve got to make that count. They have to win those two games against Newcastle and Fulham to put the pressure back on City. It\u2019s a must.<\/p>\n \u201cCity\u2019s last five games? They don\u2019t look too hard for them. They\u2019ve got Everton and Brentford \u2013 two teams fighting for Europe \u2013 but two of their other games are absolutely gimmes.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got Crystal Palace at home, who may have one eye on a Conference League final, and Bournemouth.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then on the final day they\u2019ve got Aston Villa, I\u2019m pretty sure they will have already secured Champions League football and the priority that week would be the Europa League final (played four days before the final day of the Premier League season). So that\u2019s a nothing game.<\/p>\n \u201cArsenal are back in the title race. City didn\u2019t rip Burnley up by four or five, they\u2019re not going to do that against Everton in their next game.<\/p>\n \u201cEverton are very good defensively, so are Brentford. Bournemouth are also very good at the back.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Premier League title race could come down to goal difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Gary Neville believes Arsenal should be buoyed by City\u2019s failure to significantly extend their goal difference at Turf Moor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a win for Manchester City but it\u2019s the best win Arsenal could have hoped for,\u201d Neville told Sky Sports<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all to play for. Arsenal have a home game against Newcastle on Saturday where they can reassert their three-point lead.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: The ridiculous stats of Erling Haaland as he overtakes Crouch for Premier League goals<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t happen for Manchester City tonight. They will have to play better than that or they will drop points.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Pep Guardiola knows he had to come away with three points. And he\u2019s done that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n