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Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker has issued a defiant message over this season's title race following Arsenal's win over Everton on 1 March. Despite the Gunners' statement 4-0 victory over the Toffees, the English defender is confident that his side can chase them down.
Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated the English top tier for the past five years, producing extremely close finishes and emphatic title races. However, Arsenal have now emerged as fresh title contenders under Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners sit atop the Premier League table with a five-point lead over second-placed City. They seized the opportunity to increase the gap in the title race after their win against Everton, which was the club's game in hand over the Cityzens.
However, Walker is adamant that Manchester City will come out on top at the end of the season. The Englishman pointed out that his side have done it before against Liverpool, and that it can be replicated.
When asked about the title race, Walker said (via HITC):
“We’ve been in this position before, trying to catch Liverpool and we’ll do it again, we’ll keep fighting until the end and that’s what Manchester City do.”
Arsenal put four past Everton at the Emirates, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard getting on the scoresheet. The Brazilian managed to bag a brace in the encounter.
The Gunners will next face Bournemouth at home this Saturday (4 March) while the Cityzens will lock horns with Newcastle United at the Etihad.
"You know my answer there!" - Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on title race with Manchester City after Everton win
Following the north London outfit's emphatic victory over the Toffees, Arsenal manager Arteta was asked whether his side are now favorites to win the league. The Spanish boss refused to deliver a definitive answer and responded (per the club's official website):
"You know my answer there! What I like is that everybody has the enthusiasm to do it, and we’re not going to stop that - we have to promote that but the way to promote that is by looking at this game and understanding that we have to do a lot of things better, especially in the first half. We can play better and make sure we prepare really well against Bournemouth because that’s going to be a tough game."
Arsenal and Manchester City have faced each other once in the league this season, which ended in a disappointing 3-1 loss for the Gunners. The two outfits will see out the reverse fixture at the Etihad on 27 April.
