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Arsenal have a chance to crank up the pressure on Manchester City this weekend as they seek to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.
The Gunners can go six points clear of their in-form rivals if they beat Fulham on Saturday, two days before City face a tricky trip to Everton.
At the other end of the table, West Ham face Brentford while relegation rivals Tottenham take on Aston Villa.
Arsenal can pull well clear of Manchester City, at least for 48 hours, but they must re-discover their scoring touch in a season that could be decided by the tightest of margins.
Before the Gunners’ win against Newcastle last weekend, the top two were level on points and goal difference. Arsenal know even if they win their four remaining games it may not be enough — they have failed to score more than one goal in any game since mid-March.
Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to manage their emotions as a gripping Premier League title race builds to a nerve-shredding climax.
Arteta called on his players to embrace the positives of being potentially just four games away from a first league title in 22 years.
“Emotions for sure we have to manage in the right way. But I want to put more emphasis on showing that desire, that hunger that we have shown all season,” he told reporters on Friday.
“We have only four games left and everything to play for, so it doesn’t get better than that.”
Fixture pile-up no excuse for City, says Guardiola: City, with a game in hand, have clicked into gear and are scoring much more freely than their rivals.
City’s title bid could be hampered by a fixture pile-up after their games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth were given new dates either side of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 16.
Those matches needed to be moved because of City’s progress in both domestic cups, but the new schedule means they need to play three times in the space of seven days from May 13 to 19.
The League Cup winners’ title charge concludes against Aston Villa on May 24.
City were reportedly unhappy when the fixtures were confirmed, particularly because they felt the Palace game originally slated for March could have been rearranged earlier.
Pep Guardiola insists City cannot use their gruelling schedule as an excuse if they fail to win the title.
But Guardiola has accepted the situation as an inevitable consequence of being successful in English football.
“It is what it is. When we won the treble and quadruple we always had this kind of calendar,” the City manager told reporters on Friday.
“Of course it could be better but I’ve never expected help. We’ll do that and go game by game.
“If you don’t like it, go and train in France or Portugal. I like being here, and I’ve said many times, when I was at Barcelona and saw managers here complain about the schedule, it has always been like this.”
City are chasing the seventh Premier League crown of the Guardiola era as they seek to take advantage of Arsenal’s latest title-race stumble.
Just when Tottenham showed encouraging signs of life under new manager Roberto De Zerbi, their injury curse has struck again.
Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons suffered a serious knee injury in last week’s 1-0 win at relegated Wolves, while Dominic Solanke could miss the rest of the campaign with a hamstring issue.
The club’s injury list this season makes sobering reading, with long-term absentees including Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison and Wilson Odobert. Captain Cristian Romero is another recent victim.
“We can win the games with the players, not with the coaches,” said De Zerbi. “The coaches are important but the players are more important. But I want to be positive.”
Agence France-Presse
