MANCHESTER, England — It is a measure of the standards set by Arsenal this season that a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield last week felt more like a loss.
Granted, the Premier League leader had gone 2-0 up after just 28 minutes and looked to be on course to move eight points clear at the top of the table. But a point at Liverpool was still better than any other team in the top four has managed this season, with Manchester City, Newcastle and Manchester United all beaten there this term.
It was the manner in which Arsenal surrendered victory that felt so costly, with Roberto Firmino scoring an 87th-minute equalizer that blew the title race wide open and potentially handed the advantage to second-place City.
City can cut Arsenal’s lead to three points when the defending champions play relegation-fighting Leicester on Saturday.
And with the top two due to face each other at Etihad Stadium on April 26, City can seize control of the battle to be crowned champions.
While the same can be said of Arsenal, the London club has lost on its last seven visits to City, including a 5-0 rout last season that piled the pressure on manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal kept faith with the Spaniard and that has been rewarded with an outstanding campaign this term that has put the Gunners within sight of a first league title for 19 years.
Yet, after the result at Anfield, City appears to be the team with the momentum, with Tuesday’s 3-0 win against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals continuing an ominous run of form.
Pep Guardiola’s team has won nine games in a row in all competitions and remains in contention for a treble of trophies this season.
Erling Haaland has hit 45 goals already, while City has racked up a series of emphatic wins in recent weeks – putting seven past RB Leipzig in the Champions League and four past Liverpool.
It is a run that has left Arsenal with little room for error, which is why the draw against Liverpool could prove so damaging.