Football can be a confusing world at times, when narratives clash to leave an outcome that seems to mean two entirely different things simultaneously. Manchester City are a team that lack the personality to handle setbacks, runs one theme; Pep Guardiola is too intense, too controlling, and the result is a highly skilled but neurotic side who cannot think for themselves when the going gets tough. Arsenal are a team that lack the backbone for big away games, runs another. Praise City for getting out of trouble on Sunday, then, or wonder how they got into that position in the first place?
Most significant in terms of the title race, perhaps, is that City did what they failed to do last Tuesday. Facing fragile opposition a day before Liverpool play, they won, cutting the gap so the nervy leaders can feel the pursuing breath on their necks for 24 hours before they kick off, breath made all the more unsettling by a quirk of the calendar – City’s game against Everton initially scheduled for the weekend of the Carabao Cup final rearranged for Wednesday – that means if Liverpool fail to win at West Ham, the champions could be top before the next weekend’s fixtures.
Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
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