Erling Haaland celebrated on the pitch after Manchester City beat Brentford 3-0 on Saturday, a result that left City within two points of Arsenal with both clubs holding three Premier League games each.
Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush were the scorers as City produced a decisive victory that tightened the title race. Haaland summed up the moment in three words: "still in it." The scoreline and the gap — 3-0 and two points — are the facts that now shape the finish of the season.
The immediate arithmetic is stark. Both teams have three league matches remaining, and the next seven days will carry more weight than almost any stretch since the campaign began. Manchester City will host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium next Wednesday evening, then face Bournemouth six days later, before finishing their league programme against Aston Villa. Arsenal, by contrast, play West Ham United on Sunday, host Burnley in their last home game on Monday, May 18, and conclude the season against Crystal Palace on the final day.
One recent analysis counted seven games left in the title fight — three for Arsenal and four for Manchester City — and noted that Arsenal could be crowned champions if they won their last three matches. That same assessment suggested City must be flawless and hope Arsenal stumble. Those two scenarios — Arsenal sweeping their fixtures, or City running the table while Arsenal slip — now sit side by side on the table.
The schedule increases the pressure on every selection. Crystal Palace's manager pushed back against being drawn into the narrative, saying, "I'm not responsible for Arsenal, I'm not responsible for Manchester City, I'm responsible for Crystal Palace and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace and not for City and not for Arsenal." He added practical uncertainty about his squad: "Again, I don't know what we're doing yet," and allowed the possibility of continuity or change, saying, "Maybe we'll be playing with the same line-up that we'll play against Vallecano but again, maybe it feels like the league title is decided on the last day but at the end, it's a result of 38 matchdays and everybody gets what they deserve."
The timing of matches compounds the intrigue. City’s midweek Etihad meeting with Palace comes six days before a Bournemouth trip and sits close to a major domestic cup weekend, while Arsenal’s run includes a home match on Monday, May 18, which is their final match at home this season. With three games each, every result is magnified: a single slip can hand momentum to the chasing side and reshape the permutations overnight.
For supporters and players the choice facing both clubs is clear and unforgiving. Arsenal retain the simpler path on paper — win all three and they will be champions — a scenario the recent analysis explicitly set out. Manchester City have shown they can respond under pressure; their task now is to be flawless in their remaining fixtures and rely on any Arsenal falter. Between those two possibilities, the season will be settled by what happens on the pitch in the coming days, not by commentaries or calculations.
