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Arsenal Desperate to Hold off City Charge in Title Showdown

Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Southampton - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - April 21, 2023 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Southampton - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - April 21, 2023 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the match. (Reuters)
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Arsenal Desperate to Hold off City Charge in Title Showdown

Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Southampton - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - April 21, 2023 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Southampton - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - April 21, 2023 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the match. (Reuters)

Like a sky blue juggernaut, Manchester City have begun to fill Arsenal's rearview mirror and on Wednesday the reigning champions have the chance to begin their over-taking maneuver on the road to a fifth Premier League title in six years.

A match that has loomed on the fixture list for months as a likely title-decider now feels like a must-win game for an Arsenal side whose hold on the summit is coming loose.

While treble-chasing City have been churning out the wins, just as they usually do at the business end of a season, Arsenal's young pretenders have been struck by vertigo.

They could have been going to City with a double-digit points lead but after surrendering 2-0 advantages to draw consecutive away games 2-2 at Liverpool and West Ham United, they were then held to a frenzied 3-3 draw by bottom club Southampton on Friday.

After that rip-roaring contest, in which Arsenal needed late goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka just to salvage a point, the players slumped to the turf and their fans filed away wondering if the dream of a first title since 2004 was fading.

Arsenal still have a five-point lead with six games to play but City have two matches in hand and look irresistible having collected 25 points from the last 27 on offer.

According to statistician Simon Gleave of data company Gracenote, Arsenal's draw with Southampton left them with a 21% chance of dethroning City, while Pep Guardiola's side now have a 79% probability of finishing top.

Big ask

Football has a habit of delivering twists and turns, however, and despite their recent jitters Arsenal remain in a position few could have imagined at the start of the season.

And while Mikel Arteta would have much preferred a bigger cushion heading to the Etihad Stadium, at least his players now know exactly what is required on Wednesday - victory.

"I cannot wait, these are the games you want to play," Arteta said in the wake of Friday's draw. "When everything is at stake you have to go there to win."

It is a big ask though.

Arsenal have lost their last seven meetings with City in all competitions and have not won at City in the league since 2015.

City have chipped away at Arsenal's lead while also progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League and on Saturday reached the FA Cup final after easing past Sheffield United in third gear.

The games are coming thick and fast for Guardiola's side but such is the quality and depth of his expensively-assembled squad that few doubt their ability to chase only the second treble - Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League - by an English side.

They were able to make six changes to their starting line-up against Sheffield United, while goal-machine Erling Haaland was subbed off early along with Jack Grealish as City set their sights on a classic "six-pointer" with Arsenal.

Guardiola has not played down what is at stake.

"Wednesday is a final against a team that has been the best team in England so far and is five points ahead of us," the Spaniard said. "It's a massive, important game for us.

"We know winning will give us a step to putting it completely in our hands."

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Sports

Antonelli Dares to Dream as Historic F1 Title Zooms in to View

Third-placed Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli lifts his trophy as he celebrates on the podium after the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Third-placed Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli lifts his trophy as he celebrates on the podium after the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Antonelli Dares to Dream as Historic F1 Title Zooms in to View

Third-placed Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli lifts his trophy as he celebrates on the podium after the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Third-placed Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli lifts his trophy as he celebrates on the podium after the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on October 11, 2026. (AFP)

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli said he is ‌allowing himself to dream about a historic world title which is within reach at the next race in Austin, Texas, after the 20-year-old sealed his 14th podium finish of the season at Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.

The title would make Antonelli Formula One's youngest ever champion and Italy's first since 1953.

Antonelli's third place in a Singapore Grand Prix that was controlled from start to finish by Red Bull's Max Verstappen was scrappy, as he flirted with a penalty for testing the track's limits.

But it was enough to extend his lead over teammate George Russell to 102 points and when asked if he dared to dream of clinching the title in Austin later this month on the long journey home he said: "For sure.

"But at ‌the same time, ‌I know it's very close, I know it's there, but ‌I ⁠just need to ⁠make sure that I keep doing the best I can. The mindset is always the same, to go out there and win.

"I think this weekend I haven't particularly driven that well... but I feel confident that, (with) a week to reset and I'm really looking forward to being back in Austin.

"If I don't do my job well, then the result won't come. So in order to achieve what I want, I need to perform at 100%."

SOONER OR LATER

Antonelli can ⁠mathematically win the championship in Austin on the assumption there are ‌still five races to come after, with the ‌fate of the Grands Prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi up in the air due to the ‌conflict in the Middle East.

However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is refusing to tempt fate.

"I ‌remind myself that this is motor racing and crazy things have happened," Wolff said.

"It probably needs the other two (contenders), George and Lewis (Hamilton), to retire and him winning. So this is not a likely scenario," he added, while recognizing that the title was within reach and maybe inevitable.

"It's going to ‌come towards him, whether that's in Mexico or Brazil, or far down the line."

MERCEDES UPGRADES

Russell, who worked his way up from ⁠the back of the ⁠starting grid due to engine penalties, finished a respectable ninth at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, where overtaking is notoriously tricky.

Wolff said both drivers would probably be running in Austin on an upgraded car as some, but not all, of its teething problems had been ironed out in Singapore.

"I think that this new car needs a very different setup philosophy than the previous car," he said.

"Does it have the performance that we were hoping the upgrade would bring? I don't think so yet, but it was a step in the right direction."

Antonelli narrowly avoided a five-second penalty, hitting the maximum limit of breaches of the track boundaries.

However, Wolff praised his driving and joked about how he could boost the diminutive driver higher for a better view of the track edges.

"I have a good strategy. I'm going to put a pillow from the hotel under him, so he can actually see the road."

Sports

Who’s Singing Now? Maresca Wants Man City to Drown Out Noise

Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Who’s Singing Now? Maresca Wants Man City to Drown Out Noise

Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)

Manchester City have spent the last two ‌weeks surrounded by a lot of noise. On Sunday at Anfield, City boss Enzo Maresca told his players the best way to drown it out was by making even more of their own.

City did just that with a defiant 3-0 victory over Liverpool that preserved their perfect Premier League start for a three-point lead atop the table.

In their first game since an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 breaches of the league's financial rules, City were met by deafening boos and angry chants but left Anfield with their own supporters providing the soundtrack.

It was exactly the response Maresca had demanded from his players.

"We need to learn how to deal with the outside noise because of the situation, and the noise will be always there," Maresca said. "But at the same time, we need to try to ‌make our noise, ‌and that is win games, like we have done today, because at ‌the ⁠end of the ⁠game, our fans, they were singing, so the noise was from us, not from Liverpool."

The Italian knows the hostility is unlikely to disappear, with Sunday's reception at Anfield a sign of what awaits City on their travels as they await the outcome of their appeal against the financial-rule verdict.

"I think (at) all the away games there's going to be noise," said Maresca, who wrapped his coaching staff in a huge hug at the final whistle before he and the players made a beeline for the away fans section ⁠to celebrate.

"That's why I'm saying that we need to learn how ‌to deal with noise, but at the same time we ‌need to make our noise. Our noise is: who is singing at the end? This has to be our ‌target in this moment."

City's response on the pitch matched one of defiance off it. The ‌club's chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Hugo Viana travelled with the team to Anfield, a show of unity ahead of one of the most daunting fixtures on the calendar even in less turbulent times.

"We were all together," Maresca said. "I think for the importance of the game, Liverpool away, Anfield away, it's a ‌good idea from the club to be all together, the togetherness that in this moment we need."

The manager said the players had found the ⁠last fortnight difficult, but ⁠praised the way they had shut out the turmoil and concentrated on football.

City struggled in the first half but took full control after Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch was shown a red card in the 62nd minute, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scoring.

"It was not easy for the players after the last two weeks," he said. "I think they dealt with all the situation very well.

"In this moment, all the organization needs this kind of win like today," he added. "It's good for us coaching staff. It's good for the players. It's good for the fans. It's good for the organization."

City have denied all wrongdoing and have appealed the decision. As for what comes next in their legal battle, Maresca was just as direct.

"I'm here to try to prepare for the games and win games," he said. "I've said many times: hopefully, I can speak about this situation when we win the appeal."

For now, City's answer to the hostility: not to quieten the racket, but to drown it out with the sounds of victory.

Sports

Real Betis Beat Osasuna to Go Third in LaLiga

Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)
Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)
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Real Betis Beat Osasuna to Go Third in LaLiga

Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)
Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)

Real Betis ‌playmaker Isco netted a goal in each half as his side breezed to a 5-2 home win over Osasuna on Sunday that lifts them to third place in LaLiga, five points behind leaders Barcelona and one ahead of Real Madrid.

Isco fired home from the penalty spot in the 10th minute to open the scoring, and Abde Ezzalzouli added a second before the break after Betis won the ball high up the pitch and countered quickly.

Betis looked to be set for a comfortable afternoon when Diego Llorente added a third three ‌minutes after ‌halftime, but two quick goals for the visitors ‌from ⁠Ante Budimir and ⁠Raul Garcia reduced the deficit to 3-2 in the 56th minute.

However, Isco eased their nerves again when he snapped up a loose ball in the box and rifled it home, and Jose Antonio Morante came off the bench in the 90th minute to make his LaLiga debut before scoring deep into stoppage time to leave Betis ⁠on 19 points after eight games.

Earlier on Sunday, ‌Real Sociedad held off a spirited ‌comeback from Deportivo La Coruna to emerge with a 3-2 win at home, ‌while struggling Elche grabbed a much-needed point by holding visitors ‌Celta Vigo to a scoreless draw.

In the evening's late kick-off, second-from-bottom Valencia came back from a goal down to grab a point in a 2-2 draw away to Racing Santander.

Dani Raba got the visitors off to a ‌great start when he latched on to a long ball and kept his cool to cut ⁠inside two ⁠defenders and fire home in the second minute to give his side a 1-0 lead, but Yassir Zabiri levelled in the 32nd minute with a finish low into the bottom corner.

Ivan Martin gave the home side the lead two minutes into the second half but 18-year-old substitute David Otorbi grabbed a point for Valencia with a well-taken finish in the 65th minute.

Valencia are 19th on five points after eight games, one ahead of bottom side Malaga and behind Levante on goal difference. Elche are one point above the drop zone and ahead of Valencia, while 16th-placed Osasuna were among a cluster of eight teams locked on eight points.