Judgement day for Man City and Arsenal in title showdown

Manchester City and Arsenal meet in a Premier League title showdown (Glyn KIRK) Title-chasing Manchester City face leaders Arsenal in a seismic showdown at the top of the Premier League on Sunday. Troubled Chelsea desperately need a win against Manchester United in the race for Champions League qualification, while Liverpool are also in search of a morale boost in the Merseyside derby. AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the weekend's action: Arsenal must improve in 'defining' moment Declan Rice doesn't care what the critics say about Arsenal's untimely loss of form, but the midfielder is well aware they must improve to win their "title-defining" clash with Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta's side travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday nursing a a six-point lead over second-placed City as they target a first English title since 2004. Arsenal have spluttered in recent weeks, losing the League Cup final against City, suffering a shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat against second tier Southampton and crashing to a damaging loss against Bournemouth in the top-flight. Even Arsenal's progress to the Champions League semi-finals came with an asterisk after they laboured to a nervy goalless draw that secured a 1-0 aggregate victory against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday.

The Gunners have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, while City are approaching top gear, having beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in their last three games. "There's no beating around the bush. We have to perform better than we did against Bournemouth and probably Sporting as well," Rice said.

"Recently, we have made too many errors. The Etihad is the ultimate test but it's why we play this game. So, bring it on.