'Arsenal have been trying to nick 1-0 wins' - do they need mindset change?
That's what Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said after Sunday's defeat by Manchester City . And now, following City's 1-0 win over Burnley on Wednesday night, it has officially started. Both sides are on 70 points with a +37 goal difference, with five league games left to play.
After spending 209 days at the top of the table, the Gunners have been leapfrogged by Pep Guardiola's side on goals scored. So do Arsenal need to change their mindset in the run-in for the title? Arsenal have missed multiple chances this season to extend their lead at the top of the table.
They could have moved 12 points clear at one stage. But back-to-back defeats by Bournemouth and Manchester City mean the Gunners have now won just six of their past 13 league games and momentum has swung towards Guardiola's side. Arteta has said that "everything is still to play for" but now might be the time to let his attacking players express themselves.
Someone who knows all about a title being decided on goal difference is Wayne Rooney, who was part of the Manchester United squad that finished second behind City in the 2011-12 campaign. Talking on the BBC's Wayne Rooney podcast, the former striker said his manager Sir Alex Ferguson "used to always say keep trying to score because it might be decided on goal difference". "At the time you're thinking 'it's never going to go to goal difference' but it did that one time.
" Kai Havertz is one of Arteta's favourite players and he started instead of Viktor Gyokeres against City. The German showed his ability to hold the ball up and link the Arsenal attack together but he is not a natural finisher and missed two crucial chances against City. However, despite the swing in momentum, Rooney said: "I'd probably still have Arsenal as slight favourites.